Career After BCom: Jobs, Salary, Courses

Sectors in which you can make a career after BCom are mostly related to banking and finance. In this article, Shiksha has listed down some of the top jobs and career options after BCom.

Career After BCom: What can I do after BCom, is one of the first questions that comes to the mind of BCom students. Choosing the right career after BCom is the key to a successful professional life. Students who are interested in making a career in the field of commerce and finance, must not rest after BCom. They should go ahead and pursue a postgraduate degree too. They can opt for either an academic degree (MCom) or a professional degree (MBA, CA, CS, CFA, etc.). 

BCom is one of the most popular undergraduate programmes in India as it offers a range of career options. After completing BCom, one can take the traditional path of Accounting jobs, Chartered Accountancy, Company Secretary, Bank-PO exams, etc. or opt for unconventional options such as financial risk management, investment banking etc. One can also choose to take up a teaching career after B.Com by pursuing a BEd and/or MCom. 

As Commerce is a vast field that includes Taxation, Finance, Accounting, Banking, Insurance, Wealth Creation, Auditing, Management, etc., one needs to know where their interest lies. In the article below, Shiksha brings the students who have pursued or are pursuing BCom, the career options that they can choose from after completing the degree. Read below to know more. 

Career After BCom

Some of you may need to take up a job immediately after BCom, whereas some will have the opportunity of higher studies after completing the course. So, when you are looking for the answer to ‘What after BCom?’ weigh your options and pay attention to the pros on cons. In this article, we will discuss some of the top career options after BCom, so that you get a fair idea of the scope after BCom.

Career After BCom: Sectors

The sectors in which you can make a career after BCom course are mostly related to Banking, Accounting and Finance. There are various career opportunities in Finance and Accounting domains of all industries as the finance department is one of the four pillars of any business organisation. Given below are the main sectors you can foray into after completing a BCom degree programme:

• Banking
• Finance
• Insurance
• Accounting
• Taxation
• Wealth Management
• Commerce
• Education
• Government Services

Courses After BCom

For a successful career after BCom, a majority of candidates opt for higher studies. In today’s world, merely having a graduation degree is not enough to get a good start to a career. One has to gain expertise in a field of their choice to ensure they get a good head-start. One can choose from several academic and professional courses to gain skills and expertise in the field. So when the question arises- 'What can we do after BCom', one of the answers could be opting for higher studies. Given below are some of the most preferred courses to opt for after BCom:

• Master of Commerce (MCom): One of the most popular courses after BCom is a Masters in Commerce or MCom. In this course, you get to further study subjects such as Accounting, Taxation, Business Studies, Statistics, Economics, Finance, International Business, etc. with greater insight. In an MCom course, you can choose specialisations such as Finance, Accounting, Economics, Taxation, Business Studies, Marketing, Management and Statistics.
• Bachelor of Education (BEd): If you are interested in taking up teaching as a career after BCom, you can pursue a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) to become a teacher at school. If you wish to become a professor, you can pursue an MCom and then go for PhD by clearing UGC-NET after completing a BCom course.
• Master of Business Administration (MBA):  For a career in the Finance sector, you can also opt for a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with Finance as a specialisation. After completing MBA in Finance, you can get managerial-level jobs in Finance, BFSI, FMCG, IT, Consulting and top corporations. Job opportunities after MBA in Finance include Finance Manager, Finance Consultant, Financial Analyst, Credit Risk Manager, Portfolio Manager and Treasury Manager.

Also Read:

• • All About MBA in Finance
  • MBA specialization guide
• Chartered Accountancy (CA): Chartered Accountancy is one of the most popular career options among commerce graduates. This professional course is open to candidates after Class 12 as well as graduation. Chartered Accountancy or CA is the practice of accounting, auditing, taxation, and financial assessment for an individual or organisation. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) awards professional certification to candidates who complete the CA course successfully to be eligible to practice professionally. As a professional, a Chartered Accountant takes care of financial matters of a business enterprise such as filing tax returns, auditing financial statements and business practices, maintaining records of investments, preparing and reviewing financial reports and documents, and offering advisory services to clients.
• Company Secretary (CS): Another popular career option after BCom is Company Secretary for which one has to complete a professionally recognised course. In India, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) regulate the profession of Company Secretaries. The ICSI provides training and education to aspiring Company Secretaries through a professional module that included three course levels. A Company Secretary, as a professional, takes care of the matters related to the company’s tax returns, and legal and statutory regulations, keeping records, advising the board of directors, and ensuring that the company complies with.

Also Read: ICSI CS Exam Details

• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA): A globally recognised designation Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), is a popular choice among commerce professionals. The CFA course is regulated by the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research). The candidates have to clear three levels of exams, which include assessment of the candidate viz. Accounting, Economics, Business Ethics, Money Management and Security Analysis. Upon successfully passing all the three levels, candidates are certified as financial analyst eligible to practice professionally.

Also Read: CFA exam 2024-25

• Business Accounting and Taxation (BAT): This course is a short-term professional course aimed at providing theoretical and practical knowledge of accounting and taxation to become industry-ready. The course is a good choice for BCom graduates who are working professionals and have work experience of a couple of years. The course curriculum includes Goods & Service Tax (GST), Direct Taxation, Payroll, Financial Reporting, Tally, Excel for Accounting & MIS, Finalisation of Financial Statements, Busy Software and SAP.
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA): This course is a certification awarded by the Institute of Management Accountants, which prepares the individual for a wide variety of roles in financial accounting and strategic management. The course plan includes a two-part exam on External Financial Reporting Decisions, Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting, Performance Management, Cost Management, Internal Controls, Technology and Analytics, Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Finance, Decision Analysis, Risk Management, Investment Decisions, Professional Ethics.
• Certified Public Accounting (CPA): A popular professional certification course, the CPA is all about financial statement audits, attestation services and financial planning. A licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is legally eligible to offer financial advice and audit services to the client to ensure the good financial health. CPA certification is provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to professionals who pass the exam which includes Auditing and Attestation, Business Environment and Concepts, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Regulation.
• Financial Risk Management (FRM): A globally recognised professional accreditation in the field of financial market. The certification is awarded by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) to professionals from the financial risk management sector. To gain FRM certification, professionals with minimum two years of work experience in financial risk management have to clear a two-part exam.

The course imparts skills and training in risk assessment for banks, accounting firms, regulatory agencies, insurance companies and asset management organisations.

Also Read: All About Risk Management

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA): If you are planning to take up Chartered Accountancy as a career you can also go for ACCA certification, which is a global professional accounting body. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or ACCA. The course is open for BCom graduates and professionals with a minimum three years of work experience. The participant has to clear multi-level exams and it takes up to three years to complete the certification on average. Skills learnt include Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Taxation, Performance Management, Audit & Assurance, Corporate & Business Law, Financial Reporting and Financial Management.
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP): Another popular professional certification in financial planning is Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., CFP designation is one of the toughest financial advisory courses. The certification programme includes stringent exams to test competency and ethical codes. A CFA is well-equipped to provide advisory services for planning finance for retirement, investment, education, insurance and taxes.
• Certificate in Investment Banking (CIB): A well-recognised global certification, CIB is one of the popular choices among banking professionals. The certification programme is designed to assess a banking professional's understanding of company valuation, mergers and acquisitions, LBOs, IPOs, restructurings, etc. If focuses on key areas of banking and finance such as Investment Banking Basics, Financial Statement Analysis, Asset Class Valuations including DCF, Corporate Actions and Restructuring, IPO, Listing and Fundraising, Mergers and Acquisitions, Transactions Analysis and Leverage Buyouts (LBO).

Also Read: All About Investment Banking

Scope After BCom

As discussed earlier, today there is a range of career options available after BCom. One doesn’t have to take the traditional path of pursuing an MCom or BEd after completing the course. One can immediately start working as a junior accountant, finance executive and sales executive, etc. Alternatively, they can opt for professional courses such as MBA, CA, CS, CFA, CMA, CFP, FRM, etc. to venture into a specified field of finance and investment. Given below is the after BCom job list or popular career options after BCom in India:

Source: ambitionbox.com

Competitive Exams After BCom

Another popular option in India for a career after BCom is jobs in government organisations and nationalized banks through competitive exams. Some of the popular competitive exams after BCom are listed below:

• RBI Grade B Officer
• SBI PO
• SBI Clerk
• IBPS Clerk
• IBPS PO
• LIC AAO
• UPSC CSE | IAS Exam
• SSC CGL exam
• RRB NTPC

Check: List of Government Exams