Decide the stream you shall choose for XI and XII

After you give your Xth Board examination you are faced with life’s first and biggest choice of selecting a stream, you are in a confusing network of science, commerce and arts. Normally, students are unaware of the fact that class Xth Board is the initial and crucial stage of building a career which will lead you to your goal in life.

Find your Strengths & weaknesses

In earlier days career choices were made based on two subjects- Mathematics or Biology. Now as time is changing we have wide variety of subject choices. So, here comes the challenge where you have to find your strengths & weaknesses in order to make right career choices. At this point of time you have to recall your past experience. If you are not good with numbers avoid taking subjects like Mathematics or Accountancy. Maybe you are interested in the subject and want to carry it further but it might be possible that you don’t have the required aptitude for the same. Thus, there is a big difference between liking the subject and being good at the subject. So, know the difference and choose wisely.

Know your Interests

What excites you the most? Is it Mathematics, Science or History? It is easy to understand that things we do with interest help in making things easy and comfortable. It is very important to know your interests to succeed in your academic life. Choosing a right subject will make you more confident and capable for building a good career. If you are happy and passionate about the choices you made you’ll make your academic journey smooth and enjoyable.

Dream with a Goal

When you dream of your career you need to realize and discover your real potential. Your dream without a goal is just a wish. Break down your dream into goals. This is where you start asking yourself how exactly you’re going to reach your destination. More often than not, you’ll find that you need to take certain steps to get to where you want to be. Remember, dreams don’t happen overnight. They take patience, hard work, and consistency. Dream, but dream with a goal in mind – keep the end in mind.

Access Your Potential

Know your aptitude for the aspired career. Do you posses those qualities or the aptitude needed to pursue a particular career option? Having a goal will not solve the purpose, are you working in the right direction to fulfil your ambitions if still confused take advice of career guides who will explain you each and every possibility of the stream.

Know the Streams

Before selecting any stream, students need to go through the details of the stream and try to co-relate it with their future prospectus. If you want to become a Chartered Accountant, it is advisable to study Commerce at the Higher Secondary level and not take up Science and later on study CA and sail on two boats. By doing this you will lose two precious years without any in-depth understanding on the basics.

By the time, the students reach class X; they need to go through the subjects details of all the streams and try to reach a conclusion. You can browse the education portals or take help from seniors or teachers. Once you broadly finalize the stream, you can select the subject combination.

Select Your Stream

After you have sorted out your potential you decipher the stream you want to choose. You must know and understand the streams inside out from Science, Commerce or Humanities. Research adequately on the courses, its prospects and opportunities it has in future for you. Each stream is equally good and needs understanding of the subject. It’s not that Humanities is less than Science and Commerce or what so ever. Your School days are precious; don’t lose them by slogging to reach where you don’t want to. Give attention to your passion or the area of interest, check its career prospects scope and possibilities related to a stream.

Main Streams

There are primarily three major streams after class Xth. Students can choose between Science, Commerce and Humanities/Arts. All of these three streams can be generally categorized based on the core subjects and the career fields they will land you to. For instance, the science stream is usually related to medical, engineering, pharma, and other such fields of study, while the Commerce stream relates to business, trade, commerce, and financial sector. However, the Humanities/Arts stream is the widest of all, covering a whole lot of study fields, including Languages, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and a lot more.

The Science Stream: The science stream is often preferred by those who are aspiring to pursue professional courses after XIIth. The primary subjects in science stream are Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Computer Science. Among other subjects, English is compulsory while the other language subject is left for choice. There are also practical labs along with theory, which calls for a lot of hard work for students in this stream.

Opting for science stream opens up both medical and non-medical career options, including medical science, engineering, and other interdisciplinary careers. If interested in a medical field, you will have to include Biology along with Physics and Chemistry as your core subject combination, while for engineering; you will have to replace biology for mathematics or computer science as the core subject. However, there are also other career options including either two or only one of the science subjects. It is hence better to decide your future path at this stage only and choose the relevant subjects accordingly.

By studying in science stream after Xth, students can opt to pursue the further higher education in diverse fields such as Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Cytology, Dental Science, Genetics, Pharmaceuticals, Space Exploration, Biotechnology, Metallurgy, Forensic Science, and many others, besides the ever popular medical and engineering options.

Commerce Stream: Commerce stream is another good option after Xth standard. If you are the one having strong mathematics and analytical abilities, then, Commerce would be the best choice for you.

The core subjects in the commerce stream are Economics, Business Studies, Mathematics, and Computers. Here too, English is compulsory and you have one language subject as optional. Few of the other elective subjects are Accounting, Informatics Practices, Business Communication, Finance, Statistics, etc.

You have a wide range of opportunities on selecting the commerce stream. You can choose fields related to business, banking, trade, finance and accounting as your career option. Few of the popular graduate courses after XIIth for the commerce stream are BBA, B.Com, BMS, CA, BBM, and more.

Hence, if you have a natural inclination towards mathematics and analytics, you should prefer taking up commerce field.

Humanities/Arts Stream: Humanities, commonly known as the arts stream, holds the widest scope of opportunities for students. While History, Geography, Political Science, and English are the core subjects, you can choose from a wide array of elective subject combinations, which include Economics, Psychology, Fine Arts, Sociology, Physical Education, literature subjects, etc. In this stream as well, while English is a compulsory language subject, students can choose among Hindi, Sanskrit, and French, as an elective subject.

The career prospects in the humanities stream are extensive. You can choose for anything from civil services or IAS officer to subject-oriented graduation. Students can also opt for technical courses like BCA/B.Arch. or go for law and management courses as well.

Remember that, choosing the right stream after passing Class Xth is crucial for every student. As already stated above; the recent trends are changing and gone are the days when only medical and engineering were considered to be bright career options.

Reference/Citation/Source

• Make the correct choice of stream for Class 12th
  https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/make-the-correct-choice-of-stream-for-class-12th/story-BfpDojwdKpaGV9oCaKf7OP
• Tips on how to choose a right stream in Class 11th
  https://www.studymateonline.com/blog/tips-how-to-choose-right-stream-Class-11//
• Know about the Streams and Structure of CBSE after 10th Results
  http://www.jpinternational.co.in/know-streams-structure-cbse-10th-results/