When it comes to choosing an appropriate education stream after class 10, it is important to remember that this is possibly one of the most significant decisions that a person ever takes in life.
The choice one makes more often than not determines the course one’s life will take over the next several decades. The fact that one has to make such a decision at such a young age means that one should be very careful in making that choice for a hastily taken decision can be a cause of eternal regret in one’s life.
The Importance of selecting the right stream after Class 10th
The importance of selecting the right stream after class 10 cannot be understated. This is true regardless of whether one’s school follows the CBSE or ICSE curriculum. Stream selection after 10th CBSE or 10th ICSE requires the same amount of deliberation and care. This is as true of CBSE schools in Udaipur as it is of CBSE schools in Bhilwara.
The stream that a student picks decides the direction his or her future career will take and this is something that often weighs heavily on the mind of the child concerned owing to their not being able to make up their minds. That being stated, one can actually go ahead and choose the stream that is just right for one by taking a few simple factors into mind, like aptitude, personal liking and the future prospects for higher studies and a promising career.
What are the Streams Available After 10th?
Schools across India largely offer the following streams to students after class 10:
- Science
Science is the most popular stream after 10th. Whether it is the case of streams after class 10 CBSE or any other leading curriculum followed in the country, science is the top choice. While physics and chemistry are the two main subjects one can choose between mathematics, biology and computers for the elective. The science stream opens up a plethora of higher studies and career options for students, which explains its popularity.
- Commerce
Students who see a future for themselves in the fields of business and economics choose the commerce stream. Quite a large proportion of students in top CBSE schools in Rajasthan and elsewhere as well as those in other schools following other leading curricula opt for this very popular stream.
The commerce stream primarily comprises business studies, economics and accountancy, helping one obtain a fair understanding of business laws, business processes, accountancy and commercial mathematics. This stream too has fair scope when it comes to high studies and building a career for oneself across industries.
- Humanities
The humanities stream is for those who are inclined towards the arts, language, history and philosophy. It requires one to study history, geography and a first and second language as an elective. The choice of humanities allows one to pursue a large number of options with regard to higher studies, even as it opens the doors to fulfilling careers across many professions.
Professional Courses
There is a very large number of professional courses that one can opt for these days regardless of what stream one chooses after class 10. Those following the science stream can apply for engineering and medical courses. They can also opt for one of the many information technology courses available these days.
Students with a commerce background can look at professional management courses like BBA and MBA as well as those that make them company secretaries and chartered accountants. Such courses make them ready for very fulfilling careers in the business and management domain.
The students from the arts stream can undertake professional courses that make them become teachers, artists, media professionals, animators, graphic designers and so on. There is, in fact, a whole world of career options available to them in today’s times.
Exploring Career Options
With regard to streams after class 10 CBSE or ICSE, it is important to explore the career options available to you on making a choice of a particular stream. A science stream student can look at careers as a doctor, an engineer, a scientist, a data scientist, a software professional, a geologist or an aerospace specialist, besides a plethora of other exciting professions.
Someone from the commerce stream can seek a career as a management professional, chartered accountant, cost accountant, investment banker, actuary, investment banker, corporate entrepreneur and a host of other very promising professions and careers.
When it comes to humanities, the career options are no less varied. These range from teachers, journalists, lawyers, linguists, and civil servants to historians, Public Relations professionals, human resources specialists and archaeologists as well as a myriad of other very fulfilling professions.
Factors to consider when choosing a stream
- Understanding the Available Streams
One should not choose a stream unthinkingly, because of peer pressure or plain vanity. One should understand what the particular stream entails in terms of the subjects one needs to study and what sort of higher studies and career options it makes available to one.
- Consider your interests and strengths in the right stream
The choice of stream should to a large extent be dictated by what interests one and the kind of aptitude one has for a particular stream. Someone, who, for instance, has a head for figures would most likely be a right fit for the science stream. On the other hand, someone else who has a flair for writing may want to choose humanities. Playing to one’s strength gives one an advantage in excelling at one’s choice of streams, which will stand them in good stead in the time ahead.
- Analyse your strengths and weaknesses
Quite often one might want to choose a stream under the influence of friends and peers or one thinks that there is a great scope for career advancement and goes ahead and makes a choice accordingly.. That being stated one should understand that what is good for one person may not be so for the right person.
You have to be able to analyse your strengths and weaknesses before making an important decision like choosing the right stream after class 10. If you are brilliant at tasks that require logic and reasoning and not so good at writing essays, you should probably not take up humanities, even if you want to follow in your father’s footsteps and become a journalist.
- Look at future career opportunities
We live in very dynamic times where technological changes have meant that one needs to update one’s skills, every so often. It, therefore, makes sense for one to choose a stream taking into account future career opportunities. The science stream may appear quite attractive to some given that the technology sector has so many jobs. On the other hand, there is a resurgence in the humanities stream on account of the surge in demand for jobs requiring greater human involvement on account of the need for a counterbalance to the excessive reliance on technology.
Self Assessment Exercises
The most obvious self assessment exercise is to analyse one’s own past academic track record and see which kind of subjects one did well at and what subjects one enjoyed studying. That will give you a fair idea of what you would be better off choosing.
You can also try and gauge your aptitude by taking online quizzes and assessment exercises that give you a fair idea of what you would have a better chance of excelling at.
Making an informed decision
Making an informed decision lies at the heart of choosing the stream that will help ensure a bright and successful future for a student who has just completed class 10. It is only after fairly assessing one’s interests and aptitude alongside the future prospects with regard to higher studies and a long term career that one can make such a decision.
Given that this is one of the most important decisions of one’s life with life-long consequences, one should take one’s time to think over one’s options before zeroing in on the one that is just right for you.
