Management aspirants applying for the undergraduate level courses are often found in dilemma especially when one has to make a choice between Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelors of Commerce (B.Com)? Both the 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. In this article, our expert, Mr. Kumar Abhishek Pathak, from IMS Learning Recourse will guide the aspirants in the right direction. He has shared several facets of both BBA/BMS and B.Com course. The final decision of choosing a traditional B.Com course over the professional BBA course or the vice-versa lies with the aspirant. Get to know which course is better "BBA or B.Com"?
BBA vs B.Com.
It is 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 BBA vs. B.Com. Candidates that score above 90% marks are also confused if they should choose a traditional B.Com course or go with professional degree at the undergraduate level i.e. BBA course.
So let us first understand the basic difference between BBA and B.Com. course.
What is Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA)?
BBA is a professional course which gives exposure to different facets of management. An aspirant gets to read about subjects such as Finance, Marketing, HR, International Management, Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship and other managerial subjects. In addition to this, a candidate pursuing BBA, mandatorily goes through industry interactions, internship programs, and in some cases institute also organizes student exchange programs as well to ensure holistic development of the candidate.
What is Bachelors of Commerce (B.Com)?
However, in a typical B.Com course, which is also a considered as an academic course, aims to make aspirants proficient in subjects such as accounts, economics, business studies etc. Seeing 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
For a B.Com student, a natural progression is generally
B.Com à M.Com à Ph.D. à Academic Field/Research
Job opportunities – Such candidates can apply for the teaching posts in the higher education position, apply for research work
For a student pursuing professional course, BBA, a natural progressions tends to be
BBA à MBA à Industry/Corporate Job
Decide Basis Outcome
Whenever an aspirant is caught-up between BBA and B.Com, the right criteria is to decide basis the outcome. Draw a map of future progression, and what you plan to pursue. The 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 you 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 say, you want to work for 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 SRCC is the right choice than a BBA from any top institute such as Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. A B.Com course is considered better for admission to LSE.
Choose a course basis long-term planning and not short-term gains. BBA/BMS 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/BMS and B.Com are considered at the similar level when academic diversity comes into picture.
Conclusion
Everything is outcome based. If you know the future progression (5-7 years later) of the course that you are pursuing, you won’t face much issue in making decision. Make a wise decision on the basis of your
- Goals
- Competency
- Interest area
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