Career Opportunities
Introduction
Commerce is all about the understanding of business or trade. It deals with studies of market, economics, fiscal policies, industrial policies and so on. Commerce is a broad orbit of interdisciplinary branches viz. accountancy, business administration, finance, economics, marketing, advertisement, e-commerce, and so many. The overall economic health of a nation largely depends on advanced commerce studies. This stream offers a wide range of career options.
Scope
Commerce opens up many career avenues. Globalization, foreign insurance and foreign banks has created enormous job opportunities for commerce students. On successful completion their undergraduate studies in commerce, students get jobs relating business and finance. Professionals can apply for employment in finance sector like banking, company secretary ship, chartered accountancy, Cost and works accountancy jobs, etc.
Commerce students get jobs in non-finance sector in the fields like mass communication, law, hotel management, etc. B.Com degree also serves as the stepping stone for MBA (finance). Commerce students can take a route of teaching after graduation and post graduation. Commerce students find career opportunities even in public services viz. Civil Services, Indian Economic Service, Indian Statistical Services, etc. Commerce graduates have a very exciting career option such as e-commerce. This career is well-suited to commerce students because of their sound understanding of business transactions.
Remuneration
It mainly depends on academic qualifications, training, experience, location, responsibility and employer. Private sector especially foreign companies provide attractive pay packages. The salaries in this sector ranges from N100,000-4,500,000 per month.
Professional like MBAs, CAs and CFAs get high pay packages. Foreign banks and insurance companies give good packages.
Eligibility
Graduation and post-graduation is desirable for the higher posts. It is mainly based on the type of career to be pursued. The certifications and licensing from professional bodies is required and is also preferred in many foreign banks.
Employability Skills
- Genuine interest in working with numbers and better computing skills.
- Ability for analyzing numerical data.
- Good communication skill.
- Ability to work with team and lead the team.
- Ability to take smart decisions.
- Organizational and administrative abilities.
- Logical thinking.
- Accuracy and neatness.
- Creativity and high intellectual capability.
- Ability to work hard and readiness to work for long hours.
- Flexibility and willingness to learn new things, technologies and adaptation of new methodologies at work.
Career test
If you record “Yes” for maximum questions then it indicates that you have potential for perusing career in the field of Commerce.
- Do I like to play with numbers?
- Do I have better computing skills?
- Do I have ability for analysing numerical data?
- Do I have analytical skills?
- Do I have practical business sense?
- Do I have good decision making power?
- Do I have good knowledge of economics and investments?
- Do I have sound knowledge of management and general marketing?
- Do I give utmost imporant to precision and accuracy at work?
- Do I enjoy office environment?
- Do I like to work for several hours (8-12hrs or more) per day in an office?
- Do I have ability to work with a team?
- Do I have computing and interpreting skills?
- Do I have organizational and administrative skills?
- Do I read budgets, business news and economic reviews?
- Do I have computer skills?
- Am I ready to learn and adopt new methodologies?
Career opportunities
- Higher education: B.Com students can go for higher education (MBA, M.Com, MCA, Ph.D, ) or immediate jobs. There are some prestigious certification courses in Commerce viz. Chartered Accountancy (CA), Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), ICWA, CFP and Company Secretary Ship (CS).
- Banking: Career is chosen due to fair salaries, job security and high social acceptance. Many local/national/foreign banks provide good job opportunities.
- Investments: One can get job as equity research analyst, investment banker, mutual fund executive, capital market manager, asset manager, venture capitalist and real estate.
- Insurance: It is showing exponential growth due to liberalization policy in India. The public and private insurance companies in life and non-life insurance providing enormous career opportunities. It also offer jobs in actuary and risk management.
- Capital market: Liberalized Indian economy has opened up capital market for foreign investors along with domestic investors. The heavy flow of capital into the capital markets has generated many employment opportunities. .
- Management: B.Com and BBA courses provide good background for MBA course. MBA (Finance) requires sound back ground of commerce field.
- Accounting: Demand for skilled accountants has increased considerably in the domestic and international job market.
- KPO and BPO: Enormous opportunities for commerce students in this emerging field.
- Taxation: Many jobs related to taxation has been created in recent years.
Job options
- Accountant/Costs and works accountant
- Auditor
- Book Keeper
- Business analyst/Market analyst
- CFO
- Controller
- Finance manager
- Internet Marketing Executive (E-commerce)
- Stock broker
Self-employment:
- Business firm
- Stock broker
- Trade consultant
- Management consultant
- Entrepreneur
- Corporate lawyer
- Financial analysts
- Tax consultants
Some popular careers options in Commerce:
- Chartered Accountant (CA): He/She is specialized in accounting, auditing and taxation. CA serves as a corporate caretaker and occupies respectable position in corporate world. The demand of CA has increased. Salaries of C.A. depend upon academic qualification and experience.
- Company Secretary (CS): He/She co-ordinates various departments, ensures compliance of company legislations and advises directors on statutory requirements of the company. Apart from this, CS also looks after finance, accounts, legal, personnel and administrative functions. CS is a well remunerated career option because of its multifaceted nature.
- Cost and Work Accountant (CWA): Certified CWAs maintain cost accounting records, do cost auditing for companies, certify import and export documents under the Exim Policy, serve as executor, administrator, receiver and valuer. CWA facilitates strategic decisions in respect of diverse economic activities of the organization.
- Chartered Financial Analyst : Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA®) utilize their skills in the core areas of financial and hedge fund research, portfolio management, investment consulting, investment banking, investment management, international finance and research. Career opportunities for CFAs with IT skills (trained in high-end packages like SAP, Oracle application and Baan) have increase manifold.CFA regarded as the key position by financial professionals. CFA gets good salary.
- Banking: For a career in banking, one can start off by maintaining accounts. Now a day’s banking sector recruits MBA graduates, CAs and CFAs to enhance the efficiency of banks. Now banks are in the mutual funds, securitization business, credit cards, consumer loans, housing loans, etc this open up many career avenues.
- Investments: One can job opportunity as equity research analyst, investment banker, mutual fund executive, capital market manager, financial planner/asset manager, venture capitalist and real estate.
- Insurance: Insurance field offers jobs in actuary, risk management manager, insurance surveyor, underwriter, etc. The key factor for success in this field is experience. In private sector, the salary is more attractive. The Commissions are the most common form of compensation for insurance agents and the amount depends on the type and amount of insurance sold.
Employers
- Government (Public Sector)
- Private Sector.
- Banks
- Financial institutions.
- Insurance companies
- Commercial firms
- Business houses.