Career Options After 12th Arts: What To Do After 12th Arts? [2024]

Updated on 25 January, 2024

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Career Options After 12th Arts

Summary

In this article, you will learn about Career Options After 12th Arts. Take a glimpse below.

  1. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
  2. Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
  3. Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)
  4. Integrated Law course (B.A + L.L.B.)
  5. Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication (B.J.M.)
  6. Bachelor of Fashion Design (B.F.D.)
  7. Bachelor of Hotel Management (B.H.M.)
  8. Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS)
  9. Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.Ed)
  10. Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
  11. Bachelor of Event Management
  12. Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Designing
  13. Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Designing

Read the full article to know more in detail like Salary Range, companies etc.

What is the Arts/Humanities Stream?

Humanities encompass an academic realm devoted to exploring diverse facets of human society and culture. Within this discipline lie an array of subjects, including anthropology, archaeology, human history, linguistics spanning ancient and modern languages, law, political science, literature, philosophy, religion, and performing and visual arts. These fields adopt a systematic, philosophical, and analytical approach to dissect and understand the multifaceted aspects of human existence.

Opting for the Arts/Humanities stream offers students the best course after 12 arts with a spectrum of career possibilities. This choice nurtures the development of strong oral and written communication skills, cultivates critical thinking, hones problem-solving abilities, and fosters analytical reasoning. With an overview of the essence of the Humanities stream, let’s delve into some of the most promising career avenues available for students who choose Humanities after completing their 12th-grade education.

How to choose courses after 12th arts?

After “What should I do after 12th arts?” this question holds the distinction of being the second most frequently searched inquiry among students. The process of selecting the best course after 12 arts can indeed feel overwhelming, yet it remains imperative to arrive at an informed decision that paves the way for your future. Given the multitude of options at hand, possessing a clear understanding of your interests and professional aspirations is paramount before arriving at a definitive course choice. In this piece, we’ve assembled a collection of guidelines to assist you in the process of selecting the best course after 12 arts following your completion of 12th Arts.

Consider Your Interests

Initiating the process of selecting the best course after 12 arts after completing 12th Arts involves reflecting upon your interests as the primary step. Contemplate activities that genuinely engage you and identify your areas of proficiency. This initial contemplation aids in streamlining your choices and enables you to opt for a course that resonates with your passions.

Research Different Courses

Thorough research plays a vital role in the process of selecting the best course after 12 arts after completing 12th Arts. It’s imperative to explore the methods accessible within your city or state, delving into the intricacies of the course structure, syllabus, and potential career pathways. Engaging in discussions with seniors or experts within the respective field can also provide invaluable insights into both the course itself and the industry it pertains to.

Consider Job Opportunities

During the course selection process, giving due consideration to the prevailing job prospects within the chosen field holds paramount importance. Take the time to investigate the array of job opportunities and meticulously examine job descriptions linked to your shortlisted career options within the arts stream. Prioritise courses in high demand within the job market and exhibit promising salary potential. This strategic approach aids in fostering a prosperous career trajectory over the long term.

Think about Future Prospects

Contemplating the prospects of the best course after 12 arts you opt for holds significant importance. Delve into the potential for advanced studies, job advancement, and career development trajectory within the chosen field. This holistic assessment facilitates making a well-informed choice, enabling you to select a course that harmonises with your overarching career objectives.

Advantages of Pursuing Careers in the Arts Field After 12th Grade

Arts student courses after 12th allows you to express yourself via your work, resulting in a profound sense of personal and creative fulfilment. Visual arts, performing arts, literature, design, animation, filmmaking, and other specialisations are all part of the arts field. This variety allows you to explore and specialise in areas that interest you.

Artistic occupations enable you to express your perspective, feelings, and identity while also communicating concepts that may be difficult to explain in other ways. Art can inspire, educate, and stimulate thinking. Artists help society by starting debates, pushing norms, and challenging views.

Completed your BSc and wondering what’s next? Explore career options after BSc to discover the diverse paths your science degree can lead you to.

What to do after 12th Arts?

How many of you wonder which are all the best career options after 12th Arts? Every year, millions of students complete their higher secondary examination (class 12) in the arts stream. And the one question they are riddled with after completion of board exams is – what to do after 12th arts? Best career options for arts students? What career path should you choose? Should you consider doing free courses to improve your skillset?

It is a preconceived notion that jobs after courses for arts students after 12th for girls and courses after 12th arts with high salaries do not exist. This couldn’t be farther from the truth since art courses can also help students get high-paid jobs in the future.

It is time to break from the shackles of a stereotypical mindset that humanities specializations are just suited for girls. One can take up the arts student courses after 12th irrespective of their gender. They can pursue subjects such as sociology or psychology if they are looking for particularly challenging subjects. 

Art courses like Psychology as a subject has gained immense popularity over the years, and now it is in great demand due to the constant evolution in the methods of counseling or psychotherapy. Subjects like Sociology have received immense impetus due to the investigation of the continuous social change that has been happening around us since the concept of society came into being.

As a field of study, arts (or humanities) draws inspiration from history, language, cultures, societal norms, philosophy, visual arts, music, and other intellectual aspects of life. Students pursuing arts subjects are taught and trained to harness their exploratory, analytical, and critical faculties. Thus, students who complete their higher secondary studies in arts find it quite comfortable to prepare for the Indian Civil Services examinations. The arts stream includes subjects such as History, Political Science, Philosophy, Sociology, Literature (English, Hindi, Bengali, Nepali, etc.), painting, music, etc. Graduating in art courses opens forth new doors to both general and niche career roles. However, it is not easy to find high-paying jobs for 12th arts if one has not chosen the right courses for arts students after 12th with high salary.

Students who pursue their 12th standard in arts enjoy the perk of choosing from a wide range of career options after 12th arts. This is because career options for arts students are plenty, thereby making this field a diverse one with an extensive career scope. It is recommended to check out some basic short term courses before pursuing a full-time course to find if it kindles their interest. For example, this management essential course covers management basics to decide if you want to get into that specialization.

Some of the most promising subjects taught under humanities include History, Geography, Sociology, Economics, Mass Communication, Law, Psychology, Political Science, Linguistics, and Language studies (English, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc.). One of the best things about 12th arts is that there are plenty of career options after 12th arts. One has to know the list of all career options after 12th arts to select the right one and it can be overwhelming to choose right career options for arts students because of the number of options available. 

In this blog, we’ll explore the most promising career options after 12th arts. If you’re looking for an answer to the question, “what to do after 12th arts,” keep reading till the end! Aside from the list, if you have keen interest in analytics, check out the business analytics certificate course to grasp analytical expertise.

Below is a list of some great courses after 12th arts that you can opt –

Career Options After 12th Arts

1. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

Bachelor of Arts is a full-time, 3-year undergraduate course in three domains – humanities, social sciences, and liberal arts. It is available in many different types of specializations such as Psychology, History, Archaeology, Geography, Economics, Journalism, Mass Communication, Sociology, Anthropology, Literature, and Languages (all the major languages), Environmental Science, to name a few. As a part of this undergraduate program, students have to select a major (honours subject) along with a few elective subjects. BA is one of the most popular career options for arts students. 

B.A. specializations provide tremendous flexibility to students deepen their cultural understanding and awareness and also encourage them to develop their critical thinking, analytical, written, and communication skills. The best thing about graduating with a B.A. honours is that students enjoy plenty of job opportunities spread across industries like academia, tourism & hospitality, aviation, BFSI sector, media and entertainment, and also government agencies. 

BA Salary Range in India

2. Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)

If you are wondering what to do after 12th arts, a popular career choice among students after 12th arts is studying arts group courses. Bachelor of Fine Arts is the perfect career option for aspirants who have a creative flair. Just like B.A. course, B.F.A is also a 3-year program that includes Fine Arts, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts. Students can take up unique specialization courses like Theatre, Film Making, Music, Dance, Painting & Sculpting, Pottery & Ceramics, Creative Writing, Architectural Drawing, Textile Design, and Animation. 

This undergraduate degree opens up a plethora of unique career options after 12th arts. Aspirants seeking to purse B.F.A must possess excellent creative, artistic, visualization, and presentation skills. If you complete your graduation with a BFA specialization, you will not only gain a formal education in your chosen field, but you will also learn creative skills. B.F.A graduates can choose to be Teachers/Professors, Creative Writers, Professional Dancers/Singers/Musicians, Art Directors, Theatre/Drama Actors, and so much more. Today, Fine Arts education has become synonymous with prestige and class and considered as one of the best career options for arts students. 

After completing class 12th in the art stream, students must appear for entrance examinations to enter reputed government/private colleges.

BFA Fine Arts Salary in India

Source

3. Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.)

Can arts students do BBA? 

Yes, art students can do BBA. After passing their 12th with arts stream, many students ask the question, wish to pursue business management and business administration. These students can easily pursue BBA and enroll in an MBA course after that. Since BBA and MBA course curriculum deals with general industry-based subjects like sales, marketing, international business, finance, etc., art students can very well excel in these courses. After getting an MBA degree from reputed management colleges, arts stream students can easily get placements in multinational companies. So, the answer to the question ‘can arts student do BBA’ is pretty clear!

BBA is the most popular course available for students & one of the best courses after 12th Arts. Bachelor of Business Administration is most coveted and pursued bachelor degree career options after class 12th. The best part about the B.B.A. course is that it is open to all students hailing from the three streams, arts, commerce, and science. It is a 3-year, full-time undergraduate course that opens up employment opportunities in a host of industrial sectors like Sales, Marketing, Finance, Education, Hospitality, and Government. BBA is one of the popular career options for arts students. 

Some of the most popular specializations offered in B.B.A. course include HR Management, Sales & Marketing, Finance, and Information Technology. Students have the option of pursuing the B.B.A. degree either full-time or via correspondence and considers one of the best arts career options. 

A B.B.A program provides a solid foundation for developing business acumen, business administration, and entrepreneurial skills so that students can effectively take on and manage leadership roles. Any candidate wishing to opt for a B.B.A. course must possess excellent communication skills, a problem-solving mindset, time management skills, and team spirit. It is one of the best career options after 12th arts. 

After obtaining a B.B.A. degree, students can bag high-profile job roles like HR Manager/HR Executive, Marketing Manager/Marketing Executive, Sales Manager/Sales Executive, and R&D Executive. Because of the perks and advantages, BBA is one of the preferred courses after 12th arts.

At upGrad, we have mentored thousands of students from across the globe for different courses and careers. Checkout our degree courses offered by upGrad in association with top universities for motivated students like you looking for state-of-the-art BBA courses after completing their 12th.

BBA Salary Range in India

You can also check out our free courses offered by upGrad in Management, Data Science, Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, and Technology. All of these courses have top-notch learning resources, weekly live lectures, industry assignments, and a certificate of course completion – all free of cost!

4. Integrated Law course (B.A + L.L.B.)

As the name suggests, and integrated law course refers to dual degrees, one being Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and the other being Bachelor of Legislative Law (L.L.B.). Since it combines two full-fledged courses, the course duration is 5 years, divided into ten semesters. The biggest perk of pursuing an integrated law course is that you can obtain dual degrees within the scope of one curriculum. It is the best career options for students who are wondering what to do after 12th arts and interested in law. 

The syllabus is planned in a way that both the courses merge seamlessly (complementary) with one another. For example, the course curriculum of a B.A + L.L.B. program will cover a vast range of subjects from both domains, including sociology, economics, history, etc., along with the chief law subjects like Law of Evidence, Company Law, Crime Law, Human Rights & International Law, Environmental Law, and Civil Procedure Code (CPC), to name a few which makes it one of the best career options for arts students.

Usually, to pursue an L.L.B. degree, you must have a bachelor’s degree. However, if you opt for an integrated law course, you can study law right after art courses after 12th. The Bar Council of India fully acknowledges integrated law programs. Thus, students having a B.A + L.L.B. degree can sit for the Bar Council of India exam to earn the professional licence for practising law which makes it one of the best courses after 12th arts. 

The LL.M. in Corporate & Financial Law from Jindal Global Law School, powered by upGrad, delivered through blended learning format will help legal professionals with varied experiences to accelerate in a field of their choice.

You can also check out the other law courses offered at upGrad from India’s top law school. After completing LLM Course, you can choose from job roles like Associate – Legal, Legal Executive Trainee, Trainee Associates/Assessment Intern and much more.

Read more: Career Opportunities: Corporate and Financial Law

5. Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication (B.J.M.)

Still need options before deciding what to do after 12th arts? Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication is a 3-year undergraduate course divided into six semesters. The course curriculum includes a variety of fields such as Print Journalism, Television and Radio Production, Television Production and Writing, Advertising and Public Relations, Event Management, Social Media, Film Studies, and Media Law and Ethics.

The extensive course curriculum is perfectly balanced to encourage students to develop technical skills in all relevant domains of journalism and mass communication and impart theoretical knowledge determining their features and usage.

A B.J.M. program aims to create socially responsible media professionals who are data-oriented and excel in oratory and communication skills. During the three years of the course, students are exposed and introduced to many different aspects of media, and hence, after course completion, they’re ready to take on real-world industry roles which made this one of the best courses after 12th arts courses.  Students with effective communication skills and a keen interest in the media and television industry can go for this high salary courses after 12th arts.

A B.J.M. graduate can pursue a career in Radio, Print Media, Journalism (both print and digital), TV production, Films, Marketing & Advertising, and Public Relations, among other things. BJM is one of the preferred arts courses after 12th. 

upGrad’s comprehensive, case-based curriculum is enabled by best-In-class technology to help students acquire industry-relevant skills. They are also provided job-focused study material with soft skills preparation, interview preparation, and taught resume building skills. 

In addition to this, upGrad’s 40,000+ learner’s base proves to be an amazing networking opportunity for students who can also address doubts and participate in discussions with peers.

Post their graduation, students can pursue a career in Journalism (both print and digital), TV production, Films, Marketing & Advertising, and Public Relations, to name a few.

Download the brochure for the program on upGrad’s website to learn more about the university and syllabus.

BJM Salary Range in India

Source

Read: Career Options after Commerce

6. Bachelor of Fashion Design (B.F.D.)

BFD is one of the best arts group courses. Bachelor of Fashion Design is a 3 to 4-year long undergraduate course specially designed for aspirants aiming to enter the fashion industry. The B.F.D. program involves the dynamic trends in the fashion industry and teaches students how to create original designs for garments, jewellery, footwear, accessories, and so on.

Students are not only introduced to the ever-changing world of fashion, but they are also taught how to use different creative and analytical techniques/tools to design products according to the market trends and customer needs which makes it one of the best courses after 12th arts. There are many students from humanities with an innate talent for fashion designing. They can opt for a fashion designing and other relevant high salary courses after 12th arts. However, aspirants must clear the entrance examination of the country’s respective fashion schools/colleges to which they apply.

Bachelor of Fashion Design is an ideal career option after class 12th arts for students with curious and imaginative minds. It teaches candidates industry-specific skills like visual sensibility, global vision of design, prototyping, sense of colour palettes, sewing, and much more. For students who are wondering what to do after 12th arts, joining BFD is a good option as it is one of the preferred after 12th arts courses. 

After graduating with a B.F.D. degree, students can look for job opportunities (apprenticeships) with major fashion houses and designers in the country. Once they get a few years of industry experience, they can switch to international platforms. B.F.D. graduates can bag job roles like Retail Fashion Consultant, Retail Buyer, Personal Shopper, Merchandiser, Textile Designer, Garment Sample Coordinator, etc.

Bachelor of Fashion Design Salary in India

Salary

Graduated with a BA and considering your next move? Delve into career options after BA to explore diverse pathways that can lead to rewarding careers.

7. Bachelor of Hotel Management (B.H.M.)

Our list of answers to ‘What to do after 12th arts?’ would be incomplete if we don’t mention this field.

If you are wondering what to do after 12th arts, BHM is one of the many pivotal job roles in an organization. Bachelor of Hospitality Management is a 3-4 year-long undergraduate management course that trains aspirants to enter the hospitality industry. The course covers a broad range of specialization areas including tourism, event management, lodging management, and the food and beverage industry. Hotel management can be a lucrative career option for students searching courses after 12th arts with high salary. After graduating from hotel many schools, students can easily get jobs with high salaries.

During the course duration, students get ample opportunities to learn and sharpen their interpersonal skills, communication skills, negotiation skills, and customer service skills. Also, they develop a keen business sense with attention to detail, two core aspects of the hospitality sector. Because of these reasons, BHM is one of the preferred courses after 12th arts. 

After the successful completion of the B.H.M. program, candidates can bag diverse job roles like Hotel Manager, Accommodation Manager, Meeting & Event Planner, Food Service Manager, Sales Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Catering Officer, etc.

BHM Salary Range in India

Salary

Check out: 11 Short Term Job Oriented Courses

8. Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS)

If you are looking for arts group courses or after the 12th or courses after 12th arts or best courses after 12th arts, a bachelor of business studies can be a good choice. It is particularly interesting for students who studied economics in the 12th standard. Apart from delivering sound theoretical knowledge about different practices, a bachelor of business studies also imparts several practical skills to look after a business.

9. Bachelor of Physical Education (B.P.Ed)

Have PE classes always been your favorite at school? If so, you might consider making a career in the field of physical education. After completing 12th arts, you can think of enrolling in a Bachelor of Physical Education course. It will usually require 4 years for you to complete your B.P.Ed. After that, you will be able to build a career in wellness and fitness. 

10. Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)

If you want to truly make a difference in society with your career, pursuing a BSW degree seems like a great choice. This career will bring a lot of personal satisfaction as you focus on promoting the well-being of communities, individuals, and families. After pursuing this course, you will be able to seek job opportunities in a multitude of industries. 

For instance, the education and healthcare sectors are often in need of social workers. You can also get employed at a government organization to serve the role of a social worker. With modest salaries at the starting level, social workers can gradually earn respectable incomes after a few years in this field.  

11. Bachelor of Event Management

Event management is one of the most unique and interesting arts group courses after 12th. From corporate event planning and wedding planning to event marketing, you can do it all after a bachelor’s degree in event management. If you are interested in the managerial aspects of event planning, you can also become an event manager.

12. Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Designing

What can I do after 12th arts and what we can become by taking arts? If you have design skills, you can consider the career path of a graphic designer after completing 12th arts. Graphic designers are responsible for making visually enriching logos, websites, advertisements, and more. Graphic designers can start freelancing and earn high salaries with adequate experience in the industry. In fact, graphic designing is one of the most in-demand creative skills of recent times. 

13. Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Designing

The job of an interior designer is to combine aesthetics with practicality to create functional and visually pleasing spaces. After completing 12th arts, students can easily seek a career in interior designing and work with clients in the commercial or residential space. 

Interior designers get the opportunity to work on exciting projects with clients from diverse backgrounds. The salary of interior designers is pretty lucrative and will continue to escalate with considerable experience in the industry. Any interior designer with a specialization in working on hospitality or commercial projects stands a chance to generate an even higher annual income. 

These are some of the arts stream courses after 12th which you can pursue and become successful,

Diploma Courses After 12th Arts

What to do after 12th arts or what are the high salary courses after 12th arts? If you don’t want to pursue three-year or four-year arts group courses after 12th, you can always pursue a diploma arts courses after 12th. The most trending diploma courses after 12th arts with high salary arts student include:

  • Diploma in Digital Marketing

After 12 arts what to do? As more consumers are leveraging the internet to discover products and services, businesses are frantically searching for digital marketing experts. The market value of the digital marketing domain is going to hit $1099.33 billion by 2032. So, it is one of the best fields to pursue your diploma in after completing 12th arts. 

A reputable diploma best course after 12 arts in digital marketing will provide you with the right skills and knowledge to excel in this rapidly expanding field. It will prepare students to use the right procedures and techniques to reach the target audience through effective digital marketing strategies.    

  • Diploma in Business Management

In case you are looking forward to building a career in business, a diploma in business management can be an exceptional choice. This best course after 12 arts will deliver fundamental knowledge about different business principles. Whether it’s accounting, finance, or human resources, a diploma in business management will help you acquire a basic understanding of everything. 

  • Diploma in Physical Education

A physical education diploma after can be one of the most unique arts group courses after 12th. It will usually take two years to complete and prepare learners with the right skills to teach physical education in schools and colleges. 

  • Diploma in Project Management

Employers are constantly in search of candidates with efficient project management skills. You will benefit from pursuing a diploma certificate via accredited PMP courses. 

  • Diploma in Hotel Management

If you are interested in a career in the hospitality industry, you can enroll in a diploma in hotel management after 12th art. This course will usually cover topics ranging from operations management to food and beverage management. 

  • Diploma in Industrial Safety

After arts which course is best? After pursuing 12th arts, students can also enroll in a diploma program to expand their knowledge about industrial safety. These diploma courses prepare students to facilitate smooth and safe operations within an industrial environment. 

  • Diploma in Photography

After pursuing 12th arts, you can also think about becoming a professional photographer. A diploma in photography will improve your skills with the camera and help you capture better snaps. 

  • Diploma in Public Administration

A career in public administration also seems promising after pursuing 12 arts. This diploma course will provide detailed knowledge about administration, management, and public policies. 

  • Diploma in Fashion Designing

If the world of fashion excites you, a diploma in fashion design seems like a prudent choice after 12th arts. These diploma courses usually begin with a history of the fashion world. But you will also acquire valuable information about design principles, textile science, and garment construction. 

  • Diploma in Tourism Studies

If you want to pursue an unconventional course after 12th arts, a diploma in tourism studies seems like a great choice. It will usually cover topics like the history and economics of tourism. 

  • Diploma in Event Management 

A diploma in event management is a pretty exciting course for students with a knack for planning and organizing. These courses impart valuable knowledge to organize small parties as well as large-scale events. 

  • Diploma in Different Languages

Students can also look forward to improving their communication skills and learning new languages after completing 12th arts. A diploma in a specific language like Spanish, German, or French will help you become more adept at reading, writing, and speaking it. 

Government Jobs to Check Out After 12th Arts

There are a number of career options after 12th arts or arts students career options. After completing the 12th board examination in the arts stream, several students start preparing for prestigious government exams like the following:

  • Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)

What to do after 12th arts? Once you complete the 12th arts, you can start preparing for the UPSC examination. The civil service examination takes place every year to recruit candidates for the IPS, IAS, and other bureaucratic roles in the central government. It is a highly competitive exam with three stages, including the preliminary examination, main examination, and interview. 

  • SSC Combined Higher Secondary Level (CHSL)

A large number of students start preparing for the SSC CHSL competitive examination after passing their 12th boards. Some common posts that are filled through this examination include Data Entry Operator (DEO), Lower Divisional Clerk (LDC), and Postal Assistant/ Sorting Assistant (PA/SA).

  • SSC Stenographer (Grade C and Grade D)

You can pursue the job of a government stenographer after cracking this competitive examination. It will involve taking dictation from a senior government official and transcribing it inside a document. Moreover, candidates need to perform several other secretariat tasks like handling correspondence and maintaining files. 

  • SSC Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS)

If you are a 12th-pass student, you can also start preparing for MTS. This examination will help you seek jobs in a multitude of government departments and ministries. Depending on your role, you might have to perform tasks like fieldwork, office work, or data entry. 

  • National Defense Academy (NDA)

After passing your 12th board examination, you can also sit for the NDA entrance exam. If you are able to pass the written examination round, you will be called for an interview. Next, you will have to undergo a detailed medical examination, which will determine whether you get selected to serve the country or not. 

  • Indian Railway Recruitment Board (RRB)

After you pass your 12th board examination, you can explore various career options with the Indian Railway Recruitment Board. You will find various job roles available in the Group D position. However, you can also pursue roles like an assistant loco pilot and a junior engineer. The eligibility criteria for each post at the Indian Railways are different. 

  • Forest Guard

The role of a forest guard is to protect and maintain forests and wildlife. They formulate different laws regarding the usage of natural resources. These professionals are fully dedicated to prohibiting illicit activities like poaching, hunting, and logging. 

  • Indian Coast Guard

If you are looking forward to an inspiring and challenging career after 12th arts, becoming an Indian Coast Guard seems like a worthy choice. This career option involves performing different round-the-year operations at the sea.

Wrapping up

The above is a list of some great career options after 12th arts. We hope it will answer your question “What to do after 12th arts?”. You can determine your interest based on your career choice that you would like to opt for after your graduation. For all young minds, wondering what to do after 12th arts, you need to check the amount of time, the difficulty level, and the price of the course, before deciding which course to opt after your graduation. Any of the above best courses after 12th arts are sure to land you a great job so that you can happily start your journey in the professional world.

Time has changed, and so has the scenario. Students have equal access to soaring career opportunities after passing 12th in the arts stream. What’s interesting is that today the humanities include many new subjects apart from the conventional ones. These new subjects allow students to embark on radical career paths after passing their 12th in the arts stream.

So, there you go, a detailed list of some of the best career options after class 12th arts! We’ve taken care to include both the trending and evergreen career options so that you can get a better idea of what lies ahead and plan your career steps accordingly. 

We hope this helps!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is asked in the entrance exams for a BFA degree?

A BFA degree is about visual art, whether it is painting, sculpture, or digital art. While most private and government institutions have separate exams, their syllabus majorly remains the same. There is one component for the theoretical part and another component for the practical part. The theoretical component might constitute aptitude-based questions, general knowledge, a brief history of art and culture, and a basic understanding of art fundamentals. On the other hand, the practical component requires candidates to showcase their creative and technical skills, including perspective, light, and shade.

2. How rigorous are the 5 years of B.A, L.L.B?

The five years of a law degree are packed with subject matter and some practical experiences. Students need to put in a considerable number of study hours per day to keep up with the learning. Most courses also incorporate a mandatory internship, which requires a full-time commitment. Based on your interest level in law, the difficulty may vary. But you do need to immerse yourself in the whole process to grasp what you are studying completely. Like any other degree, a B.A L.L.B also asks for dedication and hard work from the students.

3. What subjects will I learn in Hotel Management?

A Bachelor’s in Hotel Management degree has a variety of subjects, including management, marketing, and food courses. A course that deals with travel and tourism management will look at the practical aspects of the hotel industry. Another course, like hospitality marketing, will teach you about how to advertise items, create greater brand awareness, and make the image of a hotel more appealing and welcoming. A few other notable courses include kitchen operations, food and beverages, and human resource management. The subjects also depend on the institution, so make sure to check out each program structure.

4. What are the advantages of taking up a BA + LLB program, and when is it advisable to opt for it?

The BA + LLB program is a dual degree 5-year program that people should opt for if they want to pursue a career in law. Instead of doing a 3-year BA and 3-year LLB degree separately, adding to a total of 6 years, the dual degree helps students finish both courses in 5 years, saving one year. The BA+LLB course teaches students law, its comprehensive theories, and its applications in the real world. Many of the top companies prefer recruiting students with BA + LLB degrees over candidates with only either. This powerful combo helps students develop critical, logical, and analytical skills that will help them in their careers. The career options available also increase, expanding to media, academia, and journalism.

5. What opportunities do you look out for after completing a Bachelor's degree in hotel management?

Some roles to look for after completing a degree in hotel management are hotel operations manager, event planner, catering manager, stewardess, etc. A Hotel Operations Manager supervises the hotel's health, security, cleanliness, and various other departments for a customer-friendly experience. An Event Planner communicates with clients, understands their requirements, books venues, manages the catering food, decoration, etc. The catering manager takes care of orders, plans menus, monitors food quality, and ensures that health and safety regulations are followed. There are many more opportunities apart from these.

6. What are the key areas an MBA focuses on?

MBA stands for Master of Business Administration. The key areas your MBA degree focuses on depending on your chosen MBA specialisation. MBA offers various specialisations: Management, Finance, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Human Resources Management, Consulting, Operations Management, and many more. The curriculum includes lessons on how organisations are set up, their finance and accounting models, business strategies, market research, etc. At the same time, students can be part of multiple communities where they organise events in colleges. This way, their creativity, management, and organising skills improve drastically. This ensures the holistic development of students. After pursuing an MBA, some people take up jobs in MNCs like Google, Amazon, Adobe, etc., and some start their own start-ups.

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Kamal Jacob

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India’s Education Sector needs a new Avatar, a Contemporary Approach

5.18K+

India’s Education Sector needs a new Avatar, a Contemporary Approach

This article was originally published in Economic Times. Everyone seems to be talking about disruption. Like “startup” and “funding”, “disruption” has become a part of our daily parlance and evinces a strong sentiment among entrepreneurial enthusiasts. We are seeing disruption across sectors and levels, all of which is helping us in reimagining the world around us. Education, meanwhile, is crying out for disruption but is going unheard. It is a sector that is brimming with opportunities and waiting to be tapped with an innovative approach. The Need of the Hour The question is, are our institutions and universities imparting knowledge for a world that does not exist anymore in its old avatar? And are all of us, especially our youth, becoming smarter learners? The answer for both these questions is a resounding “yes”. The Idea Called UpGrad: Why Education is Serious Business India has the largest college-age population in the world — close to a staggering 125 million — but it is startling to know that less than one in five of them is doing their post-secondary education. This means only 20% of college-age youngsters are doing their higher education as opposed to 90% in the US. Will India be able to achieve its gross domestic product (GDP) growth targets at this rate? No. Will we need to double our participation rates in higher education in the next five-ten years? Yes Can pure offline, brick-and-mortar college and university models fill this massive gap? Again, the answer is obvious. Look at the challenges. One, it takes four-eight years to set up one campus/university and at its peak it could cater to 5,000-10,000 students. Two, we need to have enough trainers and teachers to feed into these facilities, many of them in remote areas or away from cities. Three, the cumulative outlay at scale for private or public-private partnership (PPP) models to cater to the entire college-going population will be nothing short of $100 billion. Four, over half of this 125 million youngsters, I believe, will have compulsions to take up a job very early in life for socio-economic reasons and may not have the flexibility to go back to college after that. In this scenario, online education can be the big disruptor for India. Of course, there will be myriad challenges, but it offers exponential solutions: it can reach the remotest parts of India, aggregate the best faculty as everyone from the offline world can participate with much less demand on their time and lastly our youth can stay in their jobs while continuing to learn. Kushagra Saran’s Journey while Impacting Education Disruption in online education can be the answer to the gigantic challenge that India, called the youngest nation in the world, is facing. If we do not create equal opportunities and access to the best learning/upskilling/upgrading centres for our ambitious and aspiring youth, our demographic dividend can turn into a demographic debt. Skill India too has a goal to train over 400 million people by 2022 and this audacious outreach can be achieved only by radical disruptive thinking and bold execution. However, online will not succeed if it simply copies traditional teaching methodology. Online education should be more focused on professional education and post-graduation as those demographics look for flexibility and augmentation. For early years and K-12, brick-and-mortar schools will continue to play a big role in the holistic development of the child and online education will only be a supplement. Five-Year Plans For online education to be disruptive and for it to succeed, education will have to be thought through as a digitalfirst medium. Technology will have to be integrated to create a superior learning experience on the online platform. Online education has to move away from being a glorified content library; it has to involve peer-to-peer discussions, alumni chats, group studies and more. It has to shed its reputation of providing isolated, individual learning platforms and evolve into a social platform where you are not learning alone but studying together with a lot of individuals. Let’s come to terms with a few things. In the 21st century, what we learn will have less and less relevance after five years and hence there is a need for constant upgrade. Convergence of new forms of learning will be the fuel for and engine of economic growth. Universities need to develop programmes that are linked closely with employer demands. Otherwise, the results will be disastrous: while job seekers overspend on education programmes that are less likely to result in ideal employment opportunities, employers will be hiring poor fits. We need to change the mindsets of multiple stakeholders — academia, companies, students, young professionals and, most important, families — because how we learn and who we learn from have transformed. Our dependence on experts and figures of authority has diminished while our ability to learn from each other has spiralled dramatically. All I can say is, I wish I was back in college today. If you like to have one-to-one with industry experts, networking with hundreds of entrepreneurs, and bag a seed funding to start your idea, check Leadership & Management program
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by Ronnie Screwvala

11 Mar'16
Working Professional’s Need of Staying Relevant

5.54K+

Working Professional’s Need of Staying Relevant

Online education across segments and students population is emerging as a popular option for individuals. Across age groups, online education is getting adopted. A segment where we at UpGrad feel that online adoption will be rapid, is the working professional segment. And there are multiple reasons for the same – from their ability to pay, their willingness to move up in their career etc. In this piece I want to touch upon a key trend that we are targeting – changing requirements of the industry and the need to continuously upgrade for working professionals. To give an example, a few decades ago – a farmer’s son would be a farmer; a carpenter’s son would be a carpenter. Things changed over time, and a farmer’s son started becoming an engineer. And in today’s world, an engineer goes through 5+ career shifts in his/her career span. There’ll Be A Billion-Plus Job-Seekers By 2050, So Get Yourself Skilled NOW! Marketing is not the way it used to be 10 years back. Payment is not the way it used to be 5 years back. Data analysis has undergone drastic changes. And in this digital age, the rate of this change is going to further accelerate. Industry will evolve rapidly, and as working professionals, each one of us has to keep up with this changing requirement. Industry is not going to wait for the individual to get upskilled or upgraded, and a large part of the onus will lie with the individual. Further, the rate at which the needs of the industries are changing; our current university system is not able to cope up. Therefore, individuals have to look for alternate options to add relevant skills to their portfolio. This is where online education comes into the fore. Professionals today do not have the flexibility of leaving their jobs and going to a school to learn new skills. Online education platforms are great options for these professionals who are looking to continuously upgrade, while continuing to stay in their jobs. Unlike offline education, online medium provides the advantage of being able to update the program curriculum and content regularly, and keep it relevant to the industry needs. Online medium also allows real-life problems to come to working professionals learning, where an individual can actually live the real-life situations in the form of case studies. Top 10 Essential Tools For Startup Business in India In the digital age, each individual will have to continuously upskill himself/ herself to stay relevant, and that would provide a large opportunity for edtech startups to create scale platforms. EdTech startups will have to look for opportunities where there is a significant demand supply gap, and look at providing right education programs. The biggest challenge in this will be the ability of edtech startups to design the program content for digital medium, rather than replicate what is being covered in the offline programs. Taking advantage of the digital channel will be key here. So for all edtech startups, keep your ears on the ground, and look for areas and skills that will allow you to build scale learning platform.
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by Mayank Kumar

20 Apr'16
Google I/O 2016 – Day 1 | Recap

5.07K+

Google I/O 2016 – Day 1 | Recap

The most awaited Google I/O 2016 Conference was filled with announcements about improvements in current products and launch of some new products. In this article, we have summarized the biggest announcements from Day 1 of the conference. Google Allo Allo is Google’s new messaging app with resident chatbot. It has features like whisper/shout, expressive stickers, smart replies- which evolve with time and wide range of bot support especially the Google Assistant search bot. One of the most important features of Allo is that all its chats are encrypted but incognito mode offers end-to-end encryption and an option to send messages that self-destruct. Additionally, once you close a chat, the entire conversation is deleted forever. Google Duo Duo is Google’s mobile only companion app for Allo that helps in video calling. One of its special feature is ‘Knock Knock’ which lets users see the incoming video call feed before even answering the call. So, the receiving party can see who’s calling and where they are before they even pick up the call. Google Assistant Google takes search to the next level. Google Assistant supports “conversational understanding” to make search more natural and to better support voice searches. Google Home Home is built on the Chromecast standard, which lets it push media to other Cast-compatible speakers and screens, change temperature or lighting through Nest devices, and integrate with third party services. The entire experience is hands-free, powered entirely by voice. In fact, it doesn’t even have any buttons. Simple voice commands will control every aspect of the Home. Android N Android N comes with new features that include more control over notification size from different apps and a new picture-in-picture mode. Android N uses a new API called Vulkan that lets developers directly control a phone’s GPU for sharper 3D graphics. Android N will also download and install system updates automatically. The name of Android N has not yet been released. It is going to be selected through a crowdsourced contest. Google Daydream Google has a new VR platform built on top of Android N, and the new VR platform is called Google Daydream. It is an optimized virtual reality platform that aims to standardize the mobile-based VR experience. It also spans both software and hardware; Its biggest limitation is that it will be available only in new phones with special sensors and screen. Android Wear 2.0 Android Wear 2.0 can function independently of a smartphone. Apps no longer need a connected smartphone in order to function. Apps can function and even communicate without a phone, as long as the wearable device is connected to the internet via cellular or Wi-Fi. Users can also make data from any app show up on any watch face. Instant Apps One of the most interesting announcement was google Instant Apps. With Instant Apps, users can begin using an app instantly from right within the Google Play store without even having to download and install the app. As we can see, Google has made some big moves in the three hottest areas of tech – virtual reality, messaging, and smart assistants. However it would be interesting to see how these new products will compete with their competitors and how much of market share would they capture after their launch.
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by Dilip Guru

19 May'16
There’ll Be A Billion-Plus Job-Seekers By 2050, So Get Yourself Skilled NOW

898.94K+

There’ll Be A Billion-Plus Job-Seekers By 2050, So Get Yourself Skilled NOW

This isn’t just a catchy headline meant to shock you, though that would be a justified reaction. If you are 25 years old, have graduated from a reputed institute in a traditional higher education discipline and are looking for a job, you may not be handed one on a platter any time soon. You may be cushioned within the famous Indian demographic that is supposed to yield a “dividend”, but unlike what you’ve been reading everywhere, this does not guarantee you employment. Between 1980 to 2010, 90% of world labour force growth occurred in developing countries and about 500 million new workers emerged in India and China alone (workers went from 260 million to 470 million in India, between this period). India, along with other developing counterparts, is all set to fuel 60% of the global growth in labour in the upcoming years. Keep in mind that enrolment in Indian higher education is only 24% right now. With India attaining almost universal elementary education and increased retention in secondary schools, the projected demand for higher education and jobs thereafter, will only escalate. By 2050, India will be home to more than a billion job seekers. This means providing jobs for over 12 million new entrants annually. There is also the challenge of finding jobs for the backlog, which reached 60 million by 2014. So isn’t this good news? India finally placed on the world map with a solid advantage where labour supply is concerned. Well, it may not all be good news. The new-age job-seeker must strive to acquire specific skill sets to be considered employable. Currently, only 43% of Indian youth are considered fully employable. Indian millennials are being touted as the future of jobs and the saviours of the working world. But this won’t hold true if in-demand skills are not imparted to the youth entering the workforce. The world of work is changing and industries are transforming. It’s a fact that we are moving towards a massive labour pool, but we are possibly riding a low-skill, low-wage cycle to get there. The country is on a trajectory that involves a surplus of millions of low-skill workers, whereas most nations, including India, will be increasingly demanding a high-skill workforce. Impacting Education: My Journey and UpGrad Most industries are replacing low-skill jobs with high-skill ones. Skills relating to upcoming technologies like cloud computing, social media, artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnology, etc, are gaining immense relevance. Unfortunately, our education system is not preparing students well enough to enter the workforce as high-skill workers or equipping them with skills in the mentioned emerging domains. Gone are the days when just holding a graduate degree was enough to get employers to clamour to hire you. Education is not enough. The new-age job-seeker must strive to acquire specific skill sets to be considered employable. Currently, only 43% of Indian youth are considered fully employable. Gone are the days when just holding a graduate degree was enough to get employers to clamour to hire you. Education is not enough. The positive connotation associated with our demographic shift has been taken for granted and assigned the term “dividend.” But if we don’t strategically harness this change, we could very easily be faced with a demographic disaster. We don’t want to be stuck in a situation where we have too many job-seekers with inadequate skills, and therefore not enough jobs for them. India is moving workers out of farm jobs at a very fast rate, and this will only add to the burden of providing jobs in other sectors. We need a wake-up call and more concerted efforts towards large-scale skill development and training. We may have a situation of too few high-skill workers and not enough jobs for medium- or low-skill workers. This needs to be rectified by adjusting the education and skilling system to ready ourselves for the jobs of tomorrow. UpGrad develops various programs such as Digital Marketing Certification Program, and Product Management Certification Program in collaboration with IIIT Bangalore, specially designed for working professionals looking to up-skill themselves.  Check out the free courses.
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by Mayank Kumar

20 Jun'16
Only 25% Of Indian Graduates Are Employable, And The Solution Is Obvious

6.57K+

Only 25% Of Indian Graduates Are Employable, And The Solution Is Obvious

Co-authored by: Apoorva Shankar, Business Development Associate, UpGrad The world today has enhanced productivity requirements. Due to this, the demand for highly skilled labour is growing. China and India are set to drive this demand. Globally, the share of low-skill jobs is likely to decline from 74% of employment in 2010 to 62% by 2020. On the other hand, the shortage of highly skilled workers with a tertiary level of education is expected to reach 18 million by 2020, globally. But due to its demographic dividend, India will have a labour surplus of 47 million by 2020. However, this surplus may only be of low-skilled labour. And while the demand for highly skilled labour is increasing, the supply isn’t quite keeping up. The challenge, as well as opportunity, that India faces is how to train such a large reserve of labour and convert low skills to high skills. One solution that immediately comes to mind is providing higher education for all. But at present only 24% of those meant to be participating in higher education, are actually enrolled. Plus, traditional college or university pedagogy has been increasingly criticized for being outdated and irrelevant to the jobs market. If you attended school or college in India, you will have first-hand experience of the ills that plague the system. Some of the reasons for this are: Absence of a customized or personalized approach to education (necessary as different students have different needs and learning capabilities). Restricted resources due to not-for-profit nature of educational institutes and over-regulation. Lack of technology infrastructure. Poor teaching quality. Lack of skills-based learning. Low focus on research and development. Minimal partnerships with industry/foreign academia. Outdated curricula not reflecting requirements of a dynamic market environment. Skill-intensive industries are expected to contribute more than 90% of India’s GDP by 2030. The opportunity is staring at us in the face. Only about 25% of Indian graduates are considered employable by the organized sector. Further, 48% of Indian employers said they were having difficulty in filling jobs, in 2012. Despite employers expressing difficulty in finding employable candidates, in 2009-10 the unemployment rates in India were higher for those who were more educated (graduates had more difficulty finding jobs than secondary or primary level graduates). [b_color background=”#EDFF3D”] Also Read – Technology will surely kill some jobs, but not all of them [/b_color] So Indian education, in its current form, hasn’t proved to be enough training for the incoming workforce. The numbers also prove that just completing higher education in any field is not all it takes anymore. This pinch is being increasingly felt as the world of jobs is turning upside down; which is why we need skill training. Skill-intensive industries are expected to contribute more than 90% of India’s GDP by 2030. The opportunity is staring at us in the face. It’s not just about the potential but also the responsibility we are tasked with — restoring balance to the global supply of labour. The country needs to invest in skill development and training for a large chunk of its population. Exploiting sheer numbers is therefore one major reason to skill our workers. Secondly, the demand for advanced skill-sets in emerging areas is growing. Knowledge-intensive roles such as finance, business, etc, and those related to information technology and entrepreneurship are gaining momentum. The reality that these skills must be acquired will take root for more and more individuals, including drop-outs from the mainstream education system and those who have completed such education. Currently, the actual supply of these workers falls drastically short of matching growing demand. Hence, the gaps in domain knowledge are another reason to scale up the skilling. You are likely to be at a disadvantage, in terms of skill training and thereby employability, when compared to someone your age in China, USA, South Korea… In China about 47% of the workforce has received some kind of skill training, 52% in USA, 68% in UK, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. Comparatively, only about 10% of the Indian workforce received such training in 2008. India is seventh in the category of countries facing maximum difficulty in filling jobs, i.e., 58% difficulty, where the global average is 38%. These figures reflect that just belonging to the young Indian demographic is not enough. You are likely to be at a disadvantage, in terms of skill training and thereby employability, when compared to someone your age in China, USA, South Korea etc. To address these imbalances, India needs unprecedented increase in both education and job creation. At this point, there is no guaranteed advantage for India in the contest for high-skill talent. It will be dependent on skilling. Considering the state of higher education and the skill upgrade required to be carried out in the future, the process will not just be about learning for professionals, but rather unlearning and re-learning.
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by Mayank Kumar

13 Jul'16
7 reasons to watch UpGrad Talks today

5.19K+

7 reasons to watch UpGrad Talks today

There is really no secret sauce for success. Provided you have had the opportunity to view the exclusive online tete-e-tete sessions brought to you by UpGrad Talks. With an amazing roster of world-class speakers, some from the top 1000 companies of India such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Sky, Coca Cola, JP Morgan, JWT to start-up poster children such as RedBus, Snadeal, Ola & Zivame and many more, Upgrad Talks provides insights into their formulae for success. The talks also share deep learning from situations that didn’t work out and many valuable nuggets of honest, down-to-earth and practical advice from successful entrepreneurs, experts and industry leaders. While some lip service has been paid to new-age technologies and skill sets, and the evolution of industries because of these, a deeper understanding of what this signifies is missing. Upgrad Talks intends to fill this gap by bringing together thought-leaders from different walks of life and raising the level of discourse in this area, as they share their experiences. Here are the top reasons why you must visit talks.upgrad.com today and make it your daily source of insights and motivation: Get Inspired Inspiration can come from many different sources. You may get inspired when you see a problem that needs a solution, which you are able to ideate, or get inspired when you hear stories of adversity being overcome by sheer willpower. Rarely does the simple existence of wealth inspire us. It may motivate us to work harder, but inspiration stems from a deeper place that needs real stories. Upgrad Talks are stories from the folks who have lived these stories, first hand. Not only does hearing someone’s complete story of challenges, thought process and subsequent outcome inspire, it also gives birth to new ideas and provides impetus to grow in your own space.  Moreover, inspiration also stems from well-put statements such as, ‘attitude will sail you through,’ by Harit Nagpal, CEO of Tata Sky. A key benefit of listening to industry leaders is that it also inspires us to think. ‘What we think, we become,’ is a quote by Buddha that sums up this well. Go ahead, face challenges It does not matter if you are a startup or an established financial organization; challenges, big or small, exist in every level of most businesses. Challenges faced, strategized and overcome is the rite of passage for almost everyone. Not only do Upgrad Talks cover challenges faced by leading industry veterans, it also covers it from various stages of businesses along with discussion of the solutions that helped overcome them. Upgrad Talks speakers’ discuss challenges faced by businesses in different spaces, which makes these talks an interesting listen. Furthermore, is quite motivating to hear the candid conversations of business leaders. So what is the common thought on challenges in the Upgrad Talks? No challenge is too big. It also strengthens the belief that challenges help you grow and become stronger and develops a sense of confidence to take on the next big challenge. Learn from influencers People who can motivate are great influencers. To hear success stories at Upgrad Talks, which have been driven by deep-rooted passion as well as courage of conviction can be a great influence on most people. It is likely to help you push yourself to greater heights and also follow your dreams a bit more diligently. To quote Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl, ‘ there is a fine line between stubbornness and persistence.’ Upgrad Talks is likely to help you define the lines as an excellent selection of influencers talk also about the key soft skills required to make it a significant mark on the industry that you belong to. Mentoring As you listen to entrepreneurs, business leaders and experts on models that have worked, one can also start drawing parallels to one’s one business or profession. Mentoring of this kind is both subtle and effective as it helps you choose some key takeaways from the shared experiences that are most relevant to you. Follow the series to get premium access to the best mentors in the country as they talk about education, the emerging digital age and its impact on businesses, talent shortages and advice to youngsters. A bit of crystal gazing In the series of Upgrad Talks, one is likely to come across a vast amount of business knowledge which has been converted into digestible insights that can also help you choose the next steps in your career. Speakers’ at Upgrad Talks share their business mantras and what the future is likely to be.  This is crystal gazing of the finest variety and yet another reason to tune into the talks. A healthy dash of optimism One of the unique selling points of the Upgrad Talks is that they also brings out the combined optimism in business from key industry leaders. Apart from that one can learn what is next in the industry, and explore potential future opportunities in the workspace. The upbeat and positive nature of these talks makes them a must-listen. Easily available online Just in case you were wondering how far you would need to travel to listen to such a wide range of speakers, you can breath easy. Upgrad Talks are delivered online and you can listen to them at your own convenience. All you need to do is to long onto talks.upgrad.com and you can access high quality, pre-recorded sessions online. Upgrad is making content richer, bigger and better as it kicks off with 15+ talks delivered by entrepreneurs, experts & business leaders.  You definitely do not want to miss out on the educational transformation that UpGrad is fuelling in partnership with some of the greatest minds. Remember, one can never stop learning. So, if you always aspired to hear great advice and insights from the top Indian business leaders on how you can grow your business, choose a career goal or get inspired, do take a look at Upgrad Talks. They are truly the voices that impact. Join us today and be a part of it at talks.upgrad.com.
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by Omkar Pradhan

06 Aug'16
Evolving online education: Learning Together

5.36K+

Evolving online education: Learning Together

Technologies in online learning have been making promises since early 20th century. From radio to present day MOOCs,  multiple new technologies were seen as silver bullet in revolutionising education. These promises were indeed laudable, to make education accessible to everyone, affordable for everyone and more effective. Yet, the same history of unmet expectations has been repeated every time*. Although a lot has happened over the past decade in terms of growth and expansion of online education, there are many challenges yet to be solved before we can say online learning has truly arrived. We, at UpGrad, believe the following three challenges are the biggest hurdles to the success of online education. Isolation: Online learning is solitary experience   Acceptability: Online learning’s validity in the Job Market   Not Engaging: Interplay of distractions and motivations in learning online The dismally low completion rates and high failure rates are reflection of these challenges [1]. Our goal at UpGrad is to fight these challenges and provide an unmatched learning experience for the working professionals. We believe, with the flexibility of online learning, every working professional can “UpGrade” himself without going back to full-time formal education. Hence, we need to to make online learning mainstream. In this article we would be sharing how are setting the online learning as a ‘Social Experience’ for our students, ie the first of the three mentioned challenges. In 2000s, internet surfing was mainly an individual experience and on the other hand, in 2016 almost all of internet time is a social experience. We do not feel alone in 2016 version of internet. We believe online education will have much higher engagement and completion rates once it becomes a social experience. An average student’s e-learning journey is an individual experience making him/her feel isolated. Learners move through the course with limited interactions with both their instructor and classmates. We at UpGrad, are building a new learning platform specifically designed keeping our students and their needs in mind. We believe this would be key to provide the kind of engagement levels the students deserve. The perception of social presence (or lack of) is a big concern among students and teachers in online learning. Teachers develop courses in isolation and the students take the courses in isolation. Researchers have found strong correlation between the sense of social presence facilitated by the course and student’s perceived learning [3,4,5]. Also there is good re correlation between withdrawal in the course and student’s perceived lack of social interaction and instructor presence [3]. Lack of social interaction in e-learning increases the distraction, since a learner would look for social interaction elsewhere which is usually Twitter, Whatsapp or Facebook. If there is another learner doing the same course in my apartment building, there are limited chances that I would know about him. As learners of online courses, we are oblivious of everyone else’s presence except few replies on the discussion forum. They do form Facebook groups or Whatsapp groups organically, yet the whole online learning format ends up being mostly a solo experience. Here are the steps we are taking at UpGrad in making our online programs a social experience.: Profiles : The first step in ‘social’ e-learning is knowing your classmates. We have learner profiles with education and work history along with other details. Almost everyone is encouraged to fill in their full profile along with a descriptive ‘bio’ section. There are multiple points where learners are nudged to click on the profiles. To improve discoverability of relevant profiles we not only leverage cohort social graph but also use interest graph, performance graph, complementary skills graphs. Combined with other semi random** algorithms like who was recently online, learners bump into each other in interesting ways. In the first month of Data Analytics Program, an average engaged learner viewed peer profiles 110 times. Discussions: We have a discussion forum which is contextual and relevant to the course content. We designed it from the ground up to involve learners during the course. They help each other, solve doubts, ask questions, have healthy debates on the forum. Only when there is no consensus a Teaching Assistant gets involved in clearing the doubts. Last 3 months data shows that on a daily basis 50% of the students who are engaged on the platform, also engaged actively on the discussion forum. As most professionals have different backgrounds, sharing of experiences on the forum is much valuable to everyone in the cohort. We have seen learners fall into three buckets on the forum. First is the majority producers, the top 30% of forum content producers are responsible for around 70% of the discussions. The next 50% do the rest of 30% of the content but continue to voice their opinions through upvotes. Rest of the 20% are mere observers. These numbers are highly encouraging and we will be investing more time in finding out how student-student social interactions can help in overall engagement. Figure 1: Forum topic distribution in one of our programs. Share in the pie is (questions * votes) for each topic. Bigger share of the pie is a proxy for doubts. This lead us to start live sessions on those topics. Thought Leader AMAs: Initiating and maintaining engagement on the forum is hard. To set the ball rolling, we started the discussion forum for a new cohort with getting a thought leader to do an AMA on the platform. This way not only the students got a product onboarding experience but also the social expectation was set amongst the peers. In some months, the total content creation during AMAs ended up around 20% of the total cumulative content. We also observed a side benefit of starting the program with thought leader – that learners are more helpful, behave with more civility and show much more respect for each other. This is not very unusual because it is known that a group’s eventual social dynamics are very much impacted by behaviour in initial few days. In a way, it sets the trend which follows upto the end of the course. We also explored bringing in external motivations to see how does it impact on engagement levels. At times, there were small gifts for top forum contributors and at times we included forum participation in the grading. Our primary observations show that this is to be used cautiously. We are working on establishing a balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations for social involvement. Facebook Groups: For all cohorts we have Facebook groups for students apart from the platform discussion forum. We were not very confident how much our forum will be used for non academic discussions and generic social sharing. However, we found more and more discussions of generic nature and sharing of articles & blogs also started happening on the forum. Hence facebook group ended up becoming redundant. We are thinking of doing away with a cohort’s facebook group with this expanded use of discussion forum In summary, having a strong sense of community within the students is a big predictor of learning outcomes. This has been researched multiple times [7, 8]. Our platform’s usage data of course progress and social interaction activity strongly confirms this research. At a time, a learner who is socially engaged on our platform has usually completed 4 times (Figure 2) course materials than a learner who does not participate in social discussions. This high correlation has been repeated across multiple cohorts. Figure 2: At a snapshot of time course completion rates for learners active on forum vs non active. Apart from the student isolation e-learning content creators and facilitators tend to work in isolation, reflecting and sharing of best practices is minimal[6]. We at UpGrad are aware of this problem, and making sure different program teams collaborate and share solutions to common problems. We do not have complete solution to isolation in learning yet. We as a company are focussed on solving this problem, we are testing out few ideas and are willing to share the results with the community. With these changes we are expecting online learning experience to be more engaging, more involving and eventually pushing up the low completion rates of online learning. These are early days of online education and we have miles to go. Bibliography [1] http://collegequarterly.ca/2007-vol10-num03-summer/rolfe.html [2] Online Social Networks as Formal Learning Environments: Learner Experiences and Activities, The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, Vol 13, No 1 (2012) [3] Tello SF (2007). An analysis of student persistence in online education. International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Education [4] Herbert, M. (2006). Staying the course: A study in online student satisfaction and retention. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 9(4). [5] Morris, T. A. (2009). Anytime/anywhere online learning: Does it remove barriers for adult learners. In T.Kidd (Ed.), Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices. Hershey, PA:IGI Global. [6] Duncan, H & Barnett J (2009) Learning to teach online. [7] Kaulback, B (2015). Learning Together : Community and Network from the perspective of designers of online learning. (Doctoral dissertation) [8] Bernard, R. M., Abrami, P. C., Borokhovski, E., Wade, C. A., Tamim, R. M., Surkes, M. A., & Bethel, E. C. (2009). A meta-analysis of three types of interaction treatments in distance education. Review of Educational Research, 79(3), 1243–1289.
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by Ankit Mittal

08 Aug'16
Skill deprivation: Education alone won’t guarantee a job, in-demand skills need of hour

898.95K+

Skill deprivation: Education alone won’t guarantee a job, in-demand skills need of hour

If you are 25 years old, hold a degree in a traditional arts discipline from a well-regarded institute and are looking for a job, you may not be handed one on a platter any time soon. You may be cushioned within the famous Indian demographic that is supposed to yield a ‘dividend,’ but unlike what you’ve been reading everywhere, this does not guarantee you employment. Between 1980 to 2010, 90% of world labour force growth occurred in developing countries and about 500 million new workers emerged in India and China alone (workers went from 260 million to 470 million in India, between this period). India is all set to power most of global growth in labour in the coming years. Enrolment in Indian higher education is 24% right now. With India attaining almost universal elementary education, and increased retention in secondary schools, the projected demand for higher education and jobs will only escalate. India has finally been placed on the world map with a solid advantage where labour supply is concerned. Impacting Education: My Journey and UpGrad It’s not all good news though. Indian millennials are being touted as the future of jobs and the saviours of the working world. But this won’t hold true if in-demand skills are not imparted to the youth entering the workforce. The world of work is changing and industries are transforming. It’s a fact that we are moving towards a massive labour pool, but we are possibly riding a low-skill, low-wage cycle to get there. The country is on a trajectory that involves a surplus of millions of low-skill workers, whereas most nations, including India, will be demanding high-skill workers more and more. Most industries are replacing low-skill jobs with high-skill ones. Skills relating to upcoming technologies in advanced areas – think AI, robotics, data science and mining – are gaining immense relevance. Unfortunately, our education system is not preparing students well enough to enter the workforce as high-skill workers nor equipping them with skills in emerging domains. Curricula is outdated and pedagogy poorly-developed. Gone are the days when just holding a graduate degree was enough to get employers to clamour to hire you. Education is not enough. The new-age job-seeker must strive to acquire specific skill sets to be considered employable (currently only 43% of Indian youth are considered fully employable). This applies to all sectors of the economy, as most industries and businesses are adopting new-age technologies and going digital within most functions. There’ll Be A Billion-Plus Job-Seekers By 2050! The positive connotation associated with our demographic shift has been taken for granted and assigned the term ‘dividend.’ But if we don’t strategically harness this change, we could easily be faced with a demographic disaster. We don’t want to be stuck in a situation where we have too many job-seekers with inadequate skills, and therefore not enough jobs for them. India is moving workers out of farm jobs at a very fast rate, and this will only add to the burden of providing jobs in other sectors. Realising this, even the government has begun focusing on skill development and training. Creating an entirely new Ministry and launching the Skill India Mission are clear indications of this. Another sign that skill training is gaining momentum is reflected in the growth of the Indian education and skills industry at an average rate of 13% over four years. From Rs 1.21 trillion in 2008 to Rs 2.35 trillion in 2012. However, these measures have not been enough to successfully skill India’s young. Only 2% of the Indian workforce has received some kind of formal skills training so far, and 8% have received informal training. Comparatively, 47% of China’s workforce is skill trained, 52% in USA, 68% in UK, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea. Almost half of Indian employers find it difficult to fill jobs and a similar proportion of employed youth suffer from some degree of skill deprivation. By 2050, India will be home to more than a billion jobseekers. This means providing jobs for over 12 million new entrants annually. There is also the challenge of finding jobs for the backlog, which reached 60 million by 2014. The pace of accretion to the labour market will keep increasing, given our demographic profile and declining age-dependency ratio. Our working age population (15-64 years) will peak in 2050 and till then pressures for jobs will only become worse. We need a wake-up call and more concerted efforts towards large-scale skill development and training. We may have a situation of too few high-skill workers and not enough jobs for medium or low-skill workers. This needs to be rectified by adjusting the education and skilling system to ready ourselves for the jobs of tomorrow. Article Source: http://www.firstpost.com/business/skill-deprivation-education-alone-wont-guarantee-a-job-in-demand-skills-need-of-hour-3020568.html
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by Apoorva Shankar

08 Nov'16
Why The Growth Of Higher Education In India Hinges On The Private Sector

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Why The Growth Of Higher Education In India Hinges On The Private Sector

For the sake of simplicity, let’s say that the public sector’s role in education can be identified as a three-fold one. Firstly, it is tasked with universalizing access to education. Its next responsibility would be to regulate the sector and finally, to ensure quality education for all. In the context of the access provider role, estimates show that just in terms of physical infrastructure, more than a US $100 billion spends would be required in higher education alone, to double enrollment, from where it stands today (24%). Where regulation is concerned, bodies such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other higher education regulators are in-charge but leave much to be desired in terms of quality checks and monitoring, accreditation, etc. In fact, the UGC merely acts as a grants disbursing body now for universities and colleges, rather than a regulator. This is despite the fact that about 16% of the Ministry’s budget (2016-17) was allocated to UGC. Regarding quality, the government struggles to set standards and measure outcomes. Accreditation in the country is irregular and sub-optimal. In addition, unlike school education, where a certain level of learning outcomes may be gauged, this is difficult to do in higher education – especially assessing employability of a student post completing such education. So is there a role the government should prioritise? Further, because the government is entrusted with these roles, does it necessarily mean that they are its exclusive mandate? Or should the government act as an enabler and allow external participation if it means better execution and a higher success rate? The education and training industry is extremely large today and has strong further growth potential. With total educational spending of $2.7 trillion, the industry accounted for about 4.25% of the world’s GDP in 2010. In India alone, the spending on education and skilling has touched approximately Rs 74,000 crore. This may seem like a daunting figure but is still not sufficient. India spends about 4% of its GDP on all of education (about 1% on higher education), whereas globally the minimum recommended expenditure on education is 6% of GDP. Most of the public expenditure on higher education is used upon salaries and maintaining existing institutions, leaving very little to be spent on curriculum, research, and technology. However, spending on education still has enormous scaling to do and this is where the private sector comes in. Private players will have opportunities from rising demand in segments not well covered by the public education system (like adult education and vocational training). They bring in additional capital and are able to make huge investments, especially when government spending is insufficient and results in substantial infrastructure and investment deficit. For instance, the government had set a target of achieving a 30% enrolment ratio in higher education by 2020. The enrolment ratio currently is 24%. Judging by historical trends, and the current pace of rising enrolments, this target seems difficult to achieve. We may need a better, plan to succeed. Plus, the demand for higher education is only set to accelerate with growing population, higher enrolment as well as retention of students in schools. The private sector could play a crucial role in plugging these gaps and matching demand. In fact, it is already capturing the market in a big way, as can be seen in the adjacent graph. Enrolment in, and share of, private higher education institutions has surpassed that of government institutions (data as on 2013). Even the online education market in India expected to grow to US $40 billion by as soon as 2017. Unlike the education sector, which is legally mandated to operate on a not-for-profit basis, for-profit skill training institutes can be set up. This, coupled with initiatives of the National Skill Development Corporation, has encouraged the private sector to set up vocational training institutes. Corporate interest has also increased in the skill development space because of the benefits that accrue to businesses themselves, in the form of adequately trained manpower as a ready pool for future hiring. Majority of institutions offering professional disciplines are now in the private sector. There is a tendency of the public sector to view the private sector’s involvement in the education space with scepticism. But the private sector is necessary because of its ability to match industry demand for superior skilled manpower. It supplements infrastructure, facilities, technology and pedagogy and has an added advantage of escaping bureaucratic control and retaining autonomy to a large extent. Private players often collaborate with reputed international universities for faculty and other benefits which can be attractive to prospective students. They are also heavily investing in research-based education. As consumers of skilled manpower as well, the private sector is in a position to understand what type of skill training is to be imparted, and eventually benefit from it. This makes skill-training more efficient and effective. All three education-related roles of the government are equally important. However, while regulation should remain outside the purview of the private sector, nothing should stop them from assisting the public sector in maximising enrolments and improving quality of education. Public needs to work with private and create a level-playing field, in order to uplift the overall quality of education. Article Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.in/mayank-kumar/why-the-growth-of-higher-education-in-india-hinges-on-the-privat/
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by Apoorva Shankar

08 Nov'16