How to choose a stream after 10th Class?

Posted on 16 May, 2019 at 4:49 pm Share With Twitter : How to choose a stream after 10th Class?

If you are in 10th class, then it is that stressful time of the year where you are constantly being told by your school, parents, relatives to submit your choice for stream selection for 11th class. Choosing the right stream after 10th class remains one of the hardest decisions.

There is a general concept of categorising humanities, science, and commerce mapping them to a student’s ability. If one got higher than average they can choose science. If one secured average, then commerce can the go-to career option and if you obtained less than average, humanities or arts has your only option.

But thankfully, in current years, with the emergence of multiple new age work options, we are moving ahead of these old ideas of how streams should be determined based on only academics.

Below are some guidelines one should try and understand before taking a stream after 10th Class.

Know your orientation

Before taking the stream, you need to know your working style and outlook towards life. Are you one of those who likes to take the lead, or are you the one who needs other’s direction for doing any specific work, or in other words, happier to follow other’s lead? Some people have a talent for talking their way out of difficulties, while many are passionate about helping others. Stream choice should be in step with what your orientation is, as it is an essential part of you. Ignoring it will lead you to feel out of place in a career that does not match your outlook towards life.

Find an interest

This is necessary. Almost everyone, from an early stage in life, figures out their interest. Yes, sometimes somebody finds their interests scattered in many places, making it hard to isolate that one key area of interest. Also, sometimes interests change. However, by the time one is in 10th class, they have a fair idea of their real interests. It is also necessary to be realistic one may be fascinated by outer space and dream of going to Mars but that is a long shot (though not impossible) To sum up, it is very important to know what career options your interests can open up for you in real life.

Uncover your personality

Personality is a very complicated term. In the simplest of words, it is one’s pattern of behaviour over an extended period of time. To take a basic example, some people are extrovert by nature, some are introverted, and some may be a mix of both so every person has a different personality. When selecting a stream, it is necessary to look underneath your superficial behaviour and realize what professions would be in keeping with your real personality in the long run. This will ensure greater joy in your career.

Take up subjects you can learn

Don't choose science or humanities only because you are fascinated by the idea of it. Take your stream depending on the subjects you have the ability to read. Every individual has a different ability. Generally, we look at ability as a single attribute. But there are in fact various aptitudes (such as numerical, logical, creative) that are needed to study a certain subject. Taking up those subjects that you own the ability for, works in your favour by improving your chances of success later in life.

Stay touch with your emotional intelligence

You may think, what have emotions got to do with determining the correct subjects and stream? But if you think for a moment, you will understand how much what we do in our everyday life is affected by emotions and this influence is seen in our career and academics too. It is important to know the components of emotion and how good one is at handling those components. So before jumping into a stream that requires much empathy or conflict handling on your part, ensure that you are ready for it.

If you keep the above factors in the brain, you will be equipped to handle one of the biggest decisions of your life. Also, an essential step in selecting the right stream is taking the right subject combination to open the right career opportunities for you in the future. So while taking a stream, you should carefully choose your subjects combinations as well.