Academic Options After Graduation

Completing a three to four-year degree is commonly considered a pathway in one’s career journey. Initially, you choose a course based on your prior academic background or personal interests. However, norms within every industry are in constant flux. Not a single industry remains stagnant, particularly as we’ve entered the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

AI has fundamentally altered how people perceive the world. While a boon, its misapplication could potentially curse an industry. Such significant changes will undoubtedly impact the career paths you might consider. Seeking a career that endures over time is crucial, yet given the swift changes, altering your trajectory might be necessary. Even if you’ve obtained a bachelor’s degree in a specific field, newfound interests or the broader prospects in another field might prompt a change.

It’s essential not to succumb to the misconception that you must adhere to the area chosen during your earlier academic pursuits. You have the freedom to shift your field of interest if you feel inclined. Changing fields doesn’t entail abandoning all prior knowledge. Though starting anew in a different field may be required, your previous academic foundation remains invaluable.

After graduation, uncertainty often arises regarding the next steps. Many students grapple with whether to persist in the same field, transition to a new one, or take a hiatus from their academic journey. Students are on the lookout for academic options after graduation.

Taking a break from academia post-graduation is one potential option. This time can be utilized to seek employment and apply your theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios. Alternatively, you might opt to continue your education through various avenues.

A master’s degree:

Pursuing a master’s degree in your field offers a specialized understanding and advanced knowledge. It serves as a means to ascend the academic ladder and can lead to opportunities for career advancement and higher income. As per the reports, around 11.5% have enrolled in post graduate degrees. 

For example, if your bachelor’s degree is in English, you might pursue a master’s in English literature or creative writing, focusing on a particular specialization. Alternatively, you could opt for a master’s in a completely different field like communication, based on your evolving interests. 

Pursuing a master’s degree right after graduation is not on everyone’s list. Consider taking an academic break and after a comprehnesive understanding of the industry you can continue higher studies in your field of interest.  

An MBA degree:

Another popular choice post-graduation is an MBA (Master of Business Administration). You would be happy to know that India produces the second highest number of MBA graduates around the world. This degree is highly sought after and recognized, opening doors to high-ranking positions in national and multinational corporations.

An MBA graduate can often secure an initial package ranging from 6 to 8 lakhs per annum. The salary scale tends to increase based on the reputation of the institution offering the degree. Saughting an MBA degree from a reputed university is going to shape your dream career. 

Prominent personalities like, Raghuram Rajan (former Governor of Reserve Bank of India), Indira Nooyi (former CEO of PepsiCo), Anand Mahindra (Chairperson of Mahindra and Mahindra) are all MBA graduates from renowned institutions around the world. 

Professional courses:

Professional courses, also known as upskilling courses because they give you the opportunity to upskill and prepare you to apply your skills practically, have seen a boom of 200% from the past few years. 

After completing a degree based on theoretical knowledge you can consider working yourself around some professional courses that will help you to step into the practical fields of industry where you can implement what you have learned. 

Choosing professional courses over theory based degrees will help you develop skills that are essential in today’s era to work in different domains. You can search for courses that would make you a certified professional in a specific duration so you can directly apply for the job that recognises your skills. 

The top trending professional course as of this decade has been digital marketing and web development. There has been a hike of 11% of people enrolling for web development courses across India. Digital marketing stands at a very close pedestal of 8% along with Programming with python.

Web development is a field that has existed since the inception of websites. It has topped the list of people looking for vocational courses. Let’s put some light on what digital marketing is and why it is gaining so much popularity as a career aspect?

Digital marketing is a way of promoting the business through digital platforms like websites, mobile apps among others. Digital marketing involves advertising through digital tools provided by our electronic devices. Advertising is an essential step for businesses to ensure that consistent growth. With the advent of the internet, digital marketing has become a backbone for every industry. Digital marketing is an umbrella term.

If you are looking for career prospects in this industry you can have a look on various fields included in digital marketing like:

• Digital advertising: marketing is a vast term and advertising is its branch. Digital advertising helps a business to promote their products and services on digital platforms like their websites, social media apps and channels. Digital advertising is considered to be a more feasible option than traditional advertising. 
• Email marketing: Email marketing offers you to keep in constant contact with your customers who have subscribed to your website through emails. You promote your products and services by sending emails to your customers on a regular basis. Email marketing requires one to use specific tools made for this specific purpose. You can find a specialized course that would help you gain an edge in this field. 
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO refers to optimizing search results in search engines. SEO helps websites to increase their organic traffic. Not only SEO helps to improve the quantity of the website traffic but also helps to enhance its quality. Today, every website is looking to get a high rank on search engines. That is why they work with experts who can help them enhance their visibility on search engines. 
• Social media Management: Social media is an integral part of the marketing process. People have easy access to social media that is why businesses prefer to target their audience as intensively as they can on social media. Managing social media is one of the highly seeking career prospects among people seeking for better career opportunities. 

Beyond these digital marketing branches, you can explore additional fields. An extensive digital marketing course covers all aspects of the field, while specialized courses provide comprehensive exploration in specific areas. Academies and institutions provide online courses and in-hand classes for such extensive courses. 

Research and academia: 

In the field of, research and academia are two different words that belong to the same world. Research on one hand refers to exploring the existing knowledge and creating new learnings, validating existing theories or giving solutions to the existing problems. On the other hand academia refers to the education environment provided by universities, colleges and other academic institutions. It includes scholarly activities including teaching, conducting research, findings, mentoring students etc. 

The amalgamation of both research and academia represent the interconnectedness of knowledge creation, its dissemination and advancement of learning. Research and academia is a field that would never cease to exist. With the growing trend of development in various fields, a fully comprehensive research is necessary so as to make the application of theory accountable. 

Some students envision themselves working in academia, leading them to pursue academic degrees to engage in research.This path often leads to teaching careers in universities and colleges, while simultaneously conducting research. Additionally, opportunities exist to secure positions in the research teams of various organizations. These teams form the backbone of fields like medicine, where progress and application stem from extensive and intensive research. A career in research and academia offers a promising and bright future. 

Skill development:

Once you are out of college you would need skills to get your work done. A time where social media is ruling in every industry, you would need skills that would enhance your visibility to the people so you can get a kickstart in your career. 

Skill development courses like the ones in communication, leadership, public speaking, project management, etc will help you develop skills and you would get an edge over others when making a career in any industry. Such skills help you grow personally and give you the opportunity to outshine others. 

The structure of these courses varies based on the skills that are taught. They might include lectures, hands-on exercises, projects, simulations, or real-world applications to allow students to practice and apply what they’ve learned. The primary goal is to equip individuals with practical knowledge and abilities that can be directly used in their professional or personal lives. Different platforms include online forums, educational instituitions, vocational schools or specialised training centres offer such courses. 

Conclusion:

Your passion, strengths and long-term aspirations will help you make a decision in choosing an appropriate path after your graduation. You will be surrounded by various options which you can pursue after graduating, but before that it would be better to narrow down your options that interest you. Make sure to seek guidance from professionals before you decide to carry on with a specific option.