Home
Blog
General
Career Options After MA in India in 2025: What To Do After MA?

Career Options After MA in India in 2025: What To Do After MA?

Updated on 28 November, 2024

45.95K+ views

• 8 min read

Table of Contents

Top 10 career options after M.A in India
What are the top specializations within M.A
Future trends in M.A studies in India
Conclusion

A Master of Arts or an M.A. degree in India is among the most common higher education specializations. It often attracts undergraduates from different streams as well. It is quite well-reputed since this degree qualification indicates a mastery of the subject.

Social Science is among the top subject areas for master’s degree aspirants in India. This indicates the popularity of social science courses in India.

A series of specializations are offered in an M.A. degree course leading to a variety of career options after MA. Some specializations are English, history, political science, psychology, economics, and sociology.

Curious to know what's next after an M.A? Read along to find out the best job roles after an M.A in India

Top 10 career options after M.A in India

The real question that often comes after graduation: "What’s next?" With the job market in India expanding across diverse sectors, there’s no shortage of opportunities for M.A. graduates to build successful careers. From academia and research to corporate roles and creative industries, the options are as vast as they are rewarding.

Let's explore the top 10 career paths that M.A. graduates can consider:

JOB PROFILE	AVERAGE ANNUAL SALARY
Teacher	2.9 lakhs
Website Content Writer	2.9 lakhs
Historian	4.6 lakhs
Policy Analyst	7.1 lakhs
Social Worker	2.9 lakhs
Manager (PR)	7 lakhs
Counsellor	3.7 lakhs
Content Strategist	7.7 lakhs
Archivist	9.89 lakhs
Journalist	4 lakhs

Now, let’s discuss these career options in detail:

1. Teacher

As a teacher, you work as an educator to facilitate the teaching and learning process, encourage critical thinking, and support the growth of students.

Key Role

Creating lesson plans and delivering lectures
Partake in classroom Mana
Assess the progress of the entire classroom
Work in collaboration with other entities involved, parents and teachers to enable all-round support for students

Where do you work?

Primary, secondary, and senior secondary schools
Tuition centers
Vocational centers
Online education platforms

2. Website Content Writer

A website content writer works on producing interesting, educational, and SEO-friendly content. The focus of a web content writer is to inculcate creative writing that is easily understandable and persuasive.

Key Role

Researching and writing high-quality articles and blogs
Inculcating SEO practices to rank websites on search engines
Reviewing and editing content to make sure it is coherent and devoid of errors
Performing audience analysis to customize the content as per consumer

Where do you work?

Marketing agencies
Content agencies
Freelance/self-employed
E-commerce websites
NGOs and NPOs
Startups

3. Historian

A historian investigates, enquires, and interprets historical events, societies, and civilizations to advance historical knowledge.

Key Role

Partaking in in-depth research using primary and secondary sources like historical archives and libraries
analyzing historical data to find the impact of past events on present and future
Working on publications and writing papers to record historical study results
Act as an advisor to government agencies, museums, and organizations by providing expert knowledge
Get involved in community engagement initiatives to attract public interest in history studies

Where do you work?

Schools
Colleges/universities
Museums
Publishing houses
Consulting firms
Government agencies and think tanks

4. Policy Analyst

A policy analyst works on assessing, evaluating, and creating policies and laws to assist public, non-profit, and commercial sectors in making policy decisions.

Key Role

Researching the impact of ongoing policies
Working on preparing reports for research findings
Developing new and modified policy ideas
Track the performance of policies and programs and suggest improvements

Where do you work?

Think tanks
International organizations
Universities
Non-profit organizations
Government agencies

5. Social Worker

As a social worker, your work entails enhancing the quality of life and well-being of people by norms of social justice and empowerment.

Key Role

Devising support plans to the needs of the client
Ensuring the provision of community resources to people in need
Working in crisis situations
Maintaining records to monitor work progress
Providing support and counseling assistance to individual or group

Where do you work?

NGOs
Schools
Government agencies
Healthcare organizations
Private practice

6. PR Manager

As a PR Manager, you are involved in maintaining a positive public image for your organization and working on strategies to improve the same.

Key Role

Planning PR strategies in alignment with company goals and motto
Maintaining media relations to maintain a positive image
Handling crises and issues at hand
Overseeing quality content creation
Planning and executing press events
Handling internal communications

Also Read: PR Salary in India

Where do you work?

PR firms
NPOs
Corporate companies
Talent agencies
Healthcare organizations

7. Counsellor

As a trained professional, you work on ordering assistance and guidance to people going through emotional or psychological turmoil. They provide complete assistance towards the oath of personal development and well-being.

Key Role

Provide counseling support to individuals
Assessing the client needs to devise a plan of action
Brainstorming with clients to work on small yet impactful goals
Taking charge in crises
Tracking client progress and improvement

Where do you work?

Hospitals
Schools
Drug addiction rehabilitation centers
Corporate setups
Mental health clinics

8. Content Strategist

In this role, you are responsible for ensuring effective content creation that appeals to target groups and blends with set marketing objectives.

Key Role

Taking charge of planning content
Performing SEO analysis
Conducting audience analysis and research to enquire about target group needs
Working in collaboration with designers, creators, and writers
Collaborating with another team to ensure content alignment with organizational goals

Where do you work?

E-commerce companies
NPOs
Digital marketing firms
Freelancing
Media organizations
Corporate marketing teams

9. Archivist

As an archivist, you are in charge of gathering, conserving, and supervising historical records.

Key Role

Assessing available material to check if meets the criteria to be considered historically important
Performing techniques to conserve and protect documents and other historical materials
Organizing exhibits and assistant in management
Working on digitization initiatives and projects

Where do you work?

Museums
Government agencies
Universities
Libraries
Corporates

10. Journalist

A journalist is entrusted with being the public’s voice, who works on gathering, verifying news, and informing the public about current events and findings. They are responsible for promoting informed citizens through their service in journalism.

Key Role

Deeply investigating news stories
Conducting interviews of public and prominent figures along with audience
Ensuring fact-checking, accuracy, and truthful information
work in unpredictable work settings with adaptability skills

Where do you work?

Television broadcasting stations
Newspapers
Radio stations
Magazines
Freelance

What are the top specializations within M.A

SPECIALIZATION	AVERAGE BASE PAY(annual)
M.A in Political Science	3.72 lakhs
M.A in Economics	6.26 lakhs
M.A in History	4.94 lakhs
M.A in Sociology	3.13 lakhs
M.A in English	4.36 lakhs
M.A in Psychology	4.85 lakhs

You can also read:

Future trends in M.A studies in India

The higher education market in India is huge with being second highest in the world. Higher education and job prospects after MA course in India are manifold.

Exploring future trends becomes crucial to better predicting the job market and working on improving skills. We can predict the following trends in MA studies in the future:

Inculcation of global perspectives
Rise in interdisciplinary studies
Technological integration
Strengthened university collaboration with industries
Importance of development of soft skills
Sustainability education and measures
Digital education and learning

Also Read: Scope of MA in Political Science: Top Ranking Jobs [For Freshers & Experienced]

Conclusion

India offers a diverse range of job opportunities after MA, which students can leverage to align with their preferred area of specialization. Gone are the days when humanities and liberal arts had limited career scope in India.

As the job market advances, traditional study programs must reform their curricula to be at par with current events and needs. Moreover, importance should be given to cross-disciplinary studies in academia.

In order to prepare graduates to take on today's challenges and make significant contributions to society, MA programs are changing to suit the demands of a changing labor market.

In case you want to further explore your career options, you can book a free counseling session with upGrad and you will be mentored by our seasoned counseling experts!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which are the top M.A. institutes in India?

The top institutes for M.A. in India are the University of Delhi, JNU, TISS, University of Hyderabad, IIMC, BHU, and AMU.

2. Which course is best after M.A. in India?

After an M.A in India, you have further options to pursue the best courses such as PhD, Post Graduate Diploma Courses, short-term and diploma courses in journalism, digital marketing, corporate communications, and data analysis.

3. What are some public sector jobs I can do after my MA?

You have an array of public sector jobs you can pursue after your M.A. You can work in Civil services, State government services, social welfare departments, ministries, PSUs, and even public banks.

4. Which is the highest in-demand specialization in an MA degree?

Some of the highest in-demand MA specializations are social work, psychology m, international relations, economics, education, and mass communication.

5. Can I become a professor after my MA?

You can certainly become a professor a professor after M.A. in India. You need to have qualified for the UGC NET exam first, to meet the eligibility criteria for entry position as assistant professor. You can even go for a PhD for a deeper specialization in your field of study.

6. What makes me eligible for an MA degree?

Usually, you can enroll in an M.A degree if you have a bachelor's in any stream. There is mostly no restriction in UG course requirements. However, there may be specific university and departmental requirements that may demand otherwise.

7. What skills can I expect to acquire in an MA degree?

In an MA degree course curriculum, you can develop and advance your skills in research writing, writing, critical analysis, time management, presentation, communication, and networking abilities.

8. Can I pursue distance MA programs?

There are a lot of universities in India that offer distance learning programs. Some of them are IGNOU and the University of Delhi SOL.

9. How much average salary can I expect after MA?

Depending upon factors like field, experience, and skills of a person, the average salary after an M.A in India can range from 25000 to 50000

10. What are my internship and practical experience options in MA?

In your MA studies, you can choose to work in research institutes, think tanks, NGOs, media houses, and community service programs

11. What are some research tips for pursuing MA?

Some useful research tips after pursuing an MA are selecting the right topic, creating an effective research plan, engaging with faculty and seniors, regularly organizing your work knowing it inside out, and making use of useful research resources.

RELATED PROGRAMS