What options do I have if I have less than 60% in graduation? - Explained

Dear Readers, as many of you are aware that there might be changes in the eligibility criteria (Max Age and Min % Marks in Graduation), over the past few months we have been flooded with a lot of queries from thousands of aspirants who fear the loss of job prospects arising from this 60% graduation criteria in the IBPS PO competitive examination which the IBPS conducts annually.

Although, IBPS PO III notification is not out yet and it is possible there it might come with same illegibility criteria as last year, but still we have tried to through light on other options available to candidates.

This article is aimed at addressing the concerns of those candidates who do not have the required percentage in their graduation. It may look like a big setback to such candidates, however, if one does not panic and think for the long term, one can still be a part of the government sector – Where there is a will, there is way.


(1) Job prospects in the Banking and Finance sector

Let us take an objective look at what options exist within the Banking and Finance sector itself.

S.no.	Examination	Frequency	Graduation Eligibility	Comments
1	SBI – PO	Once in 12-18 Months	Graduation Only
2	SBI Associates PO	Once in 12-18 Months	Graduation Only
3	SBI Clerk	Once in 12-18 Months	10+2 with 60% or Graduation
4	SBI Associates Clerk	Once in 12-18 Months	10+2 with 60% or Graduation
5	IBPS Clerk	Once in 12 Months	Graduation Only
6	IBPS – RRB – PO	Once in 12 Months	Graduation Only
5	IBPS – RRB-Clerk	Once in 12 Months	Graduation Only
7	IBPS Specialist Officer	Once in 12 Months	Graduation Only	Relevant Graduation degree required
8	LIC AAO	No specified frequency	Graduation Only
9	RBI Grade ‘A’ Officers	No Specified frequency	Graduation with 50% marks
10	National Insurance AO	Once in 12-18 Months	Graduation Only
11	Oriental Insurance AO	Once in 12-18 Months	Graduation Only
12	LIC ADO	Once in 12-18 months	Graduation Only

If you look carefully at the above table there are many options available to an aspirant who does not possess 60% in his/ her graduation. So one should not feel disheartened and one should keep trying with the options available to him/her.  

Q. I am keen on joining a Public Sector Bank only and nothing else, What can I do ?

• For B.com, BA, BBA and other non technical graduates

(A) Prepare for IBPS Clerk Exam and RRB exam.

If you have done your graduation from a non-technical stream such as B.A, B.Com, BBA and other such streams and are extremely keen on joining the banking sector then you should ideally prepare for the IBPS Clerk examination which is usually held in December each year. 

(B) If Selected as Clerk, give internal examinations for promotion to Officer cadre

Banks also conduct internal examinations for clerical cadre for promotion to Officer Cadre, this is the route which you can take.  This may take a couple of years 

 (C) If you have a Post Graduate qualification in HR, Marketing and Finance then : - Prepare for the IBPS Specialist Officer examination which is usually held in March each year

• For B.Tech, BCA and other Technical Graduates

(A) Take the route suggested above for Non-Technical Graduates

                                              OR

(B) Prepare for IBPS Specialist Officer Exam – 

B.Tech , M.Tech , BCA graduates can look forward to giving the IBPS Specialist Offcer examination which is usually held in March each year.

           

(2) Job Prospects in SSC for Central Government Jobs

For aspirants who are interested in other Government jobs such as Staff Selection Commission, there is good news that there is no percentage criteria in Graduation, the following table gives the list of exams conducted by SSC

S.no.	Examination	Frequency	Graduation Eligibility	Comments
1	SSC-Combined Graduate Level	Once a Year	Graduate in any discipline
2	SSC 10+2	Once a Year	12th pass or Graduate in any discipline
3	SSC – CAPFs	Once a Year	Graduate in any discipline
4	SSC- FCI	Once a Year	Graduate in any discipline
5	SSC- Multitasking	Once a Year	Matriculation
6	SSC- Prasar Bharti	Once a Year	Graduate in any discipline
7	SSC-Cabinet Secretariat	Once a Year	Graduate in any discipline
8	SSC- Junior Engineer	Once a Year	Engineering Graduates only

As you can see above there is no shortage of employment opportunities for jobs through SSC, So if you have less than 60% in graduation you can look forward to preparing for examinations conducted by SSC, these are also very coveted posts in the Central Government and come with a prestige tag attached to them.

Summary

Try to get into the banking sector via the Clerical/Specialist Route/RRB Route

• If you do not have 60% in graduation, there is no need to feel hopeless and anxious or being insecure about your future,  there are still a lot of options before you and you can easily work towards achieving your goals. You should try to get into the banking sector via the IBPS Clerical route and work your way up through internal promotions to become a Probationary Officer. You might feel that you have been set back by  2 years  but in a long working career spanning 30 years it hardly matters !.

Keep trying for other exams such as LIC, RBI, NIC etc.

• These posts are also quite coveted posts like that of a Bank PO, so you can look forward to these examinations at least once a year. The course content and the structure of the examination is quite similar to that of Banking exams.

Look at other alternatives like SSC

• The SSC examinations are  a boon for aspirants who will be deprived of an opportunity  due to this change in rule. One must look at these  seriously if one hopes to secure a prestigious government job.