What this is
Most students can name about seven careers. The world of work has hundreds, and many of the best-paid ones did not exist when their parents chose a stream. The new Career Roadmaps page on this site takes 26 of today’s roles and answers three questions for each one:
- Which school subjects keep this door open? This matters most in Grade 10, before AS Level or Class 11 choices.
- Which Indian degrees and entrance exams lead there? Most of these jobs do not need one specific degree, but some routes make the start much easier.
- What do you learn first, next, and on the job? Three phases, plus a small project you can start now.
The roles cover seven families: software engineering, data and AI, cloud and security, product and design, business, marketing and sales, finance and consulting, and media. You can filter the page by a subject you are keeping, by an entrance exam, or by family, and send a classmate a link straight to one role.
The one rule to remember
The biggest door-closer is dropping Mathematics after IGCSE or Class 10. It shuts most routes into engineering, data, AI, finance and consulting, in India and abroad. If you are unsure, keeping Maths to AS Level or Class 12 is the safer choice. A student who keeps Maths and later chooses design or media has lost nothing. A student who drops it and later wants data science has a hard climb.
How to use it on Subject Choices Day
- Pick three roles that sound interesting, even vaguely. Open each one on the Roadmaps page.
- Write down the subjects each role wants. If a subject appears in all three, that is your answer.
- Look at the entrance exams. Some, like UCEED for design, accept any stream. Others, like JEE, need Physics, Chemistry and Maths.
- Bring the list to a career counsellor. They can tell you which routes fit your marks and your family’s plans.
Entrance exam dates confirmed so far for 2027
The Key dates box above lists the dates that are confirmed on official sites as of 18 October 2026: UCEED, NID DAT, CA Foundation, CMI, and the NTA calendar for JEE Main Session 1. Not yet announced: JEE Main registration, CUET-UG, IPMAT, BITSAT, ISI and TNEA 2027. I will add them to this post and to the Upcoming Deadlines page as they come out.
A note for Cambridge students
Most Indian entrance exams and universities accept A Level, but some ask for a UGC equivalence certificate (formerly issued by the AIU) or a minimum mark in specific subjects. Check this early, not in Grade 12. I arrange the certificate for students who need it.
Credit
The roadmap structure and skill lists are drawn from Careermaxxing by Kungumavishnu (careermaxxing.kungumavishnu.com/roadmap). The summaries, the India mapping and the subject advice are mine. Every role on the page links back to its original roadmap, which goes much deeper.