Career Option After 12th: If you are about to complete your class 12th and wondering what to do after that, you are not alone. Which is the best career option after 12th is the common confusion amongst the students and their parents whether you are from science, commerce or arts. You were able to decide the stream after class 10th but selecting the career option after 12th is not as easy as it seems to be.Â
Today, we have a lot of career opportunities awaiting for the students. No matter which stream you are passing out from school, right from the corporate sector, government sector, entrepreneurship and professional courses, there is no shortage of career options one can dream of and put in the hard work to be right there.Â
A student should consider the following factors while making the decision about choosing the right career option after 12th with high salary-
What Are The Factors To Choose best Careers After 12th?
- Interest: Analyze your interest areas whether you want to serve the public or you want to play with numbers because ultimately you will be happier in a job that gives you inner satisfaction and matches with your interest areas.
- Strengths:Â Make an analysis of your capabilities, your past achievement and try to leverage those by choosing the right career option after 12th.
- Scope:Â Check whether the career option you are looking for has an increasing scope or not. For example, in the fields such as cyber security and AI, new jobs are emerging and older jobs are becoming redundant.
- Cost:Â Although, it is still manageable through student loans but still make a rough estimate of the return on investment that you will get after the completion of the course.
- Lifestyle Preferences: See whether you prefer a flexible lifestyle while working in a creative field or you can adapt in a 9 to 5 tight work schedule or even more than that, for example being in medicine, you will have to be ready to serve anytime.
- Social factors:Â If you are a person driven by the need to contribute to this society, choose such career options after 12th such as civil services or NGOs to fulfill your inner desires.Â
- Salary: High paying career options after 12th are definitely preferable over those that pay less but require more hard work.Â
List of The Top Career Options After 12th In 2025
| Career Option | Description |
Average Salary (per annum in India)
|
| Civil Services | Most of the syllabus of Arts students matches with the UPSC syllabus such as history, economy and polity. Being in civil services is a highly respected job along with a good salary and perks. |
₹10 – 18 LPA (IAS/IPS/IFS, varies by post & experience)
|
| Company Secretary | A company secretary position is offered by ICSI. A CS works as a legal advisor or compliance officer with corporate forms. CS is a high paying career and one of the best career options after 12th commerce | ₹4 – 8 LPA |
| Mass Communication | Pursuing education in journalism to work as a journalist or new anchor is an attractive job where you can get good packages and reputation in big media houses | ₹3 – 8 LPA |
| Defence | Working with defence agencies of the Government of India is a good career option after 12th science as agencies like DRDO continuously hire people with scientific knowledge. |
₹5– 15 LPA (depending on rank & department)
|
| Medical | PCB students can pursue MBBS which is the 5.5 years long course but it is a highly respected profession in India. Admissions are done on the basis of scores obtained in NEET examination. |
₹5 – 12 LPA (higher with specialization)
|
| Law | Being a lawyer is a respected profession in our country. A student can pursue an integrated BA LLB course while choosing specialisation such as criminal, corporate or intellectual property. Law has a wider scope such as being a legal advisor or even a judge |
₹4 – 12 LPA (depending on role and experience)
|
| Chartered Accountant | CA is considered as the best career option after class 12th by Commerce students. It is a professional course offered by ICAI, you can work with CA firms or open your own office to practice this high paying job. |
₹7 – 10 LPA (can go up to ₹20–25 LPA with experience)
|
| Teaching | After pursuing bachelors and Masters in basic Sciences, you can start teaching in school as well as college as an academician. | ₹4 – 7 LPA |
| Engineering | Pursuing a bachelors in technology program in fields such as civil, computer science, electronics, chemical and mechanical is an attractive career option after 12th science. Qualifying in JEE mains/ advanced is required to secure admission in B.Tech. | ₹4– 10 LPA |
| Banking Sector Jobs | Commerce students get an advantage over other candidates while appearing in banking sector jobs as they develop analytical skills while studying commerce subjects. | ₹4 – 6 LPA |
| Corporate Sector | Companies hire for Commerce graduates having studied subjects such as marketing, Finance, accountancy for working in departments such as marketing, production and operations. |
₹5 – 7 LPA (depending on role & company)
|
| Design | Fashion designing is a very attractive job working with luxury brands or even as a graphic designer or interior designer on a good salary. | ₹4 – 10 LPA |
| Architecture | Pursuing a Bachelors in architecture takes 5 years and entrance exams like the National aptitude test in architecture conducted by the Council of Architecture and JEE Main paper 2 are required to be attempted. | ₹3– 8 LPA |
List of The Top Career Options After 12th Science
| Career Option | Description |
Average Salary (per annum in India)
|
| Engineering | Pursuing a bachelors in technology program in fields such as civil, computer science, electronics, chemical and mechanical is an attractive career option after 12th science. Qualifying in JEE mains/ advanced is required to secure admission in B.Tech. | ₹4– 10 LPA |
| Architecture | Pursuing a Bachelors in architecture takes 5 years and entrance exams like the National aptitude test in architecture conducted by the Council of Architecture and JEE Main paper 2 are required to be attempted. | ₹3– 8 LPA |
| Defence | Working with defence agencies of the Government of India is a good career option after 12th science as agencies like DRDO continuously hire people with scientific knowledge. |
₹5– 15 LPA (depending on rank & department)
|
| Teaching | After pursuing bachelors and Masters in basic Sciences, you can start teaching in school as well as college as an academician. | ₹4 – 7 LPA |
| Medical | PCB students can pursue MBBS which is the 5.5 years long course but it is a highly respected profession in India. Admissions are done on the basis of scores obtained in NEET examination. |
₹5 – 12 LPA (higher with specialization)
|
| Researcher | You can also work as a researcher in agencies of Government of India and Laboratories as one of the best career options after 12th. | ₹5 – 10 LPA |
| IT Companies | The corporate sector actively hires people with scientific knowledge. For developing softwares to machines, there is great demand for engineers in IT sector | ₹4 – 12 LPA |
| Competitive Examination | Science students can actively appear in examinations such as UPSC as they develop a high aptitude while studying Sciences. |
₹7 – 20 LPA (varies with post)
|
| Creative Fields | New career options in creative fields are emerging such as fashion designing, game designing and film making as some of the attractive career options after 12th science | ₹3 – 9 LPA |
Career Options After 12th Commerce List
| Career Option | Description |
Average Salary (Per Annum in India)
|
| Chartered Accountant | CA is considered as the best career option after class 12th by Commerce students. It is a professional course offered by ICAI, you can work with CA firms or open your own office to practice this high paying job. |
₹7 – 10 LPA (can go up to ₹20–25 LPA with experience)
|
| Company Secretary | A company secretary position is offered by ICSI. A CS works as a legal advisor or compliance officer with corporate forms. CS is a high paying career and one of the best career options after 12th commerce | ₹4 – 8 LPA |
| Corporate Sector | Companies hire for Commerce graduates having studied subjects such as marketing, Finance, accountancy for working in departments such as marketing, production and operations. |
₹5 – 7 LPA (depending on role & company)
|
| Banking Sector Jobs | Commerce students get an advantage over other candidates while appearing in banking sector jobs as they develop analytical skills while studying commerce subjects. |
₹4 – 6 LPA
|
| Competitive Exams | A Commerce student can easily appear in competitive exams like SSC, UPSC, Railways or defence for building a high paying career after class 12th commerce. |
₹4 – 12 LPA (varies by exam & designation)
|
| Professor | After completing Graduation and Masters in Commerce, you can work as a professor and conduct research as a research scholar in some good University. |
₹3 – 8 LPA (higher in reputed universities)
|
| Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) | CFA is a multinational certificate program to build a career in fields such as investment banking. It is a highly attractive option after class 12th with good reputation and career scope in multiple countries. |
₹8 – 12 LPA (can go beyond ₹20 LPA internationally)
|
| Entrepreneurship | A commerce student can set up his or her own business and become an entrepreneur as they have the basic knowledge of subjects like marketing, accountancy and Finance. |
Income varies (can be ₹5 LPA to ₹50+ LPA depending on business success)
|
List of Career Options After 12th Arts
| Options after Class 12th Arts | Description |
Average Salary (per annum in India)
|
| Law | Being a lawyer is a respected profession in our country. A student can pursue an integrated BA LLB course while choosing specialisation such as criminal, corporate or intellectual property. Law has a wider scope such as being a legal advisor or even a judge |
₹4 – 12 LPA (depending on role and experience)
|
| Civil Services | Most of the syllabus of Arts students matches with the UPSC syllabus such as history, economy and polity. Being in civil services is a highly respected job along with a good salary and perks. |
₹10 – 18 LPA (IAS/IPS/IFS, varies by post & experience)
|
| Mass Communication | Pursuing education in journalism to work as a journalist or new anchor is an attractive job where you can get good packages and reputation in big media houses | ₹3 – 8 LPA |
| Design | Fashion designing is a very attractive job working with luxury brands or even as a graphic designer or interior designer on a good salary. | ₹4 – 10 LPA |
| Hotel Management | After completing a course in hotel management, one can work with top International Hotel chains across the world as a consultant or a manager. | ₹3 – 7 LPA |
| Teaching | Teaching is a respected profession. After clearing NET, one can teach in colleges as a lecturer and earn a good salary. | ₹4 – 8 LPA |
| Creative Career | Creative careers include film making, photography, music or even acting. These are very interesting professions. |
Highly variable (₹3 LPA to ₹20+ LPA depending on field & success)
|
What are the Top High Salary Career options in 2025?
The following are some of the highest paid career options across the streams-
- Doctor- A Doctor in India or abroad earns a good salary package of around 10 to 25 lakhs per annum in India. Private clinics earn even more than that.
- Chartered Accountants- Their starting package in India is 12 lakhs per annum. However with promotions, it can go up to 50 to 60 lakhs per annum in top firms of the country.
- Lawyer- A fresher lawyer earns around 10 to 15 lakhs per annum. However with certain experience and promotions, a lawyer can earn even more than 50- 60 lakhs per annum.
- AI expert- Due to continuous innovation in AI, the demand for such professionals and the salary they are getting are shooting up. They can expect up to 20 lakhs per annum.Â
Conclusion
In this article, we have seen that there are a lot of career options to pursue after 12th. However, one should make the appropriate choice, free from any kind of peer pressure so that a student can comfortably excel in their chosen field.
Talk to your elders, mentors or anyone you believe in, conduct some research, align it with your interest areas and finally make this very important decision of your life.
FAQs of Career Option After 12th
Q: Can I pursue Bcom if I’m from Science or art background or Bsc if from Commerce or arts background?
Ans: Yes, you can pursue courses in this manner. However certain universities while preparing the merit list apply some deductions in the marks. The norms for that differ from university to university.Â
Q: Which is the most popular career option after 12th commerce?Â
Ans: Chartered Accountancy is considered as the most popular career choice for commerce students. However a lot of students pursue Bcom along with CA. However, many students prepare for banking exams or private sector jobs.
Q: Which is the best career option after 12th?
Ans: The answer to this question depends on your interest areas and your background. For science students, being a doctor and engineer is considered as the most respected profession. For commerce students, CA, CS and for humanities students, professions such as lawyer and civil services are considered the best career option after 12th. Â
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