Management aspirants applying for the undergraduate level courses often found themselves in a dilemma especially when one has to make a choice between Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelors of Commerce (B.Com)? Both these courses carry their distinct pros and cons and it is important that an aspirant should take this decision in the wake of his/her career aspirations.
BBA vs B.Com.
It is generally seen that when an aspirant passes class 12th Board examination and is inclined to pursue a course in the domain of management or accounting, they are often caught in the dilemma of choosing between BBA and B.Com. Candidates who score above 90% marks also get confused whether they should choose a traditional B.Com course or go with a professional degree at the undergraduate level, viz. a BBA course.
Hence, let us first try to understand the basic difference between BBA and B.Com courses.
What is Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA)?
BBA is a professional course that gives exposure to different facets of management. Here, an aspirant gets to read about subjects such as Finance, Marketing, HR, International Management, Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship and other managerial subjects. Apart from this, a candidate pursuing BBA, mandatorily goes through industry interactions, internship programs, and in some cases their institute also organizes student exchange programs as well to ensure holistic development of the candidate.
What is Bachelors of Commerce (B.Com)?
In contrast, in a typical B.Com course, which is also considered as an academic course, aims to make an aspirant proficient in subjects such as accounts, economics, business studies etc. Observing the current trend, even B.Com courses have started to arrange for internships and industry-interface programs. However, not all the colleges organize such events for the B.Com aspirants.
Academic Progression
The natural progression for a B.Com student is generally:
B.Com to M.Com to Ph.D. to Academic Field/Research.
As far as job opportunities for B.Com students are concerned, such candidates can apply for the teaching posts in the higher education position or apply for research work.
On the other hand, the natural progressions for a student pursuing professional course, BBA, tends to be:
BBA to MBA to Industry/Corporate Job.
Decide On The Basis Of Desired Outcome
Whenever an aspiring student is caught-up between the choice of BBA or B.Com, the right criteria is to decide on the basis of the desired outcome. They should draw a map of future progression and what they plan to pursue. This career progression plan should include the first 3 years of UG level education, next 2 years of PG level education and post that 2-3-year plan of the industry/sector that they aim to join.
Take for example the scenario mentioned below and you would be able to understand how to make a correct choice:
Scenario 1 – Let us say, an aspirant wants to work for the United Nations. One of the basic criteria that are preferred for applying to the UN is a degree from London School of Economics (LSE). Therefore, a B.Com from a top commerce institute is the right choice rather than a BBA from any top B-school. In this scenario, a B.Com course is considered better for admission to LSE.
Thus, an aspirant should choose a course on the basis of long-term planning and not short-term gains. BBA course might give you short term gains with good placement packages and a job immediately post completion of the course. However, a B.Com course might reap long-term benefits, considering other perks attached to it.
Similarity between BBA and B.Com
For those aspiring to pursue MBA, both BBA and B.Com are considered at the similar level when academic diversity comes into picture.
Conclusion
Everything, therefore, is outcome based. If an aspirant knows the future progression (5-7 years later) of the course that they are pursuing, they won’t face much issue in making decisions. Hence, an aspiring student should make a wise decision on the basis of their personal:
· Goals
· Competency
· Interest area