Lewis-H (IV06991501) wrote:Career after BCom – Graduation is an important step in your career. But if you have a little bit idea about what’s going on in the market, then only graduation is not all. Yes, we’re talking about your Bcom You chose Bcom because you feel that you have inclination toward business and commerce and to be precise, for accounting. But do you think completing your Bcom will give you an edge in accounting or business? You know that right? Just completing Bcom even with a great score will not ensure success in accounting career. You need to think further and you need to be on your edge.

The way market is shifting, every 5 years there are thousand new jobs being invented. If you don’t know what to do after you are done with your Bcom, then you will be behind. Moreover when you will make decision in a haste, most of the time, you will make the wrong decisions.

So, before you give your final exam, sit with yourself. Do some research! Think about the possible career options you can choose and which go with your career goals.

CHARTED ACCOUNTANCY: This is the most popular and common Opportunities after Bcom pass. Rather many students pursue Chartered Accountancy along with their Bcom But if you enrol yourself after completing Bcom, you don’t need to sit for the entry level exam i.e. CPT (Common Proficiency Test) subject to you have at least 55% in the Bcom You can also enrol for CA after doing any graduation; but in that case you need to have 60% in the graduation.

MBA (FINANCE) : Most students make the mistake that they perceive finance as similar as accounting. It’s not. Finance is vast and accounting is only one part of it. But still if you want to do MBA in Finance, there are many options you can choose. The best option is prepare for CAT, XAT and GMAT. These three will do. You should start your preparation during the final year of your Bcom A year of preparation can do wonders for you. There are many B-Schools which are mushrooming everywhere. Do you think doing an MBA in Finance from any B-School will add value to you? Nope. You need to do it from top 10 B-School in India or top 30 B-Schools in the world (if you are going for foreign universities). If you want to pursue your MBA in India, CAT and XAT are your best bet. You need to score high, as high as 99.99 percentile if you are a General student. Or else, if you want to do something in foreign country like USA, you need to score at least 700 plus in your GMAT.

MCOM : There are many people who go for Mcom after they do their Bcom You can do the same. But Mcom is a master degree course. And you can choose many specializations Economics, Statistics, Finance, Business, and Accounting etc. You won’t get much value out of it if you don’t take it further, meaning we’re talking about M.Phil. Or PhD. You can take another approach as well. You can do your Mcom along with CA or any other courses. Only Mcom has little or no value. Of course, from the perspective of education, you will get a ton of knowledge; but here we are evaluating everything from the perspective of making a career and getting a decent placement.

ICWAI : Many students also go for ICWAI. It is the cost accounting course offered by Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. This is a good course, but it’s not as valuable as CA. But many students go for it as there are good career opportunities after doing ICWAI. After doing ICWAI, you can go for M.Phil. or PhD or you can join as Financial Controller, Cost Controller, Chief Internal Auditor and Chief Accountant. The salary range would be around INR 4-6 lakhs per annum. You can join this course while doing your Bcom There is foundation, intermediate and final courses you need to clear to be able to get the certification of ICWAI.

COMPANY SECRETARY: Many people go for CS after or during their Bcom CS is completely a different course than CA or ICWAI. It’s more about legal aspect of business and qualitative analyses. You need to be prepared to suggest the paths to the board of directors of the company and often will join as an Executive Secretary to MD or CEO. In case of CS, you need to clear Foundation, Executive and Final Courses. But the opportunities for Company Secretary Course has immense potential.

CMA: This is one of most recognized international courses you can choose after you complete your Bcom Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is offered by Institute of Certified Management Accountant. It’s more popular in US, but it has presence in over 100 countries in the world. Over the years ICMA has produced a lot of high calibre students. The proof is if you complete your CMA after Bcom, you will be able to earn at least 33.33% more than any non-certified accountants. CMA is much more comprehensive than any other courses you can pursue after Bcom (other than CA & CS).

ACCA : After Bcom, you feel confused and don’t know exactly what will give your career a lift! If you feel like this and want to become an accounting professional here is ACCA for you. ACCA is accredited by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. It has been educating its students for a very long time. Like CMA, ACCA is also very comprehensive course. Other than teaching you the technical part of accounting, it also teaches technical and management aspect as well. If you want a global course under a small budget and want to have a great career in audit, tax or practice.

CPA : This is one of the best international courses you can do after your BCom This is as good as a CA course. People who want to pursue a career in public enterprises must go for CPA. CPA is organized by American Institute of CPA (AICPA). According to AICPA, there is a difference in salary when you do CPA. You would get at least 15% more salary than non-certified accountants. To be able to become CPA, you need to sit for a mammoth exam of 14 hours. There are only four subjects to clear if you sit for CPA – auditing & attestation (AUD), financial accounting & reporting (FAR), regulation (REG) and business environment concept (BEC).

Korio (IV07586701) wrote:Dating can be a minefield. Especially online. But it can also be really exciting, and an amazing opportunity to meet people. Charly Lester is a dating expert – we asked her for some advice about dating in later life.

Why did you feel there was a need for a dating app for over 50s?
I've worked as a dating expert for over 6 years now. The most common question I was asked by people in their 30s and 40s was how can they help their divorced or widowed parents date again, and which app or site they could use.

The more I researched the market, the more I realised lots of over 50s were using apps designed for millennials, and even lying about their age to get on them. I also noticed that many of the products 'designed for over 50s' seemed to treat people like they stop using smart phones and apps as soon as they turn 50.

How does dating change in later life?
I think one of the biggest challenges for over 50s is that often they haven't been single for many decades, and may not have even dated before. There can be an element of education because modern dating can feel a bit complicated.

That said, most people I meet grow more comfortable in their own skin the older they get. They know what they want, and what they don't want – which can be great for dating.