What after MBBS? - Diploma/MD/MS Courses & Other Career Options
What after MBBS? - A common cause of dilemma for medicos is that they are unable to answer the question, What after MBBS? Aspirants use to search for all the other options which they can go through after MBBS. Other questions cropping up are what kind of degree or specialization they should pursue after MBBS? Once candidates decide on what to do they still have various sub-questions coming up. The degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) has a lot of career opportunities to offer. These opportunities can be grabbed by medicos on the basis of their interests and life goals. Aspirants wither can opt for a private or government job after pursuing an MBBS degree or can opt for further studies.

"It's easy to make good decisions when there are no bad options". a quote by Robert Half. So keeping that in mind candidates can go through the article below to know the wide variety of choices that they can opt for after completing their MBBS degree. This will help them answer their question, What after MBBS? Aspirants will find both the answer to pursuing higher studies after MBBS and other job opportunities. While a plethora of opportunities exists in terms of higher education, a varied list of opportunities also are available in terms of employment across varied sectors. Health care is one vital sector that is rapidly growing thus bringing in a huge requirement of qualified professionals.
What after MBBS?
Sl. No. | What can be pursued after MBBS? |
1 | Higher studies |
2 | Job Opportunities |
What after MBBS? - Pursuing Higher Studies
The common choice of medicos after completing an MBBS degree is to continue with their higher studies. What is uncommon here is whether they opt for traditional specializations or new age specializations that are still upcoming; whether they wish to pursue their post-graduation courses in India or abroad. In the points given below some of these options are specified.
Traditional Specializations after MBBS
The most common choice among candidates, while deciding on what to do after MBBS, is pursuing a specialization in their area of interest. At this stage too, medicos' most preferred course is an MD/MS or a Diploma in Medicine. As for India, admissions to MD/MS are conducted through a few common PG entrance exams which include NEET PG, INI CET. The specializations offered under MD (Doctor of Medicine), MS (Master of Surgery), and other diploma programs are listed below in the table.
The list of PG Specializations available are as follows
MD Specializations | MS Specializations | Diploma Specializations |
Aerospace Medicine | ENT | Anesthesia |
Anatomy | General Surgery | Clinical Pathology |
Anesthesia | Obstetrics & Gynaecology | DVL |
Biochemistry | Ophthalmology | ENT |
Community medicine | Orthopedics | Health Education |
Dermatology, Venereology & Leprosy | - | Immunohaematology |
Family Medicine | - | Obstetrics & Gynaecology |
Forensic Medicine | - | Occupational Health |
General Medicine | - | Ophthalmology |
Geriatrics | - | Orthopedics |
Health Administration | - | Pediatrics |
Hospital Administration | - | Psychiatry |
Immunohaematology | - | Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation |
Microbiology | - | Pulmonary medicine |
Nuclear medicine | - | Radio-diagnosis |
Pediatrics | - | Radiation Medicine |
Pathology | - | Sports Medicine |
Pharmacology | - | Tropical medicine |
Psychiatry | - | - |
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | - | - |
Physiology | - | - |
Pulmonary medicine | - | - |
Radiodiagnosis | - | - |
Radiotherapy | - | - |
Sports Medicine | - | - |
Tropical Medicine | - | - |
Upcoming courses in Medical Sciences and Technology
Masters in Medical Sciences and Technology is an upcoming stream. It imparts skills that combine sciences and engineering to doctors to train them for the state-of-the-art medical research in Medical Imaging and Image Analysis, Biomaterials and Implants, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells, Medical Statistics, Telemedicine, Biomedical Instrumentation, Early Detection of Cancer, Immuno-technology, Clinical Biomarkers, Biosensors, Recombinant DNA Technology, regenerative medicine, Biomedical Simulation.
Options Abroad
Medicos can also opt for foreign studies to pursue higher education in different countries. The process to study medicine abroad is different. For instance, PLAB is for pursuing higher studies in the UK while the USA has USMLE for PG aspirants and Australia Medical Council has AMC exams. All of these facilitate the process of higher studies in the respective countries as well as job opportunities after course completion.
What after MBBS? - Other Opportunities
Government Jobs in health services departments
MBBS graduates can be recruited in government job profiles in central as well as state health service departments. The most opted for job opportunities in central government is through Combined Medical Services (CMS). UPSC conducts CMS to recruit doctors to a number of central government institutions like Railways, municipal corporations, government hospitals and dispensaries. The jobs are permanent in nature and subsequently offer administrative work in government health services. There are also several state-health-service exams offering job opportunities to medicos within respective states.
Defence Services: Jobs in Army, Navy, and Air Force
Defence services are not just for engineers or other graduates, they are equally possible and in demand for medicos. The Indian Defence Ministry recruits MBBS graduates for infantry units, army hospitals, and emergency services. Such medicos who are recruited by the Ministry are trained in military camps and appointed for a permanent position. This is done to make them work in sync with the army personnel and understand the emergency situations where the army and other defence personnel step in to provide relief efforts.
Employment in Hospital Chains
Hospital chains operating in private sector provide great opportunities to medicos who have just completed their MBBS degree and have not yet decided upon what to do further. The topmost hospital chains in the aforementioned category are Apollo Hospitals, Fortis Hospitals, and Max Hospitals. In addition, they offer hefty salaries to the doctors they work with.
Opportunities in Research and Academics
For people with an inclination towards research, it is a very satisfying choice to pursue it and join academia towards training and guiding budding medical professionals. Top pharmaceutical firms offer lucrative opportunities to MBBS graduates in their research and development units. Not just that various renowned medical institutions including AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) etc offer excellent opportunities for research and academics.
Career in Health Administration/Hospital Management
Medicos with management skills can opt for Hospital Management career options to enhance their knowledge of medicine as well as their inclination towards management roles. It is a well-known fact that if the day-to-day services at hospitals are managed well then their services become more organized and functional. There are many hospitals that recruit doctors in such management roles where they deem fit. Doctors who can understand the problem areas, tackle challenges and find ways to enhance the efficiency of processes and administration are highly in demand. Generally, doctors who have completed additional management programme after their MBBS degree are offered these roles. Master-level programs like Health Administration and Hospital Management impart crucial skills to the doctors for managing multi-specialty hospitals, special clinics, insurance companies to name a few.
Biomedical Engineering and Sciences
Another specialized field, where medicos who have an interest in machines and their mechanisms, can try their luck in developing machines and instruments for use in health services. Such courses intend to develop engineering strategies to advance inventions in the medical field to improve healthcare and patient care.
Self-employment through private practice/ Public health
The most sought after choice of MBBS aspirants is to set up a clinic or start practicing medicine at a private firm. However, it is easier said than done, as this comes in with a lot of challenges. This choice is being opted by medical graduates far and wide to gain hands-on experience and earn money.
There is a huge demand for doctors in the public health sector and it is ever increasing. Career opportunities in this field include medical social workers, research consultants, entrepreneurs, counselors, trainers,s, and Psychiatric. Apart from these, medicos can for NGOs keeping in mind that not all NGOs offer unpaid jobs. Prominent among them are WHO, UNO, Médecins Sans Frontières.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs) - What after MBBS? - Diploma/MD/MS Courses & Other Career Options
Question: What is the career opportunities after MBBS?
Answer:
The degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) has a lot of career opportunities to offer.
Question: How to grant MBBS admission in India?
Answer:
Aspirants will be granted MBBS admission only on the basis of NEET exam.
Question: What are the various medical entrance exam for granting admission after pursuing MBBS?
Question: What are the various specialization offered for MBBS graduates/
Answer:
The various specializations offered are MD (Doctor of Medicine), MS (Master of Surgery) and other diploma programmes.
Question: What are the opportunities after MBBS?
Answer:
The various opportunities after MBBS are:
- Government Jobs in health services departments
- Defence Services: Jobs in Army, Navy and Air Force
- Employment in Hospital Chains
- Opportunities in Research and Academics
- Career in Health Administration/Hospital Management
- Biomedical Engineering and Sciences
- Self-employment through private practice/ Public health
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Questions related to NEET
Ive done my PUC (PCMB) from Karnataka board now Im in BSC ( PHYSICS MATHS COMPUTER SCIENCE) final year am i eligible to write neet ..plz give me authentic information..
Hi
Yes , you are eligible for appearing in NEET 2021 examination even if you are in final year of your BSc with physics chemistry and computer
This is because,
There is no rule which says that if you are doing BSC or any graduation you become ineligible for Neet examination, as to be eligible for neet what all one needs is :
* to must have passed 12th board examination with physics, chemistry ,biology/biotechnology and English and must have got:-
-) at least 50 % in aggregate of PCB i.e Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology in 12th examination if belongs to general category
-) at least 40% in aggregate of PCB if belongs to Obc/ Sc /st category
-)at least 45 % in aggregate of PCB in case of general/ews pwd candidates to be eligible.
So , you being pcmb student in your 12th if you fulfill this percentage criteria in PCB with your 12th marks then you are eligible for Neet 2021 examination , even if you are doing BSc and after qualifying Neet examination you can get admission in MBBS on the basis of rank or marks obtained by you in NEET
Also,
there is no upper age limit for Neet examination
For detailed information about neet examination go through our page forl which link is provided below; -
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-eligibility-criteria
If you have any other doubt then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thank you
What will be the paper level of NEET in 2021 ??
Hi
This is quite difficult to predict your Neet paper level or difficulty level of Neet examination paper but don't worry it will be more or less similar to previous years Neet question papers according to which your neet 2021 examination is expected to be of moderate level.
But yes,
whether you will find Neet examination easy or difficult depends upon your preparation level . If you prepare well for neet examination then you will find it easier otherwise if your level of preparation is not good then you are bound to find it difficult .
So I suggest you to prepare well for your Neet examination following the below tips so that you don't find the question paper difficult and can score good marks in your neet examination
*Go well through NCERT and master it .
*Make routine or timetable :- your routine should revolve around 3 things i.e study, revise and practice .
*After finishing each chapter you should practice questions, you should practise at least 80 to 100 numericals / mcqs in Each chapter .
*Solve previous year NEET questions.
*Once done with complete syllabus, go through NEET mock test papers
You can prepare well using our neet program for which link is provided below
https://learn.careers360.com/knockout-neet-may /
If you have any other doubt then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thank you
did the neet registration date ara announced?? also for Kcet??
No the registration dates of neet 2021 have not been released yet. However it is expected that the registration process would start in past week of January. Students are advised to keep an eye on the official website. Same is the case with kcet 2021 registration dates and it is also expected to start in last week of January.
For more info you can visit the following links:
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-application-form
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/kcet
my rank is 6202 in neet mds...what colleges can I get in rajasthan?
Hii,
Based on last year cutoff..... according to your rank in NEET MDS 2021 and category you can check the college in which you have possibility of getting a seat in the NEET MDS college predictor link given below
https://medicine.careers360.com/neet-mds-college-predictor
Hope this will help you
Can I get NEET MDS cutoff for General category of private colleges in Maharashtra!
Hello student ,
Please ! Checkout the link given below of carrers360 to know the cut off .
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-mds-cut-off
Hope it helps !