Key Takeaways
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Arts students have a variety of options to choose from, such as a psychologist, an entrepreneur, a graphic designer, a journalist, a lecturer, a civil servant, and a fashion designer. Law, legal, as well as creative career options are generally the favourite ones of arts students.
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Students wishing to make a career in the government sector choose civil services, SSC CGL, banking examinations, and government teaching examinations like KVS or DSSSB.
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Art students have some of the highest-salaried career options, like Civil servant, media professional, banker, defence personnel, and corporate lawyer. Art students can even switch to other fields that are meant for commerce and science students, except for some core specialised subjects like medical or core engineering.
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Choosing the right career after 12th arts involves understanding your interest area, conducting research, analysing your strengths, and making a well-informed decision.
Career Options After 12th Arts: Students completing 12th class from a humanities background are very much at an advantage because they have a lot of career opportunities to choose from, both in the private and government sectors.
In humanities, students study subjects like economics, English, geography, history, political science, sociology, and art and culture, which provide broad knowledge to the students that they can apply in multiple sectors and do great to build a successful career.
This article talks about multiple private as well as government career opportunities that a student can look forward to.
Also Check This: Career Option After 12th- Science, Commerce, Arts & Salary
What Are The Career Options After 12th Arts?
|
Career Option |
Recommended Course |
Industry / Field |
Average Salary (India) |
|
Psychologist |
BA / MA Psychology |
Healthcare & Counseling |
₹4 LPA – ₹8 LPA |
|
Social Worker |
BA Social Work |
NGO / Social Sector |
₹3 LPA – ₹6 LPA |
|
Entrepreneur |
Any Degree + Business Skills |
Business |
Depends on business |
|
Tourism Manager |
BA Travel & Tourism |
Tourism Industry |
₹3 LPA – ₹7 LPA |
|
Animator |
Animation / Multimedia Course |
Entertainment Industry |
₹4 LPA – ₹10 LPA |
|
Graphic Designer |
BA Design / Graphic Design Course |
Creative Industry |
₹3 LPA – ₹8 LPA |
|
Journalist |
BA Journalism / Mass Communication |
Media |
₹3 LPA – ₹7 LPA |
|
Lawyer |
BA LLB |
Legal |
₹4 LPA – ₹10 LPA |
|
Digital Marketing Specialist |
Digital Marketing Certification / BBA |
Marketing |
₹5 LPA – ₹10 LPA |
|
Photographer |
Photography Course |
Media & Creative |
₹4 LPA – ₹8 LPA |
|
Event Manager |
Event Management Course / BBA |
Event Industry |
₹3 LPA – ₹9 LPA |
|
Teacher / Lecturer |
BA + B.Ed |
Education |
₹3 LPA – ₹7 LPA |
|
Content Writer |
BA English / Mass Communication |
Media & Marketing |
₹3 LPA – ₹7 LPA |
|
Political Analyst |
BA Political Science |
Politics & Research |
₹4 LPA – ₹9 LPA |
|
Civil Services Officer |
BA + UPSC |
Government |
₹8 LPA – ₹15 LPA |
|
Public Relations Officer |
BA Mass Communication / PR |
Corporate Communication |
₹2 LPA – ₹8 LPA |
|
Hotel Manager |
Bachelor's in Hotel Management |
Hospitality |
₹3 LPA – ₹8 LPA |
|
Fashion Designer |
Bachelor's in Fashion Design |
Fashion Industry |
₹3 LPA – ₹12 LPA |
|
Psychotherapist |
MA Psychology |
Mental Health |
₹5 LPA – ₹10 LPA |
|
Interior Designer |
Bachelor in Interior Design |
Architecture & Design |
₹4 LPA – ₹10 LPA |
What Are The Law & Legal Career Options?
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Students can pursue a BA LLB, which is a 5-year integrated course providing a professional degree in law.
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Explore the field of being a professional criminal lawyer, corporate lawyer, or tax lawyer.
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Consider appearing for judicial services examinations conducted by different public service commissions in different states.
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Students can also consider becoming a litigation advocate or a legal advisor in the corporate sector.
What Are The Creative & Media Career Options?
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Journalism is a top Media specialisation liked by humanities students.
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Consider roles like filmmaking, script writing or content writing.
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Other emerging roles in the field are graphic design, animation and game development, popularised by the government as a new and rapidly developing orange economy.
What Are The Psychology & Social Science Careers?
Psychology is another interesting specialisation to study after 12th humanities to become a professional psychologist to work in the private sector or as a social worker.
1. Teaching
For arts students, completing the BA + B.Ed course opens the gateway to pursue full-time professional teaching.
2. Design
Doing fashion design is another beautiful career option for arts students
3. Hotel management
Pursuing a diploma or full-time degree in the hospitality and tourism industry is another attractive career option
4. Civil Services
Most of the syllabus in the Civil Services examinations, including UPSC and state public service commissions, is almost similar to what is being taught to arts students, making it easier to enter these segments.
What Are The Government Career Options After 12th Arts?
There are multiple government exams that arts students can attempt after completing graduation-
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Civil services- Appearing in the civil services examination to become IAS or IPS is the top-most government career option after 12th arts
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SSC CGL or CHSL is another most chosen pathway for arts students to make a successful career in the government sector
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Many arts students choose the field of defence by pursuing the NDA pathway.
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Banking examinations, such as appearing for SBI, RBI, or IBPS recruitments.
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Pursuing teaching by appearing in government examinations like KVS or DSSSB.
What are the high-salary career options after 12th Arts?
The following is the list of high-salary career options after 12th Arts:
- Civil servant
- Psychologist
- Digital marketing specialist
- Corporate lawyer
- Media professional
- Entrepreneur
- Psychologist
- Banker
- Teacher
- Defence personnel.
Can Arts Students Switch to Other Fields?
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Yes, art students can switch to other fields like the courses meant for commerce or Science students.
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Art students who have studied relevant subjects like mathematics or economics, which often overlap with commerce specialisation, often switch to commerce courses.
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MBA, which is a popular post-graduation course in India, is pursued by students from all streams.
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Although switching into core subjects requiring intense specialisation, like Engineering or medicine, is generally not possible for arts students.
How to Choose the Right Career After 12th Arts?
Choosing the right career after 12th arts requires a student to analyse the following parameters-
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Understanding your interest area where you want to enter, whether the private sector or the government sector.
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Identifying your biggest strengths and then choosing a course accordingly.
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Conducting thorough research about all the career options available and their associated entrance examinations to prepare accordingly.
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Understanding the growth available in the field or the investments that will go into it in terms of time as well as money.
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Avoiding distractions like peer pressure to choose what grabs your attention and interest to do well in a relevant field.



