Editorial

Worthful career options: After 12th commerce

Commerce is a stream that caters to almost all types of aptitudes and skills.

Sentinel Digital Desk

Commerce is a stream that caters to almost all types of aptitudes and skills. If you are a business-oriented person, you can pick a career after commerce, irrespective of your aptitude in mathematics. A lot of students worry about their career options after 12th grade, but the truth is that if you have the right skills and aptitude, you can earn well in any line of business-oriented work you pick up. Commerce is taking the world by storm, and that’s because we are in the era of start-ups and entrepreneurship. Thanks to social media, small businesses are also coming to fruition, which increases the need for commerce graduates and commerce career options even more.

As a commerce student, you develop a great eye for detail, creativity, problem-solving skills, and communication skills. If you see your skill set matching the skills mentioned above or wish to develop them, you must consider the following career options after commerce:

Chartered accountant

Chartered Accountancy is one of the most popular commerce career options after 12. A CA is an accountant who has received certification from a statutory body, deeming them qualified to take charge of the accounting and tax-related matters of a company, such as tax returns, audits of financial statements and business practises, and record keeping.

There are three phases you must successfully go through to become a CA. First, this involves a foundation course that you can take after the 12th. If you complete your graduation, you don’t have to appear for the foundation course. Then comes the intermediate level. Once you clear the intermediate level, you become eligible for CA internships. After interning for 2 to 2.5 years, you become eligible to take the final exam and become a CA. Becoming a CA is a five-year journey that you must commit to.

Eligibility: 10+2, CA foundation, CA intermediate, and CA final.

Salary: Rs 10,000–Rs 1,50,000 per month, approx.

Risk management analyst

To be an avid risk management analyst, you must have good supervision, observation, research, and coordination skills. In such career options after commerce, risk managers ensure that their client or company is not compromising in terms of regulation and the operation of human and monetary resources. And if a company is at risk, they hire a risk management analyst to find a way to counter the situation.

If you are prevention-oriented and always ready with a contingency plan, then this is one of the best career opportunities after 12th grade for students. After graduation, you can start with entry-level jobs like insurance risk surveyors, data analysts,financiall risk analysts, and many others and work your way up to risk management analyst.

Eligibility: UG in mathematics and commerce-related courses

Salary: Rs 30,000–Rs 1,00,000 per month, approx.

Personal financial advisor

Commerce career options, such as being a financial advisor, make you responsible for suggesting the best possible solutions for your employer regarding investments, taxes, insurance, stocks, money management, and achieving their financial goals. If you have an analytical mind, excellent problem-solving skills, and feel good about guiding others, this can be one of the best career options after commerce.

Some organisations do not ask for a specific certification in the field, but you should consider undergoing a certified course in such commerce career options to have the edge over others. Again, you can look up FINRA, SEBI, and the like to learn about these certifications.

Eligibility: UG Course in Mathematics, Economics, or Finance

Salary: Rs 30,000–Rs 1,50,000 per month, approx.

Investment banker

Investment bankers are financial advisors to businesses and, in some cases, governments. In such career options for commerce students, you help clients raise funds. This means issuing shares, issuing bonds, negotiating the acquisition of a rival business, or arranging the sale of the business itself.

To pursue such career options after commerce, you must be highly detail-oriented, well-versed with MS Office, a good team player, and open to taking directions efficiently. Above all, you must be able to give in an extensive amount of time (approximately more than 80 hours a week).

You can consider doing an MBA or CA since these are preferred qualifications in investment banking but not necessary for a career in commerce after 12th grade. As a graduate looking for career options for commerce students, you can join an entry-level job like a data analyst and work your way up.

Eligibility: UG course in any field (minimum percentage required: 50 percent), entrance exams

Salary: Rs 40,000–Rs 6,50,000 per month, approx.

Actuary

Actuaries are business professionals responsible for managing financial risks to help protect the organisation’s plans and defend against losses. In such commerce career options, you will use statistical techniques and mathematical skills to help companies and clients formulate policies to minimise risk and costs.

For such career options after commerce, you need specialised mathematical knowledge, project management skills, and problem-solving skills. Interpersonal communication and computer skills, such as developing spreadsheets, database operations data, and programming languages, are necessary for these types of career options for commerce students.

Becoming an actuary will require you to obtain a bachelor’s degree to get started. Many institutions offer courses in actuarial science, but you can also study courses in business, mathematics, or economics.

Eligibility: UG Course with a mathematical subject.

Pay bracket (per month): Rs 28,000–Rs 4,00,000 approx.

Digital marketer

As a digital marketing professional, you will have to create and upload images from your organization’s website, write and deliver a marketing campaign by email, and accurately analyse the customer reports. Beyond this, such career options after commerce require you to use quantitative analysis to identify weaknesses in the advertising or branding of the organization and find ways to improve performance in social and marketing channels.

As a digital marketer, you can try out various job profiles while staying within your arena. You can look for jobs that involve SEO management, content marketing specialisation, social media management, etc. For such commerce career options, you must also be well-versedinh the current societal trends and norms of the target population so that you can effectively reach them.

Eligibility: UG Course with any subject.

Salary (per month): Rs 18,000–Rs 60,000, approx.

Career options after 12th grade are promising, but it is really important to have a clear vision and set of goals. For all career options after commerce, there are graduate and postgraduate courses available that bigger companies will be more attracted to. Therefore, all your efforts should be guided in a direction where you can see yourself becoming successful not just in terms of position or salary but in terms of well-being as well. The average salary of a personal financial advisor is Rs 18,000 to Rs 60,000 per month.