If you thought ‘Engineers’ are the smartest blokes of Science, think again! Remember how Sheldon feels about Howard’s engineering degree from MIT!!??
We have somewhat reached a place where a Science student is labeled successful only if they do Engineering or Medical. But the students or parents who allow themselves to fall into this trap, don’t realize that this continuous strife to meet external expectations has no end. First, it is about getting admission to an IIT or clearing NEET, then it is about the course you enroll in, then the job you get, then the paycheck you will be getting, then whether you are going abroad or not, and so on. All these expectations continue to haunt you until the time you leave your home country and settle somewhere abroad, far away from all the pestering neighbors and family. This strife is never gonna make you or others happy. There is always going to be something better out there in the world. So look beyond people’s expectations and find something for yourself, which makes you different from those participating in the rat race.
Being a Science student, you do enjoy the advantage of having the entire ocean of career options. You are eligible for even the commerce, arts, and humanities programs. But let’s restrict our conversation to the Science programs today. Conventionally, Science education in 11th and 12th has Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Biology as subjects in most of the education boards and Schools. If you look at each of the subjects in isolation, or in a combination with two or more, you will find different career and program options coming alive for you.
Besides IIT, we have very good colleges in India offering research and development studies in the specialised areas of Natural and Physical Science. IISc Bangalore, IISER, NISER, etc., are a few examples of the exemplary scientific institutions we have in our country who have Govindarajan Padmanaban and Sudha Murthy as their alumni.
Let’s start with careers in Physics. Once you have completed your BSc in Physics, you can do your Masters in Applied Physics, Particle or Quantum Physics, Nuclear, Bio & Medical Physics, Geophysics, Astrophysics, Marine Science or Oceanography, and Atmospheric or Environmental Science.
The career opportunities that hence get open for you are –
Having additional knowledge in Biology and Mathematics will open many more opportunities in these specialized fields.
Now let’s talk about career and course options for students who are interested in Chemistry as a subject.
After their BSc, they can go for in-depth study of Applied Chemistry, Organic & Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical physics, Geochemistry, Biochemistry, Environmental Science, Green Chemistry, Pharmaceutical or Medicinal Chemistry, Toxicology, Forensic, Agricultural Chemistry, Material Science, Food Technology, Spectroscopy, Thermodynamics, Electrochemistry, Metallurgy, Analytical and Molecular Chemistry.
The careers that thus open their arms for a Chemistry graduate are –
Mathematics is the most versatile subject which can find use in every career or degree program. In India, we have colleges like CMI, Chennai and ISI with very good programs in Maths and Statistics. By doing these programs from any reputed university, a student can explore careers as –
Academic Research & Fellowship and Teacher/Professor profession are subject-neutral careers in which one can make a career by specializing in any chosen subject.
Biology is largely associated with Medical science and offers many more options to students, especially in combination with other Science subjects. We have discussed Doctors, Allied Medicine Careers, and Paramedical science in our previous blogs. Now let us look at the other career opportunities for those who love studying Biology as a subject.
Agriculture science itself has multiple subfields like Soil science, horticulture, dairy technology, fisheries, etc. Did you know that there can be so many successful & interesting career options?
Finally, let us touch upon Computer Science. There is a BSc in Computer Science, Bachelor in Computer Applications (BCA), and then, Bachelors in Engineering or Technology (BE/BTech). These are the popular options known to us. But BSc in Information Technology is also a valid 3-year course available in India. After completing your graduation in CS/IT, you can make your career in any of the following technical fields without doing an engineering program –
Some of these courses can be pursued online through MOOC platforms along with a degree in any of the specialised fields that you wish to study across Science, Commerce or Humanities.
Now let us discuss the abilities, interest areas, and personality of a student who would like to make a career in the field of pure science. We do need to remember though that these criteria are defined not to discourage students but to help them understand the challenges that they can encounter in terms of their abilities and personality for their chosen profession in natural and physical science.
Depending on the profession one chooses, the importance of different aptitudes is realized. Numerical aptitude would be required by students considering professions in the field of mathematics. Those who are considering scientific research as their profession might also require this aptitude to test and prove their theories. While mechanical and spatial aptitude will be required by students who are moving into practical applications or building scientific equipment. Verbal aptitude is desirable among those who wish to pursue teaching as a profession in natural and physical science.
Coming over to interest areas, somebody who has realistic interests would love to develop and build machines and can pursue subject areas like app development, metallurgy, and chemical manufacturing like commercial paints. While somebody who is analytic and curious would like to pursue investigative professions like scientific research, particularly but not restricted to microbiology, pharmaceutical, etc. Most research work in the natural and physical science field like toxicology, oceanography, entomology, or cryptography requires intensive analytical work.
People interested in the scientific professions can either be introverts or extroverts. This personality feature will not affect their performance in work. Further, whether they are organized in their work or prefer to be creative or spontaneous, is going to impact their work differently. Somebody who is writing a long research paper can benefit if she has saved her work in a structured manner on her laptop. While somebody who is into entomology can benefit from her random exploration of new places. However, people of science tend to be more fact-based and objective i.e. they will not believe just any information that is given to them without checking the facts and reach their decisions logically rather than intuitively.
So students of science, like your subject field which is full of exploration and adventure, don’t hesitate to explore some CAREER OPTIONS too before deciding on THE ONE CAREER made for you.
If the field of natural and physical science interests you, then this article will help you expand your horizons about the opportunities out there. If you still need help with the right program, book your counseling session with us!
