UG Admissions 2014: Course options for commerce students

There was a time when commerce meant only completing graduation i.e. BCom and starting a career as an accounts executive and retiring as an accounts manager. Those who could think beyond the cliché, thought of becoming a CA. Normally, such students thought of joining ICWA (also known as cost and management accounting), CS, CPA, CFA etc. But now, beyond these courses they have multiple career options from hospitality to interior design and fashion design, specialised degree in insurance and financial management to even jobs in the public sector.

However, here my suggestion is that, first of all students should think about their aptitude and interest and then they should get an assessment done, such as, Harrison Test which tells about your suitability for your preferred career choice. In this article, I am highlighting few of the non-traditional courses one can pursue in the commerce stream.

Career in Computer Applications/ IT sector

Courses to pursue: BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications)/BCS (Bachelor of Computer Science)/ B.Sc. IT / B.Sc. (Computer Science), B.Sc. (IT hardware and networking), B.Sc. (multimedia and animation)

Computer science and applications are now not just open for science students only. If after studying for two years in the commerce stream, you feel that you do not want to make a career in commerce then you may think of pursuing this course.

Scope: After completing BCA/BCS and B.Sc. IT/ CS (do not get confused as all these courses are almost the same; the syllabus differs slightly from institute to institute), candidates can pursue a career as a software developer, web designer, technical support, networking engineer, IT engineer etc.

Course fee: It ranges from Rs 20,000 per year to Rs 60,000 per year

Institutes:

There are many. You may choose the institutes from your hometown, from a location where you are comfortable. Few of the lists are:

• K J Somaiya College, Vidyavihar, Mumbai
• Symbiosis International University, Pune
• Mulund College of Commerce, Mumbai
• NMIMS, Mumbai
• Thapar University, Punjab
• VIT, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
• BIT, Mesra, Ranchi
• BITS, Pilani

Course combination of business and law (BBA LLB)

Law is no more just about presenting court cases. Today, law profession in itself is multi-dimensional. You can become a commercial lawyer, business lawyer, immigration lawyer and taxation lawyer. Multi-national Corporations (MNCs) in India have a huge demand for business lawyers who have a business degree (BBA) as well as a law degree. They provide strategic advisory to the management including compliance and preventive measures, drafting contracts to safeguarding the organisation’s interest.

Some of the good institutes offering 5 years BBA LLB are:

• Symbiosis Law College, Symbiosis International University, Pune
• National Law University, Odisha
• Christ University, Bangalore
• Guru Gobindsingh Indraprastha University, Delhi
• Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak
• Karnataka State Law University, Karnataka
• Ambedkar Law College, Andhra Pradesh

If you are looking for a degree abroad you may like to consider:

• National University of Singapore
• Hong Kong University
• Various universities in UK

Admission process: Through entrance examinations, please check respective institute’s website.

Fee: Rs 17,000 to Rs 75,000 per year (may vary from institute to institute)

Salary: If you are from a top law school, then even as a fresher you can get a starting salary of Rs 30,000 per month. Again it depends on the type of field and specialisation you choose.

Career in business management

After your 10+2, you may pursue a three years business degree or a five years integrated BBA + MBA. Institutes under University of Mumbai offer it as BMS (Bachelor of Management Studies), whereas, various institutes in North and South India offer it as BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration). Few institutes also offer courses called as BBS (Bachelor of Business Studies) and BBE (Bachelor of Business Economics). After completing your graduation, you have the option to start your career as an executive/ assistant in marketing, public relations, supply chain, sales, corporate relationship, relationship executive and so on.

Fee: IIMs charge Rs 3 lakhs per annum while the fee for VIT is around Rs 65,000 per annum for 5 years integrated MBA. For BMS, the course fee is around Rs 17,000 per annum.

Salary: A BMS/ BBA graduate may get a starting salary of around 10,000 t0 13,000 per month. If you have done it from a reputed institute like Symbiosis, NMIMS and S P Jain you may expect starting salary of Rs 30,000 to Rs 70,000 per month depending on various factors.

Popular institutes

• S P Jain Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
• Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, Pune
• St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
• Jai Hind College, Mumbai
• Flame School of Liberal Education, Pune
• G D Goenka University, Gurgaon
• Bharti Vidyapeeth, Pune, Navi Mumbai and Delhi
• Christ University, Bangalore
• Punjab University, Chandigarh
• Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda
• Guru Gobindsingh Indraprastha University, Delhi

Career as a CA/ CMA

You may pursue Chartered Accountancy (CA) or ICWAI. ICWAI is also known as CMA (Cost and Management Accounting).

It is true that this is one of the toughest courses to pursue in India with its pass percentage being around 3%. But it has its merits too. These days, many universities such as IGNOU as well as University of Madras offer specialised courses such as BCom for ICAI, CA and also for ICWAI.

To pursue these courses, right after your 10+2 you need to enroll at IPCC of CA and Foundation programme of ICWA. After completion of this first level, you need to undergo a three-year articleship, after which you need to complete PE- I and PE-II as well as executive level of CMA.

Fee: If you pursue these courses on self-study basis then the cost incurred by you can range within Rs 50,000.

Salary: If you are a rank holder in CA, you can fetch a salary between Rs 6 lakhs to Rs 18 lakhs per year, initially. If you clear CA in your first attempt, then you can expect your salary to be at least Rs 6 lakhs per year, as of today. As a CMA also you can earn a salary similar to this.

Career as a Company Secretary

To pursue such a career option, students need to pursue a Company Secretary course. The best institute in India to pursue such a course is ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India). The job profile is as good as a CA or CMA, however, they work on the compliance aspect which is an integral part of any listed company with a turn-over of Rs 5 crore or more.

Salary: One can expect a minimum salary of Rs 5 lakhs per annum as of today after completing CS. You may start the course right after 10+2.

Career in Fashion Design/ Interior Design

Another lucrative field that students from the commerce stream can pursue is a career in designing. Students can pursue a BSc in Fashion Design, BSc in Textile Design, BSc in Interior design etc from institutes like NIFT, NID etc.

Career in Hotel Management and Hospitality Management

Those who are interested in hospitality sector may opt for Hospital Management (Diploma or Bachelors, for which admission usually happens through a CET), BA in Hospitality Management, BBA in Aviation Management, and Bachelor of tourism studies.

Upon completion, one can find a lucrative job in the hospitality sector such as 5-star hotels, airline industry and those organisations providing tourism related job.

Popular institutes

• Thakur College of Aviation, Mumbai
• Emirates Aviation University, UAE
• Bharthiar University, Tamil Nadu
• Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology Goa
• Manipal University, Manipal
• Christ University, Bangalore
• GD Goenka University, Gurgaon
• Garden City College, Bangalore
• Institute of Hotel Management Delhi
• Delhi Institute of Hotel Management, Delhi

Other options

Other than the traditional courses, many universities now offer speacialised courses for commerce students. These courses are:

• BCom Banking & Insurance or Bachelor of Banking & Insurance
• BCom Financial services or Bachelor of Financial Services
• BCom Accounts & Finance
• Bachelor of Corporate Secretaryship
• Bachelor of Marketing Management
• Bachelor of Mass Media

Each of these courses are known to have a huge demand in their respective market. If you complete Bachelor of Banking & Insurance, you may start your career with the banking and insurance industry in sales, product management, relationship management where demand for qualified graduates is huge and starting salary is around Rs 10,000 per month. If you complete Bachelor of Mass Media, you have an option to start your career as Public Relations Executive/ Officer, executive external communication, marketing executive, public liasoning officer, copy writer, marketing executive and in journalism, TV and production houses on various roles and so on. The career is challenging as well as rewarding. The course fee is between Rs 15,000 to Rs 70,000 depending on the institute you choose.

List of institutes

For BBI/ BAF/ BFI/ BMM/ BJMC (Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication)

• St Xavier’s College, Mumbai
• Jai Hind College, Mumbai
• Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi
• Sophia College, Mumbai
• Don Bosco College, Goa
• H R College, Mumbai
• Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Symbiosis International University, Pune
• Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
• Ramnarayan Ruia College, Mumbai
• Indraprastha College for Women, New Delhi
• Manipal Institute for Communication, Manipal
• Kamala Nehru College for Women, New Delhi
• SIES college of arts, Commerce and Science, Mumbai
• K J Somaiya College, Mumbai
• Mulund College of Commerce, Mumbai
• K C College, Mumbai
• St. Andrew’s College, Mumbai
• Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, New Delhi

These are just few of the options. There are multiple other courses and career options available.

For full list of institutes and courses, you may visit various options and list of the institutes mentioned on shiksha.com. You could go through related questions and answers on Shiksha Café and also get your own queries answered.

A word of caution

There are many private institutes, universities and courses. Each one of them claims to be the best through advertisements, which may not be true. You should always check the following points before taking admission:

• Reputation of the institute
• Whether the institute has approvals from bodies like Bar Council of India, National Council for Teacher’s education and so on
• Check the past placement track record of the institute including lowest salary offered in the past, average salary and highest salary offered
• You should check the course fee v/s the placement and time taken on return on investment. Any institute should not take more than six months for return on investment. For instance, your total course fee is Rs 3 lakhs, your monthly salary should be 1 lakh otherwise such an institute for undergraduate studies are not worth.

All the best!

About the author:

Govind Sharma is a HR professional with over 10 years of experience in career planning, guidance and management.He is a leading Shiksha Counsellor.