Commerce leads to many career options

2015-10-23

With careers in commerce undergoing a sea of change both in terms of options and scope, commerce has become a sought after and popular option among students. A student from the commerce stream has the option to pursue careers as diverse as hospitality and tourism, mass media, journalism, law, advertising, civil services & computer applications among others. If a student wishes to pursue commerce in +2, he will have to study subjects like Economics, Accountancy, Business Mathematics and Business Studies.

There are several career options that open up for a student after commerce stream. Chartered Accountancy, Business Management, Cost & Works Accountancy, Company Secretary, Actuarial Science, Chartered Financial Analyst are some of the fields that are directly related to the subjects in the commerce stream.
One will be aware of the basic concepts in Accountancy, Economics, Business Studies, and Mathematics. These foundations will help further in pursuing a commerce degree.

Undergraduate Programs Relevant To Commerce Stream

The degree programs available after completing 12th commerce are

Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Commerce in Computers
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Accounting and Finance
Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance
Bachelor of Commerce in Financial Markets
Bachelor of Commerce in Banking and Insurance
Bachelor of Arts in Economics
Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Communication
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours)
Bachelor of Business Studies
Bachelor of Business Management
Bachelor of Computer Application
Bachelor of Foreign Trade Management
Bachelor of Management studies
Bachelor of Business Management (BBM)

Check out some of the Entrance Exams to Commerce programs HERE

Professional Programs

You can opt for professional courses after the completion of your class 12th or you can choose to appear for these exams with/once the Under Graduate course is completed. Here you can pursue:

Chartered Accountancy (CA)
Company Secretary ship (CS)
Cost and Work Accountant (CWA)
MBA (Finance)

CA, ICWA, CS, CFA Professional programs enable the candidates to become a certified professional in a particular field. It is better to pursue professional programs along with or after graduation so as to fetch lucrative job opportunities.

Chartered Accountancy (CA) program is intended for the candidates who are interested to pursue their career as professional accountants. A Chartered Accountant can earn a salary between Rs.25000 to Rs.100000 per annum. As a C.A your work will involve compiling, analyzing, verifying and reporting on the financial affairs of businesses and individuals. You will be responsible for providing a wide range of advice about financial control and planning to companies, public bodies and private citizens. You may choose to specialize in particular aspects of financial management. This number-crunching profession offers a wide variety of jobs in any environment- advertising, manufacturing, media, banking, consulting etc and in all sizes of businesses and public enterprises. The study route for a student who is interested in pursuing a career in Chartered Accountancy essentially involves 3 main stages – enrolling & apearing for the Common Profieciency Test (CPT), appearing for and clearing the Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC), and lastly clearing the CA Final examination.

Cost and Work Accountant (CWA) - Those who want to become professionals in field of cost and management accountancy can pursue ICWA program. After completing this program, one can look for the job profiles like Internal Auditor, Finance Manager or Cost Controller and earn a salary up to Rs.8 lakhs per annum.

Company Secretary (CS) is another interesting career option that will require you to deal with aspects of management which relate to the company as a legal entity. Interested students can apply for the 3 -year company secretary course after passing (10+2) examination.

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) - The chief responsibility of a chartered financial analyst is to manage in the areas of financial accounting, management accounting, financial management, Investment management, security evaluation, project planning, venture capital management and credit rating. This is 3-year course that can be pursued after graduation. Salary given for junior level is between Rs.10000 to Rs.50000 per month and senior level is between Rs.30000 to Rs.35000 per month. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program is exclusively for the candidates who aspire to become a professional Financial Analyst.

MBA (Finance): after graduation, students interested in learning how to manage a business professionally can opt for a degree in management. An MBA course can vary in duration with a regular MBA being a 2-year course, while an Executive MBA taking 1 year to complete. Doing an MBA through correspondence is also an option.

It'S Not Just The Commerce Degrees Though.

Apart from the above courses, a Class 12 Commerce student can opt to study in other verticals too except for the science stream courses. Some of them are:

Law (LLB)
Architecture
Economics (BA)
Hotel Management
Design
Fashion Design
Retail Management
Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA)

Courses After Graduation

Masters of Commerce (M.Com) Duration: 2 years Centres: Many Commerce Colleges.
Master of Corporate Secretary ship (MCS)
Master of Finance & Control
M.Com Banking and & Insurance Management
M.Com Co-operative Management
M.Com (Marketing)
Master of Financial Control (MFC)
Master of Financial, Administration (MFA)
Master of Financial Management (MFM)
Most of the courses are two year duration and available in colleges or in distant mode.
MBA (Finance)
Post Graduate Diploma in Capital Market & Investment Analysis
Post Graduate Diploma in Finance & Control
Post Graduate Diploma in Management Accounting
Post Graduate Diploma in Banking & Finance
Post Graduate Diploma in Public Accounting
Diploma in Banking and finance (DBF) Eligibility: Accountancy and computer knowledge is essential.
Online course material provided and 24hrs online teachers available for guidance

Opportunities for Commerce Students

Some of the major industries in the commerce sector that a commerce student can aspire to enter are:

Banking - Retail / Personal Banking, Corporate Banking, Merchant Banking, Treasury Group, Rural Banking, Product Management, Loans Executive.
Accounts - Chartered Accountant, Cost And Work Accountant, Certified Financial Analyst, Certified financial planner.
Insurance - Actuarial Science, Insurance and Risk management, Insurance surveyor, Insurance surveyor, Insurance agent.
Investments - Equity Research Analyst, Investment Banker, Mutual fund executive, Stock Broker, Capital market manager, Forex Dealer, Venture Capitalist, Real estate.
Management - Human Resource Management, Brand Management, Event Management, International business management, Market Research Management, Retail Management, Marketing And Sales Management, Technology management, Disaster management, Education management, NGO management, Rural Management, Operation And Logistics Management, Export Management, Family business management, Material management, Financial Management, Business Development Management.
Company Secretary- Legal officer, company secretary.

Never Ending Options

B.Com graduates can also get into the post of Income Tax Officer in Income Tax Department of State/Central government. For that, they should qualify the Income Tax Officer's examination held by Staff Selection Commission. It is possible for them join as Accountant Executives, Cashier or Business Development Executive in Textile shops, Hospitals, Grocery shops, Jewellery shops etc.
They can also join BSNL, Indian Railways and various government departments as Account Officer. Probationary Officer and Office Assistant are the jobs which one can look for in banking sector. Other job profiles available for B.Com graduates are:

Account Assistant
Balance Sheet Reconciliator
Account Analyst
Accounting Coordinator
Accounting Clerk
Financial Consultant
Financial Auditor

About the blogger: Shruti is a Consultant at MyExamPlan.com. She can be reached at shruti@myexamplan.com

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Author: Shruti S