CAREERS

University

You need a plan - but it’s OK not to have it all worked out yet!!

Having a clear plan does make choosing a degree course easier but it’s OK not to have it all worked out yet! During year 12 it's important to explore your options, the routes into your chosen career, the entry requirements & research where your chosen subjects could potentially take you. 

Most people usually fall into one of 3 categories (see below)

  1. Those who already have a career / career area in mind but might need help choosing a degree course / university

  2. Those who know what they want to study but don’t know where this could lead

  3. Those who have no career ideas & no idea what to study at university

Although it is much easier to choose a degree if you do have a career / career area in mind, many 6th form students do go to university not knowing what career they want in the future. & then allow their ideas to develop over time. 

 

1 - Those who already have a career / career area in mind 

If you know which career / career area you’re interested in and have researched it thoroughly,  then you should already be aware which degrees you need to be looking at. 

Still Unsure? 

  • Research your career ideas - See websites such as Prospects & the National Careers Service as these will explain the entry routes into your chosen career & the types of degree required.

  • Careers interview - Ask for a careers interview or just email me to check you’re on the right track / making the right choices etc

  • Degree course career prospects - Look at the Career Prospects / Employability section of any course you’re considering to make sure that degree is the right one for your chosen career / career area. This can also help to broaden your knowledge of other career opportunities with that degree.

  • Admission tutors - Try ringing / emailing the admissions tutor for advice (you’ll find contact details on university website course details pages).

2 - Those who know what they want to study but are unsure about where this could lead  

I see a lot of students who say ‘I want to study X/Y/Z at university but I don’t know what I could do with it’.

If you want to study an academic subject but you’re unsure where it could lead then try the following:-

  • Prospects website - www.prospects.ac.uk  

  • Select ‘Careers Advice’ and then ‘What can I do with my degree?’’

www.ucas.com - UCAS website

  • Go to the Careers section, select ‘Finding a Career’ then search by job families or subject

  • Both these websites help you to broaden your knowledge of possible career options, if any of these interest you then research them further.

  • Prospects also has a link to ‘What Do Graduates Do’ website which gives further information on employment & further study destinations of recent graduates.

Subject Websites

Look at the websites listed below linked to specific subjects / career areas eg: the Historical Association for History and Futuremorph for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers. 

  • The Telegraph - www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/degree-courses/

    • s a section called ‘Subject & Degree Course Guides’ 

    • Gives you an overview of a particular subject including qualification, length, what it covers, what to expect, A levels usually required, career prospects, top places to study etc. 

    • Approx 50 broad course subjects are covered  

  • Subject interests - Think about the subject you want to study and try to identify what it is that you like about that subject, are there any specific areas that you enjoy? eg: statistics in Maths or creative writing in English, you could then use this as a starting point for researching careers.

  • Subject tutors - ask them where they see your strengths, what careers could their subject lead to?

  • Google - Try simply googling ‘careers with (subject).’ and have a look at the results. I have found some great information / websites this way.

  • Postgraduate study - whilst studying for your degree you may decide what you want to do. This may mean you’ll need to study for a postgraduate course that will qualify you for that career eg: teaching, law or journalism. 

  • Don’t stress! - Remember many people who have degrees do not actually work in the same field that they studied in. Being a graduate means that you have developed a range of skills which are classed as transferable, like research and extended writing skills or working to deadlines

  • Ask for a careers interview - Although I don’t usually suggest careers, it can be helpful to talk through your ideas with someone objective to help you to understand what your next steps should be. 

3 - Those who have no ideas at all about what to study (often because they haven’t started thinking about careers yet or feel overwhelmed by the choices).

  • Don’t put it off - No-one is going to (or should!) be choosing your career / course for you so if you haven’t started thinking about possible careers yet then you need to start NOW!!

  • Career Planning - Put simply - this is about being aware of what your skills/qualities are & what would be important to you in a career & then matching yourself to the opportunities out there to find the best match for you. This needs to be done in stages & choosing a degree course isn’t the first step!! 

Try the following-

  • The careers matching programme called ‘Start’. This helps you to set up a careers profile & then suggests careers that match your profile. You can then research these further on the website, you can also explore other career sectors in the World of Work section. If you want to try this see the instructions below.

  • Careers related to subjects - For advice about careers related to subjects follow the advice in section 2 above.

  • Careers interview - if at any time you feel you need support with this then refer yourself for a careers interview through Mrs Hayes. 

 

Choosing Your Degree Course - General Advice

  • Common sense - make sure you choose a subject that you’ll enjoy and will help you reach your career goals. If you have no firm career ideas that need a specific degree then it’s better to choose what you love over what you’re good at because you’ll need to enjoy the course in order to stay motivated! Just being good at something doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy it!

  • League tables - your chosen university may have a high ranking overall but you need to check the league tables for the specific course you’re choosing as this can be very different between universities. Unistats is a good website for this as they have a useful comparison tool.

  • Explore job sites - especially graduate ones to look for ideas for work and study.

  • Compare course content - to see if you like what’s on offer and how it’s taught - see Unistats.

  • Course content - are the modules on offer interesting and do they relate to your career aims? If you’ve never studied the subject before it’s really important to do as much research as possible.

  • How is the course taught? - how much time is spent in lectures? How much group work is done in seminars?

  • Graduate destinations - find out what graduates from your chosen course have gone on to do after graduating.

  • How is the course assessed? - what combination of exams, coursework and presentations is there?

  • Who are the tutors? -  are they experts in the areas you want to study?

  • LinkedIn - new features help you find out about real graduates from the courses / university you’re interested in & the kinds of jobs they have gone onto. Also helps you to find out which is the best university for the employer or industry you’re interested in. 

  • Remember! - not all courses with the same title are identical! 

 

Types of Degree / Higher Education Qualifications

  • Single Honours Degree – one subject

  • Joint Honours Degree – 2 major subjects – 50/50

  • Combined Honours Degree – 2 or 3 subjects eg: major in English – 70% and minor in History – 30%

  • Modular Degree – flexible – allows you to ‘construct’ your own degree

  • Sandwich Degree / Placement Year – 4 year degree with (usually) the 3rd year spent working in the job sector related to your degree / career aspirations. 

    NB: Universities agree that a sandwich degree course definitely improves your job prospects after graduating as you are able to develop employability skills, learn more about your chosen career sector as well as make useful contacts for the future. You could also spend a year abroad especially if you’re studying a foreign language / international business course.

  • Foundation Degrees – these are usually for 2 years and offer a combination of academic study and workplace learning. Very practical courses related to a specific career area including new technology areas such as ICT, multimedia and e-business.

  • Cert of HE - a 1 year course Certificate of Higher Education, usually vocational.

  • Dip HE - a 2 year Diploma of Higher Education, usually vocational.

  • HND  (Higher National Diploma) – 2 year full time course usually in vocational subjects such as business, retail and engineering. After completing a HND it may be possible to transfer to the 3rd year of a degree & so convert your HND to a degree - a possible option if you don’t get the A level grades required for a degree.

  • Foundation Year / Year Zero – a one year full time course that enables you to convert your A level qualifications to another career area eg: if you want to study dentistry but haven’t studied the required science A levels. Be aware that there is usually a strict criteria for this option.

  • Art Foundation Diplomas – If you’re planning to study an Art and Design course at University, many universities will require you to complete a one-year Foundation Diploma in Art and Design first. These are generally available at Colleges of Further Education and universities. They are diagnostic courses and enable you to study a broad range of disciplines in art and design before specialising and preparing a portfolio of art and design relevant to what you want to study at university.

 

Choosing A University

You’ll be living and studying at your chosen university for the next 3, 4 or even 5 years so it’s important to find somewhere that you’ll be happy & ticks as many of your boxes as possible!

Open days!

It is essential to go to open days to give you the chance to have a look around, talk to tutors, current students, look at the accommodation on offer & generally get a feel for the place you want to study. 

Ideally you will have visited some of these in the summer term of year 12 but if not it’s essential to go in the Autumn term of Year 13.

What To Find Out About

  • Specialisms - What subject areas do they specialise in?

  • Placements - Can you study abroad or get help with work placements?

  • Graduate destinations - look at graduate employment prospects and further study destinations 

  • Where is it? - Think of distance in terms of time & cost. Do you want to be in a city, near the sea or somewhere more rural? In 2012 330,000 students chose to stay at home & study at a local university – could this be an option for you? 

  • Social activities - If the social side of university is important to you then you need to find out what this is like. If you have any special interests such as sport or any other extra-curricular activities then you need to find out what’s on offer.

  • Student Support - You need to know that if you have any special learning, personal or health problems that there is good support in place.

  • Student accommodation & housing - Go to an open day and have a look at the accommodation. 1st year students usually stay in halls on the university campus. Talk to the university or current students about local housing. Look at websites (such as The Student Room) offering advice and information on this.

  • Atmosphere - Everyone is different and only you can decide if a university / town / city feels right for you. 

It is essential to visit in person to find out if it’s right for you & whether you could feel at home there.

  • Are there any career development opportunities?  - for internships, mentoring or recruitment fairs? (Details at open days or on university websites.)

  • How good are they? - Check league tables that rank degree course providers.

Why not create your own league table for both your course & university based on the factors that are important to you?!

 

Website Links

  • www.ucas.com - UCAS website - to search for degree courses select ‘Undergraduate - Find a Course’ then type in your chosen course, that will take you to the search page. You might find it useful to look at the ‘Getting Started’ section first.

  • www.coursefindr.co.uk - new website that helps you find courses & save your favourites

  • www.unistats.direct.gov.uk/ – the official site for comparing UK higher education course data

  • www.opendays.com – details of university open days. It’s essential to go to these usually during the summer term of year 12 & Autumn term of year 13.

  • https://university.which.co.uk/ - part of the ‘Which’ group, independent advice

  • www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk - lots of advice & information including league tables

  • www.russellgroup.ac.uk - the website for the Russell Group Universities, have a look at their Informed Choices publication. 

  • www.whatuni.com - search & compare universities & courses

  • www.bestcourse4me.com - free and independent website which shows you the link between what you study, what you could earn and the jobs you could get

  • www.applytouni.com – lots of advice and information on all aspects of applying to university

  • www.push.co.uk – an independent guide to UK universities, student life, gap years, open days and student finance. Tells it how it is!

  • www.studential.com - lots of information on a range of university issues including examples of personal statements

  • www.unifrog.org – Unifrog makes it easy for students to choose the right courses to put on the UCAS forms. They recently won a national prize for the best new education service in the UK! 

  • www.getting-in.com – contains advice for school leavers applying to university and college.

  • www.hecsu.ac.uk - the Higher Education Careers Services Unit website. Has information on what graduates go on to do 6 months after graduating

  • www.thestudentroom.co.uk – written by current / past students. Lots of advice and information on courses, universities, personal statements, university interviews, post graduate courses etc from people who have ‘been there’! However, please  be aware that this information is subjective so may just be that persons experience – keep an open mind.

  • www.open-university.co.uk - an alternative way to gain a degree or other qualification such as post-graduate. Mostly achieved via distance learning. Enables you to gain a degree at a lower cost than going to university.