It's the end of an era and you’re well on your way to becoming a respected professional. But first, you need to know what your options are.

Congratulations on successfully completing the first of many milestones in your life! You’re well on your way to becoming a respected working professional – exciting times!

Even if you don’t yet have a plan (or unfortunately failed matric), you’ll see that things have a way of falling into place. Perhaps you want to study, perhaps you want to take a gap year, or maybe you want to jump straight into the working world.

Whatever you decide, this is how the calibre of your matric results influences your decisions:

Bachelor’s Certificate

If your results indicate that you’ve matriculated with a Bachelor’s Certificate Pass, you can study at any tertiary institution in the country – yes that includes all universities.

Read:  What university graduates can expect as a starting salary

Each university has several courses for you to choose from: from lawyer to engineer to doctor to chartered accountant, and everything in between. And each degree has its own set of requirements and you’ll need to meet these criteria to qualify for the programme.

Diploma

If your results indicate that you’ve matriculated with a Diploma Pass, you can apply for any course at any South African tertiary institution that offers a diploma, including a University of Technology. If you suspect that your marks aren’t good enough to pursue the course of your dreams, these institutions do allow you to do a bridging course first.

There are a large variety of programmes available: you can complete a Finance, HR, and even Electrical Engineering Diploma from several accredited institutions.

Higher Certificate

If your results indicate that you’ve matriculated with a Higher Certificate Pass, you can apply to study at colleges that offer higher certificate courses. Beauty Schools, Chef Schools, IT Colleges and similar institutions are all possibilities.

Read: 8 jobs you can do without a degree

If you’d like to jump straight into working, apply for in house training, apprenticeships or learnerships at casinos, hotels or on cruise ships. You’re also eligible for many administrative jobs.

While you are unable to enrol further at a University or University of Technology, you can complete bridging courses and improve your matric results to meet the minimum requirements needed to do the diploma or degree you’ve set your sights on.

Still don't know what you want to study? You can find a job that suits your unique talents and do what you love. Careers24 has thousands of job opportunities for all job seekers in every city and every industry in South Africa.