Top 22 Professional Courses For All Streams

Let’s start by making one thing very clear; being clueless about what to do after the 12th standard is absolutely fine. You’re not left behind, you’re not missing out, you’re just taking your time. With that said, it’s high time you start thinking about your career and future. One way is to enrol for a professional course. Professional courses allow you to learn industry-specific and in-demand skills that can help you fruitfully compete in the job market. 

But, which professional course to choose? Let’s see! Below we’ve listed out 22 professional courses for all streams that you can do after the 12th standard no matter from which stream you are! Let’s dive right in! 

How to Select the Right Professional Course in India? 

  • Know Your Interest 

Is it designing that you like? Or do you like finance and accounting? It’s better to know your likes and dislikes when it comes to selecting the right professional course. 

  • Research the Options Available 

Knowing the options available is important so that you make the best choice. 

  • Consult a Career Counsellor

Even after all the research, if you’re unable to decide which course to choose from, try consulting a career counsellor. A good career counsellor will help you navigate through the career options and select the best option for you! 

Professional Courses in Finance After Bcom

1.1 Investment Banking Course  

Eligibility Criteria: Graduation

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average an investment banker earns a starting salary of 4.5 LPA in India. 

An investment banker is one who acts as a financial advisor to companies. They help in raising capital for their concerned company. For this, excellent interpersonal skills and analytical skills are a must! You can become an investment banker in India right after graduation. You can do either BBA in Finance, BAF or even a simple BCom in Accountancy and Finance. Later on, you can pursue a course in Investment banking, like the one offered by IMS Proschool. 

IMS Proschools’ course in Investment Banking and Capital Markets is a comprehensive course designed to equip students with the necessary skills required to pursue investment banking as a vocation. The best part is it comes with an added option to earn a PGCM certificate of AICTE. 

1.2 Financial Modelling

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a financial modelling analyst earns 5.0 LPA in India. 

Financial modelling involves analysing and summarising a company’s revenue and expenditure in the form of spreadsheets. These can be later referred to by financial analysts for future prediction. If you’re good with numbers and have excellent Excel skills, you should definitely go for this course. 

For those interested in pursuing a financial modelling course, check out IMS Proschool’s course on Financial Modelling

1.3 CFP

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a certified financial planner earns 3.5 LPA  in India.

If you aspire to become a financial advisor, Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is the right course for you! There is immense scope for financial planning in India. The course ranges between 6 months to 2 years and covers subjects such as financial planning, tax and estate planning, risk analysis and investment planning among others. It is designed to equip you with sophisticated technologies to help you develop robust financial planning frameworks. 

If this sounds interesting to you, check out IMS Proschool’s CFP Course. Upon successful completion of the course, you can expect a bright career as a financial planner. 

1.4 Option Trading

Eligibility Criteria: Minimum  qualification to enrol in an options trading course is usually 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average an option trader earns 4.5 LPA in India. 

If you’re intrigued by the wonders of the stock market, this basics of option trading and option trading strategies course is for you! 

Option trading courses are designed to give you practical exposure to how option trading is done on various platforms. In fact, IMS Proschool offers a course on options trading too. Being a flexible course, students can learn options trading while being in college and learn to generate a separate source of income. If this sounds intriguing to you, don’t forget to check out IMS Proschool’s Options Trading course. 

1.5 CFA

Eligibility Criteria: Graduation or 4 years of experience in this field. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a CFA earns 4.0 LPA in India. 

If you aspire to step into fields such as Investment Banking, Portfolio Management, Corporate Finance, etc enrolling in a CFA course will be extremely beneficial. 

IMS Proschool’s CFA course is enriched with expert faculty, interactive sessions, and flip learning pedagogy. It’s committed to helping you clear the levels of examination and offers placement support after completing level 1. Sounds interesting? Check out Proschool’s CFA course. 

Professional Courses in Accounts 

There are many other professional courses for commerce students. Below is the list:

2.1 CA

Eligibility Criteria: Candidates appearing for the CA examination must have a minimum qualification of 10+2. However, graduation is an added bonus. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a chartered accountant earns 6.5 LPA in India. 

CA is perhaps the most conventional field that every commerce student knows of. However, it’s important to note that clearing the CA examination is a hard nut to crack which makes the profession well-paid and reputed. If you’re committed to being a CA, you should definitely go for it! 

2.2 ACCA

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2 or undergraduate/postgraduate degree in commerce/finance. 

Salary Overview: As per Glassdoor, on average an ACCA-certified professional earns around 5.7 LPA in India. 

If you aspire to make a career in accounts, finance, and auditing, ACCA could be a stepping stone for you! 

As opposed to the traditional CA which allows you to work anywhere within India, ACCA is a globally recognised certificate that can enhance the scope of your career. 

IMS Proschool’s ACCA course is available for both undergraduates and graduates. With a comprehensive syllabus, expert faculty and active learning experience, the GPA course equips you for clearing the ACCA exam. 

2.3 CPA

Eligibility Criteria: Graduation and above

Salary Overview: As per PayScale, on average a CPA earns 6.8 LPA in India. 

If you aspire to work as a certified public accountant abroad, especially in America, clearing CPA is a must! 

CPA is considered to be the highest competent accountancy exam in the world. Thus, clearing it is tough though not impossible. Upon clearing the certification, candidates can work in a wide area of accounting, such as Internal and External Auditing, Financial Planning and Consulting, etc. 

2.4 IFRS

Eligibility Criteria: 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a financial reporting analyst earns 6.5 LPA in India. 

Professionals skilled in IFRS are required in almost every top firm for making their financial statements consistent with the International Financial Reporting Standards. A career in this field offers immense scope for growth and development. 

If it sounds interesting to you, check out Proschool’s IFRS course. Apart from an excellent learning experience, the course is designed to the needs of both CAs and Non-CAs. 

Professional Courses in Marketing

3.1 Digital Marketing

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2 or Graduation

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a digital marketing manager earns 6.5 LPA in India. 

If you’re a social bee and amazed by the wonders of digital marketing, this course is for you! 

Digital marketing is not just the trend of today but with large-scale digitalisation, it’s safe to say that it’s here to stay. Being a comprehensive field, it gives immense scope to people to grow and excel in their careers. 

It is a broad field that encompasses SEO skills, SMM, Influencer Marketing, PPC, and more. These are some highest paying digital marketing skills. Once you get a preliminary idea of these, you’ll come to know your interest lies in which field and then you can master that! 

What other way of learning digital marketing is better than enrolling on IMS Proschool’s Digital Marketing Course? Don’t believe us? Let’s see! 

IMS Proschool offers a dynamic learning experience with expert faculty, real-life case studies, and learning by application. Moreover, it offers both a basic certification course for beginners as well as a comprehensive 3 months course for getting an in-depth understanding of concepts. The best part, with the active placement support of Proschool,  your chances of getting a job are high! 

Professional Courses in IT & Analytics

If you’re a science, maths, and technology geek, the following courses are for you! 

4.1 Business Analytics

Eligibility: 10+2 is a basic requirement. However, you can do it at any point in your career. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a business analyst earns 6.6 LPA in India. 

With the abundance of data available to businesses, the demand for professionals who have business analyst skills, i.e. they can process this data and offer viable insights for the growth of business is ever-increasing. Thus, business analytics is one of the profitable and growth-oriented careers. 

Proschool offers business analytics course that provides hands-on training on Python, SQL and data visualisation. It also comes with placement assistance. 

4.2 Data Science

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2 is the minimum requirement. However, graduates and postgraduates can also pursue this course. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a data scientist earns 9.2 LPA in India. 

If you have an interest in research, programming, mathematics and computers, a career in data science would be extremely fulfilling for you! 

Data scientists are required in employing sophisticated machine learning algorithms to organise data and create prediction models. If this sounds intriguing to you, you should definitely pursue a course in data science.

If you already have a preliminary understanding of data science and want to level up your career, check out Proschool’s PG in Data Science Course

4.3 Cybersecurity

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2 is the minimum qualification. However, graduates and postgraduates can also pursue it. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a cybersecurity expert earns 5.0 LPA in India. 

Instances of data phishing, malware, and illegal data selling have become a common phenomenon of the day. If these concern you and you’re interested in creating systems that can prevent the same, a course in cybersecurity is for you! 

With the government of India passing the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, the demand for cybersecurity experts is expected to grow further in the country. 

If you’re a graduate with excellent mathematics skills and looking forward to building a career in the cybersecurity domain, check out Proschool’s Post Graduate in Cyber Security (PGCS)

4.4 Financial Analytics

Eligibility Criteria: 10+2. However, graduates and postgraduates can also pursue a course in financial analytics. 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a Financial Analyst earns 4.0 LPA in India. 

If you have an interest in accounts and finance, this course is for you! 

Financial analysts are required in every firm to process the company’s financial data and offer insights into the performance of the business. They help in developing alternate models to help a business achieve its financial goals. If this sounds intriguing to you, you should definitely go for this course. 

If you’re a graduate willing to step into this field, PG in Financial Analytics by IMS Proschool could be your stepping stone!

Professional Courses in Arts

If you’ve completed your 12th standard with Arts/Humanities, the following are the professional courses after 12th for art students. 

5.1 Bachelor of Journalism & Mass Communication

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a journalist earns 3.0 LPA in India. 

A bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication will acquaint you with the fundamentals of mass media communication, media concerns, media research, and many more. After completing BJMC, you can become a news correspondent, reporter, editor, sub-editor, creative director, copywriter, etc. 

5.2 Bachelor of Fashion Design

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a fashion designer earns 3.3 LPA in India. 

If you have artistic abilities and love the world of fashion, this course is for you! 

A Bachelor of Fashion Design acquaints students with the evolving world of fashion, how cultural values influence dressing patterns, the trends and fads in the fashion industry, and the growth in demand for sustainable fashion in the coming years. On completion of BFD, you can work as a costume designer, fashion designer, stylist, trend forecaster, etc. 

5.3 Bachelor of Social Work

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average, a social worker earns around 2.0 LPA in India. 

 

If you love doing social work, working for a cause, or standing against injustice, this course is for you! 

The Bachelor of Social Work is designed to help you understand human behaviour, social work policy and research methods, etc. It can also help you in developing communication skills that help you build rapport with the people you’re working for or with. 

5.4 Bachelor of Hotel Management

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a hotel manager earns 2.5 LPA in India. 

If you’re a social bee and aspire to work in the hospitality sector, a Bachelor of Hotel Management is for you! 

This course is designed to acquaint you with the fundamentals of food science, hotel engineering, HR management, hotel accountancy, hotel operations, etc. With the completion of this course, you can find a job as a Hotel Manager, Front Desk Officer, Kitchen Chef, and more. 

5.5 Bachelor of Tourism Management

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a travel consultant earns 3.3 LPA in India. 

 

If you have a deep interest in travel and tourism and want to make a profitable career out of it, a Bachelor of Tourism Management is for you! 

Upon completion of this course, you can find a job as a tourism manager, travel consultant, transport administrator, recreating manager, etc. 

5.6 Bachelor in Psychology

Eligibility: 10+2 

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a psychologist earns a 3.0 LPA in India. 

With the growing importance of mental health and the inadequate number of mental health experts in India, the demand for well-qualified psychologists is increasing. 

If you’re empathetic, patient, problem-solver, with a deep interest in what goes on in the minds of people or why they do what they do (aka psychology), this field is for you! 

You can opt for a BA in Psychology and based on your major you can go for offering therapies and counselling, join a rehab centre, work in an NGO, and do much more. 

Professional Courses in Law

6.1 Company Secretary

Eligibility: 10+2

Salary Overview: As per AmbitionBox, on average a company secretary earns 6.0 LPA in India. 

The C.S. course is designed to train students to become future company secretaries of organisations by understanding the roles and responsibilities of the profession. 

Upon completion, you can work as a CFO,  Audit Manager, Budget Analyst, Financial Manager, etc. 

Usually, students from a Commerce background go for C.S. however, it’s flexible. Also, students have to sit for the CSEET exam to join this course. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, you have a plethora of options after completing the 12th standard. The courses that we listed above can be pursued by students from any stream be it humanities, science, or commerce. It’s advisable that you research the options that intrigue you, gather genuine advice and proceed with conviction. 

FAQs

  • How to choose the right professional course after the 12th standard? 

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to selecting the right professional course after the 12th standard. The course that you choose needs to be based on your preferences and career prospects such as salary, competition, top companies, etc. 

  • Why are professional courses essential? 

Although standard education is necessary, professional courses allow you to develop in-demand skills and make a profitable career in your desired field. 

  • What is the duration of professional courses after the 12th? 

The duration of the professional course varies. Some may be of 6-12 months whereas others can be more than 2 years. Thus, it’s better to do your own research before enrolling for a professional course.