Academic degrees in India: not worth the investment

[Parth]

I'm talking about BA, BSc and B.Com degrees. Licensed courses like MBBS, B.Pharm, AYUSH, BDS, B.Ed., ITI always have better financial scope than simple academic degrees. Despite rising competition, technical degrees such as B.Tech, Diploma, B.Des, B.Arch have an edge over academic courses and, most importantly, you don't need a PG to build a career after a technical program.

But with academic degrees like languages, sociology, political science, history, economics etc. in humanities, zoology, botany, biochemistry, MLT etc. in sciences and most commerce subjects, you're expected to do a Masters, and still have to clear a bunch of exams to land a dead‑end job that pays a peanuts salary. In humanities and sciences you're basically expected to have a PhD to even start a stable career. Now that the government hires academic staff on contracts, the scope is almost nil.

My advice to freshmen: classical academic degrees may look lucrative at first, but don't fall for this trap. It's a way for private institutes to take your family's hard‑earned money and ruin your career. You'll regret it forever.

my_qualifications – MSc, B.Ed.

[Vivek]

I have a BCom degree, took a 1‑year drop, and my parents want me to do MCom. What should I do?

[Sachin]

I don't get why my post is getting down‑voted. I have an academic degree and I know the ground reality here.

[Suraj]

Most of these degree‑holders, who once dreamed of becoming groundbreaking researchers, end up as school teachers earning dirt‑cheap salaries.

[Vishal]

23‑year‑old male, BA Economics grad, fresh‑er earning 19 LPA as a management consultant. It's not a dead‑end.

[Balaji]

I'm a BSc student, took this course because the college seemed good. What should I do now? I'm a first‑year chemistry student.

[Omkar]

Maybe drop economics from the list; it's actually an underrated degree that can lead to a great career. Still, even MBBS, BDS and Ayurveda can be tough to make big money.

[Sharmila]

What about the BSMS degree from IISERs?

[Harendra]

True, I regret choosing BA. I cope by reminding myself that I have an edge in government exams because I studied humanities thoroughly.

[Jatin]

There's hardly any economic investment in R&D and humanities. Graduates in these streams have no means to do much because of that. I wish the disparity was addressed, but I doubt anyone who's eating the cake wants to share it. Still worth studying, IMO.

[Raghav]

You're right, I have a BFA and I don't think it holds any value.