Lead with winning combos
Gauri Chhabra
An increasing number of students have been gravitating towards Humanities stream and a bachelor in arts degree over the past few years. The competititon for “hot” subject combinations for UG courses is very fierce, especially in Delhi University colleges and even in other cities like Chandigarh. BA is no more considered to be an easy option and career-oriented students take extreme care in choosing the subject combinations that will keep them relevant in the job market later on.
However, once the students choose to go this route, they face confusion about the subject combinations they need to choose from. Here are some winning subject options that would hold you in good stead and cover maximum surface area for choosing career options:
Psychology- Sociology-Economics
A BA with this combinations will open doors in economic, social, and fields of psychology. Sociology and economics as social sciences are closely related. While economics deals with the production, consumption and distribution of wealth, sociology allows us to study these aspects in relation to the societal structures.
Institute Scape
- Jain University, Bangalore
- AIMS Institute, Bangalore
- The Oxford College of Arts, Bangalore
- Christ University, Bangalore
- St. Xavier's College- Autonomous, Mumbai
Job prospects
This is one of the best combinations that provides an opportunity to specialise in any one of the three main subjects. Most graduates with a bachelor’s degree in psychology who don’t go on to further study find work in fields such as business administration, sales or education.
You can also find work in the community and social services sector as counselors, mental health workers and psychiatric aides, or in criminal justice/forensic psychology as correctional and police officers, parole and probation officers, and interviewers for various criminal justice agencies. NGOs and International organizations are also seeking who have studied psychology.
You may also find work as sociology research assistants, but most of you wind up in other fields, such as social services, administration, management, or sales and marketing. An undergraduate degree in sociology might also qualify college graduates to work as case managers, child care workers or homeless/housing workers or move into education administration or teaching,.
Studying economics will equip you with a strong grasp of economic principles which will help to make more informed decision and get into the government sector, banks, accountancy, insurance companies, regulatory bodies etc.
Sociology-Political Science- Economics
This subject combination actually prepares you to become a generalist that the civil services exam requires. The other interesting fields such as journalism and mass-communication, law, management, NGOs, education, film making etc are open for further exploration. Students also get empowered enough to set up their own start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures.
Institute Scape
- BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar
- Christ University, Bangalore
- St. Joseph's College, Bangalore
- Elphistone College, Mumbai
Job prospects
Sociology offers several enticing career options due to the different specialisations that one can choose from. Research institutes, the criminal justice system, public health and welfare organisations, private businesses, law firms, international agencies, medical centers, educational institutions, advertising firms, survey and polling organizations are only some of the example where people from this background are required.
There are options of working in other sectors with area specialists to help function.
Being a sociologist asks for a lot of patience along with dedication to the work. Employers will look for people with good communication and research skills along with the capacity for detailed observation.
After completing bachelor’s/master’s program in political science, several opportunities are available in both government and private sectors. Politics, public administration, law, and marketing fields are always in need of good political scientists.
Political scientists can even opt for campaign management, polling and electoral politics, and university and college teaching. The career prospects in political science have widened enough in the voluntary organisations and NGOs. The international voluntary organisations, like UNO, have huge scope for proficient political scientists across the world. Besides, they can join media houses as political journalists and political researchers/analysts.
Economics is perhaps the only Arts course that requires the student to be ‘swift’ in maths. While most economists have advanced degrees (in most cases a PhD), there are many lucrative career opportunities for those choosing economics at the undergraduate level. Data analysis, banking and finance, and market analysis are some avenues open to aspirants. Some even go on to becoming stock brokers.
Journalism-Psychology and Elective English
The journalism course aims at moulding the student for a career in both print and broadcasting and in allied fields like advertising, film, and PR. The course introKristu Jayanti College, Bangalore
Job Prospects
- This combination is beneficial to provide a firm foundation for the students to either go directly get into media or go in for higher studies.
- You can work in news and media companies or take up teaching in government and private schools both on private and regular basis. HR, health associated professions, hospitals etc. offer an exciting and amazing career path for students of psychology.
- Pertaining to journalism and English, some of the options include writing for national, regional and local newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations and online publications and companies involved in public relation, corporate communications, content writing and marketing. You can pursue post-graduation and expand it with further studies.
