Career Options After PCM
After 10th boards, students get an option to select science as their stream. It is one of the most famous sought-after and famous streams, and has a lot of career options!
In this article, we will do an overview of careers available if you take non-medical in 11th-12th, and what are the exams that you need give to pursue those careers. We will also tell you the top institutions to study in for each of these careers
1. Non-medical stream – if you have studied non-medical subjects that is Physics, Chemistry and Maths in class 11th and 12th, then the major career options that you have are:
- Engineering (many sub-fields)
- Architecture
- Indian Defense Services
- Scientist/ Research fellow
Let us start with engineering. A large population of students go for engineering today, as it offers a wide variety of fields, and promises some of the best jobs in the country.
You can do engineering in a lot many fields, and the work that engineers do varies in each of them. For instance, here is a short list of some of the engineering fields, and the type of work that they involve –
- Computer Science Engineering – deals primarily with the theory of computation and design of computational systems
- Electronics & Communication Engineering – ideal for aspirants interested in pursuing a career in automation, control systems, instrumentation, telecommunications, robotics, sensor systems, and electronics.
- Electrical Engineering – this course deals with the generation, storage, and usage of power and energy. In addition to the electrical appliances and electronics, this branch of engineering finds use in communication, computer, and even the mechanical industry
- Mechanical Engineering – Mechanical engineers design power-producing machines, such as electric generators, internal combustion engines, and steam and gas turbines, as well as power-using machines, such as refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. They apply the principles of engineering, physics and material science for the design, analysis, manufacturing and maintenance of mechanical systems.
- Civil Engineering – involves theoretical and practical knowledge of Planning, Design, Construction, Supervision, Maintenance and Management of buildings, bridges, roads, dams, canals and other structures.
- Aeronautical Engineering – deals with design, development, testing, production and maintenance of aircraft, missiles and spacecrafts. It also covers disciplines like aerodynamics, avionics and propulsion among others.
Top institutions –
Top engineering institutes in the country are IITs, NITs, IIITs, BITS Pilani
Admission to all IITs, NITs and IIITs is done through the Joint Entrance Exam or JEE, commonly known as the IIT-JEE exam. This exam tests students application of concepts that they study in entire 11th and 12th.
However, BITS pilani holds its own selection test, and in this test, along-with your knowledge of science and maths, english and aptitude are also tested.
All of these exams, however, are objective type – each question has 4 options and you have to choose one correct option.
2. Architecture – Architecture is the process of planning, designing, and constructing buildings or any other structures.
For admission in architecture undergraduate course or B. Arch, different colleges have different criteria – make sure to check the criteria for college that you want admission in before-hand.
Mostly, for doing B. Arch. in any IIT, you need to clear JEE mains, JEE advanced, and then a special test – AAT (Architecture Aptitude Test). Please note that JEE Mains paper 2 and AAT test (Architecture Aptitude Test). This test is drawing-based – it can include anything from freehand drawing, 3D perception to architectural awareness – both national as well as international.
For getting admitted to any NIT, you need to clear JEE Mains paper – 2. This is also a drawing based test – it includes some questions on mathematics and aptitude as well.
However, there is one more exam – NATA (National Aptitude Test for Architecture), and some private architecture colleges take admissions based on only NATA score, or NATA and your 12th score.
So again we would suggest – please look up admission criteria for your dream college and prepare accordingly.
Top institutes to pursue architecture involve
IIT Kharagpur
IIT Roorkee
School of Planning and Architecture (New Delhi, Bhopal)
Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi)
3. Indian Defense Services – includes prestigious Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, Indian Coast Guard and DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).
There can be different entry schemes for entering into defence services –
- NDA (National Defence Academy) – You can take the NDA entrance exam while you are in class XII or after passing class XII and you have an option of joining Army, Navy, Airforce and Naval Academy
- Combined Defence Service Examination (CDSE) – You can take the CDS Entrance Exam conducted by UPSC while you are in final year of Graduation / possess any Graduate Degree
- AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) – This exam is conducted twice a year, and takes admission into Air Force for ground duty, flying branch, technical exam, administration and logistics.
- Scientist/ Research fellow/professor – science students can also go on to do a BSc course in any of the subject – for instance, BSc Chemistry Honours, BSc Physics Honours, etc. You can also then go on to do masters in any subject followed by PhD, and get a job as a professor or a teacher or as a scientist in institutes like DRDO, ISRO, etc
Apart from this, note that science students are also eligible to then go on and join Indian Administrative Services, job in a consultant firm, or shift to any non-science field.
These were some of the most opted for options that we discussed. We would suggest you to research more on the career that you want to opt for, and its requirements. You should start preparing for it as early as possible, as the competitive exams that you need to clear to get in top institutes of any field require a lot of practice, and you will be competing against many talented students.