Careers With a Bachelor of Arts

In India, a Bachelor in Arts is notorious for being a last resort for people who can not do anything else. As a result, people who choose to do one are always bombarded with questions regarding their career, and they end up getting confused and scared that they might not have one. In some ways, it is true that even though a Bachelor in Arts will broaden your mind and introduce you to challenging ideas, it won’t train you with the vocational skills that students of other streams would have.

In India, the average salaries for vocational degrees are higher than those of humanities, but this gap does close up with time. And after a few years of experience, someone with a Bachelor of Arts can also earn a competitive salary. Also, a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Humanities are very ambiguous terms because they mean very different things in different parts of the world. In the United States and Europe, one can get a BA in Economics, Finance, and even Biochemistry. One can read Shakespeare in one lesson and analyse financial markets in another. Through CBCS (Choice Based Credit System) employed in several universities in India, one can do the same by choosing a generic elective course, if they meet the prerequisites.

But even if one does not opt for such vocational courses during their undergraduate degree, nothing is lost. There are a lot of career options for someone with a Bachelor of Arts, one just needs to know where to look. For ease, these careers can be divided into three:

1. Careers After a Bachelor's

One can pursue a job fresh out of college. In fact, you can do internships for a lot of the jobs listed here while in college. Some internships pay, others don’t, but in both cases, having experience might help in getting a job after you are done with your Bachelors. You can even start freelancing if you have some skills that you can offer for service and make a quick buck here and there.

The several careers one can have after a BA are:

• Government Jobs
  
  Biggest jobs for people with a BA. Prestigious and provides countless professional and personal benefits to the employees. The competition is difficult, true, but once you get in, you can look forward to one of the safest and fulfilling careers as an Arts graduate. To get a job, more often than not, you will have to sit for one of the following exams:
  • UPSC (Union Public Service Commission): One of the most prestigious jobs in the country. You can get selected for significant posts like IPS, IFS, and IAS.
  • SSC (Staff Selection Commission)
  • State PSC
  • NDA (National Defence Academy)
  • RRB
  • Bank PO/Clerk Jobs
• Non-Government Organisation roles (in Policy Development, Administrative Support, and Advocacy)
• Higher Education or Private Education Roles (Tutoring, Teaching)
• Media and Communications
• Advertising and Copywriting
• Arts and Cultural Organisations
• Insurance Manager
• Digital Marketing
• Journalist

2. Careers That Need Further Studies and Training

Your Bachelor in Arts provides you with enough academic and intellectual foundation so that you can apply for a Master's or equivalent courses in disciplines like cognitive science, law, education, journalism, international relations, and so on. The technical ones may have some other requirements, but the others are mostly open to anyone with a BA degree.

Several jobs one can have after further coursework are:

• Lawyer (would require you to do an LLB after your BA. BA and LLB integrated options are also available. Corporate lawyers earn around 7 LPA on an average).
• Management roles (you will need to do an MBA after your BA)
• Banking roles (an MBA will be required)
• Librarian
• User Experience (UX) Designer
• Graphic Designing
• Fashion Designing
• Video Editing
• Creative Direction
• Teaching (Will require you to do a BEd or/and a MA)
• Urban Planner
• Medical roles (Yoga, Physiotherapy, Healthcare)

3. Careers Via Research

If you wish to continue exploring your subject interests or if you wish to have a career in academia or research, then you will have to go with a PhD. With this degree you can have a career in:

• Teaching
• Professorship
• Academic
• Consultant
• A PhD can also enable you to apply for and get jobs outside your research domain
   

These are just a few of the several other career options one can choose after a Bachelor in Arts. At the end of the day, it is not about how much you earn in your current position, but how happy you are doing your job, and if your earnings are enough to keep you happy, then that job suits you the best.