The time has finally arrived for many students currently in Class X to decide which stream and subjects to opt for. Shortly all parents will be approaching schools to get their children admitted to Class XI. The first issue they have to decide is to which all subjects the child must enroll for.
In the past 8 years of being a Career Counsellor, I have seen some parents and students do not give much thought to subject selection. And later the same students struggle with subjects or change streams in Class XI. Some even manage to study but find the degrees very unpalatable and then drop out.
For many PCM (with an aim for Engineering) is a default option. For those specifically looking at Medicine, obviously PCB is the only way ahead. Some kids are very clear – No sciences. For them, Commerce looks good and few are very clear that they have nothing to do with Maths or Bio. They opt for Humanities. Is this methodology, right?
The start point of any subject selection is first to find the Career(s) a child wants to pursue. Hence it is imperative that clarity must be there about Careers first. If there is no clarity, then it is best that you request for a Career Counselling. Now here is where it gets confusing. Many counsellors/ schools conduct Stream selection tests. Kindly request for Career Counseling and NOT Stream Selection counselling. Why because, even after selecting a stream one needs to select the careers.
It is best to select the careers first and then reverse engineer to the ideal stream/ subjects. Hence, I always recommend Career Counseling because Stream Selection is very much a part of it. It is also a good idea to request your counsellor to be very specific. It must not be generally stated as go for .. Engineering, but in Engineering which specific Career. A Mechanical Engineer’s attributes are far different from a Software Engineer’s. Hence being specific is better than broad brushing the careers. Always look for specifics.
Some parents want their children to take PCMB to keep all option open. This is an overkill unless the child wants to specifically choose a career in Genetics/ PhD in Bio Research or Bioinformatics. Then PCMB is a good option to take. Otherwise sticking to either PCM or PCB is best. If a child is opting for IISER / IISc, the knowledge of Maths is a must despite being a Bio student.
Economics/ Analytics / Finance / Management/ Commerce higher studies will require a good knowledge of Maths. Hence Maths as far as possible must be retained in Commerce and even in Humanities if possible as an additional Subject. This opens up more possibilities. B.Com in good Universities like Delhi University will require Maths/ Accounts as mandatory subjects. DU attempted to make Maths compulsory in 2024 (and rolled back later) and hence it is best that we keep Maths for an undergrad in Eco/ Commerce.
Psychology at present is NOT a mandatory subject to pursue a career in Psychology. Any subject combination/ stream would be fine. Economics as a subject is not compulsory to take Economics. However, many good Universities have made Maths mandatory to pursue Economics.
BDes Design courses through UCEED Exam does not mandate any compulsory subjects. However, IIT Guwahati/ IIT Roorkee/IIIT Jabalpur have made PCM mandatory.
Additional Subject could be anything that gives you more options or give you easy marks without much effort like Physical Education. Going for the 6th subject is an overkill.
If after all this one is still confused, I would suggest – When in Doubt take PCM, as it gives you max options. But the best would be to decide after a Career Counselling.
As parents we must provide our children the best support and allow them to flourish in the fields they want to. I have seen many parents giving their kids a free hand which is the right way. Some parents who decide careers for their kids based on their own map of the world often end up having issues with the performance of their children at a later stage. Career Selection must be the key to the child’s success. If you can base your decisions on scientific psychometric assessments, then the dividends would be better.
Wishing you a stress-free time while negotiating this phase of your child’s education. All the very best.
The Author is a highly accomplished Career Counsellor who has counselled more than 4000 students and adults. He can be contacted through their website www.renergetics.com/careercounselling
