Graduation time for students is highly stressful. There is always the question of what one should do after a B.Com degree. Should one go for higher education, a professional course, or start working and earn some work experience beforehand. B.Com students have a major advantage here, as they are eligible for many career options.

Institutes such as BEST offer both B.Com degrees and postgraduate course options. Students here can also explore other career options like how to enroll in and complete a Chartered Accountancy or a Company Secretary course.

Described below are seven alternatives a B.Com student is eligible for.

Career Choices After B.Com

Master of Commerce: The first and foremost choice for students with a B.Com degree is a Master of Commerce. The M.Com degree is an extension of the B.Com course and covers advanced topics of the same subjects. A general M.Com syllabus has subjects in Business Management, Economics, Taxation, Accounting, etc. M.Com degree holders either go into the education sector or work in BFSI or related finance organizations. For the former, however, one must have a B.Ed degree along with a national level test score. Commerce colleges in Bangalore conduct merit-based admissions of the bachelor’s level aggregate score or university level entrance test score.

Master of Business Administration: The Master of Business Administration course is a popular choice for postgraduate studies across all bachelor’s degrees. It is a management degree concentrating on teaching business and management skills and training students to work in management-level positions. MBA courses offer multiple concentrations such as Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Operations, International Business, etc. MBA is offered through both full-time in-class teaching and distance mode. The admission process for both course types is through entrance examinations. National, state or university level tests also take place. Some popular written tests are CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, KMAT, TS ICET, SNAP etc. After qualifying for the test, universities invite the applicants for group discussions with other applicants and personal interviews with the department head.

Chartered Accountancy: There are several professional courses after a B.Com degree that can lead to a promising career such as the Chartered Accountant course. The course award a certificate that enables candidates to work as a Chartered Accountant in firms or one can also work independently. CA course concentrates on teaching Accountancy, Taxation and other core Finance subjects. The Chartered Accountancy is one such course that is completed in three stages. At the end of each level, there is an examination to complete. There is also a compulsory internship of 2.5 years to complete. Unlike other postgraduate courses, the CA course does not require the applicants to have a bachelor’s degree for the Foundation course. For the intermediate and final stages, a bachelor’s degree and/or work experience of 2.5 years minimum is necessary. Most Chartered Accountants in India earn around INR 8,04,821 LPA.

Company Secretary: Offered by the Institute of Company Secretaries in India or ICSI, the Company Secretary course is another popular choice for B.Com students. This course will allow candidates to work in a senior position in companies handling various duties such as strategising, taking care of legal work, tax returns etc. The Company Secretary also ensures that all legal requirements are being met and done by the company. Like the CA course, CS also has three levels which are, Foundation, Executive and Professional. There is also a mandatory training period that students have to undergo, before being awarded a completion certificate. Company Secretaries, on average, have annual salaries of INR 6,96,265 LPA.

Certified Public Accounting: Many business school in Bangalore also have their students applying to work as Chartered Public Accountants or CPAs. The CPA is a designation awarded to students through rigorous training in auditing financial statements and financial analysis. CPAs are also able to work with clients and organizations where they make recommendations to improve their financial health through proper investments. They could also work with individuals on their taxes and financial planning. CPA is awarded by The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in India. The course has a total of four examinations that are done over 12 to 18 months. This globally recognized certification enables candidates to work individually or with organizations full-time. The average salary for CPAs, as per online reports, is INR 6,96,478 LPA.

Chartered Financial Analyst: The Chartered Financial Analyst program awards students who complete the course of CFA. It is a course meant to train candidates to work as Financial Analysts. Some subjects that are covered by the CFA course are Economics, Statistics, Derivatives, Portfolio Management, Alternative Investments etc. The course has three examinations that are to be done over 2.5 years. To enrol on this course, one must have prior work experience, in Financial Analysis. This is an intensive course and only a handful of individuals are able to successfully earn the charter of a Chartered Financial Analyst. CFAs are able to work in major companies like Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, RBC, JP Morgan etc. The average salary for a CFA is INR 6,80,834.

Bachelor of Education: Many B.Com students choose to go for the education industry to teach the future generation of children. In India, one must have a Bachelor of Education degree to teach in Government schools and some private schools as well. To teach at the university level, one must also have a master’s degree and/or a written test score. The B.Ed degree is a two-year long programme for bachelor’s degree holders. One can gain merit-based admissions but some institutes do have entrance examinations for admission. The B.Ed degree can also be completed in distance mode as well.

Competitive Examinations After B.Com

Government jobs are reputed to be secure with high salary graphs. In India, to work in any Government department, individuals need to apply for and attempt a national level written examination. These examinations are highly competitive, require much practice and there are also multiple rounds including personal interviews and medical tests for some exams. Stated below are some such competitive exams, interested individuals can look into.

  • UPSC Civil Services Examination
  • SSC Staff Selection Examination
  • National Defence Academy Examination
  • Indian Economic Service Examination
  • Combined Defence Services Examination
  • Food Corporation of India Examination

As evident from the choices stated above, students from B.Com colleges in Bangalore and India have many options after graduation. Not only are there higher education options like MBA and M.Com but also professional courses like CA and CS. It is advised to opt for an option that is based on interests as it will lead to assured career sustainability.