6 Viable Career Options for Humanities Students in India

Priya is pursuing her undergrad in Law and Business Administration. She loves translated books, world cinema and French chic.

I assume that you are here because you have opted for humanities in class 11. And also because you aren’t quite sure what you want to do after you complete your boards.

Well, guess what? You aren’t alone. There are millions of students who haven’t decided what they’ll do, what they’re going to be, or what they want to be. So today, this article is going to discuss career options specifically for humanities students.

Career Fields and Degree Options for Humanities Students

1. Hotel Management
2. Law
3. Civil Service
4. Mass Communication
5. Bachelor of Business Administration
6. Teaching

1. Hotel Management

Hotel Management is a professional course with a lucrative job market—well, lucrative depending on the state economy like any other job. Consider this: With the boom in the hospitality sector in India, there are plenty of hotels coming up which will require candidates with professional degrees. There are multiple job profiles in hotel management offering a number of areas where you can specialize, including Food Production, Quality Improvement, Front Office Management, Housekeeping, etc.

This is where you can step in, if you are interested.

Colleges

There are a number of good institutions in India offering Bachelor’s degree in hospitality management.

(a) Institute of Hotel Management, Delhi

(b) Institute of Hotel Management, Bangalore

(c) Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai

There are about 21 IHMs in India; all supported by the Central Government and a number of other State and private universities. However, if you are looking beyond India, then the best hotel management courses are provided by the following schools:

(a) Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland

(b) Cornell University, United States of America

(c) Hotel School Vatel, France

(d) Cesar Ritz Colleges, Switzerland

Entrance Exam

The most popular entrance exam is the NCHMCT JEE through which students can secure admissions in 21 Central Institutes of Hotel Management, 19 States Institutes of Hotel Management and 13 private Institutes of Hotel Management.

The exam allows students a duration of three hours and tests them on five subjects. The mark distribution for each subject is given below. Each correct answer carries 1 mark, and for every incorrect answer, there is deduction of 0.25.

2. Law

Law School can be grueling, but isn’t every other subject? Another professional course, graduating from a good law school can open up plenty of job offers in a number of firms and companies. But once you get in, you better be committed to work really long hours under extreme pressure. Private firms offer fat pay checks while government jobs –not so much but then you get what’s most important in a job: security.

Law School in India after class 12 is for a span of 5 years, with 10 semesters, and in the final year, you can specialize in any of the subjects which include corporate law, business law, international law, human rights, and so on.

Colleges

India boasts some of the best law schools in the East.

(a) National law School of India, University of Bangalore (NLSIU)

(b) National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NLSAR)

(c) National Law University, Delhi

There are 17 NLUs providing both graduate and post graduate courses. And besides these, there are other equally good private colleges.

Entrance Exam

CLAT is the toughest entrance exam for law aspirants. It is an online exam of 200 marks which need to be solves within 200 minutes. CLAT can help students secure seats in the 17 prestigious NLUs excluding Delhi (For which a separate exam is held.)

Similar to NCHMCT, CLAT awards 1 mark for each correct answer and deducts 0.25 for every incorrect answer. The mark distribution is given below:

3. Civil Service

Getting a bachelor’s degree in a core subject like Political Science of English can boost the chances of cracking the UPSE exams. The most prestigious and powerful jobs in the country are held by those lucky and hardworking candidates who can manage to crack these exams. You can, however, sit for UPSE exams after getting a Bachelor’s degree in any course, be it, in law, or engineering or mass communication.

These exams are so difficult that it is rare for a person to crack it in his/her first attempt. For this, you need rigorous amount of hard work and sheer determination. But once you get in, you can be assured of a lifetime of perks and job security provided you do not engage in any shady business and get suspended.

4. Mass Communication

The job prospects in Mass Communication are huge, ranging from journalism to public relations, and from editing to filmmaking. Plus the job market seems equally huge with the boom in technology and media. Think well before enrolling in mass com. You will need extensive language skills and creativity in expressing yourself. And also, a lot of patience, as in this stream, you will have to work for a long time before making it to the top.

Colleges

Some of the best colleges offering this course in India are:

(a) Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune

(b) AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi

(c) Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi

Looking beyond India, we have:

(a) University of Central Florida, USA

(b) Kaplan Higher Education Academy, Singapore

(c) University of South Carolina, USA

Entrance Exam

There are a number of entrance exams for enrolling in the under grad mass communication program and are conducted separately by different colleges. Some of the popular ones are:

• Symbiosis institute of Mass Communication Entrance Exam
• Xavier Institute of Communications Entrance Exam
• Jamia Milia Islamia Entrance Exam
• Manipal Institute of Communication Entrance Exam

5. Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA)

No, this is not B-Com, and Humanities students can apply for a BBA. To increase your market value, it is always suggested to follow this up with an MBA degree. Nevertheless, this is a stepping stone into the business world. A BBA degree can get you into a number of entry-level jobs in sales and marketing departments, HR, finance, etc., in the corporate sector.

The course is for 3 years in India, and students will learn about communications, quantitative reasoning and business analysis skills.

Colleges

The top BBA colleges include:

(a) Christ University, Bangalore

(b) Shaheed Sukdev College of Business Studies, New Delhi

(c) Amity University

And if you are interested in pursuing this degree abroad, then the best B-schools will be:

(a) University of Melbourne, Australia

(b) Harvard University, USA

(c) McGill University, Canada

6. Teaching

Undergraduate Study + Graduate Study + Ph.D. = Professor

Becoming a professor is not as easy as everyone seems to think. Firstly, you have to have the requisite degrees from renowned colleges with good grades, and secondly, you will have to have to patience to wait out until your seniors retire. The problem with becoming a professor is that there needs to be vacancies for which you might have to stick around for a long time working as an assistant professor or researcher. The advantages however outweigh everything. Expect a hefty salary; look forward to lots of holidays – something which no other job seems to have – and of course, the opportunity to meet a lot of new people.

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

© 2016 Priya Barua

Comments

David John on March 30, 2019:

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