What can students in the UK do to prepare for their future career?

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pahanginan@reddit

Stop worrying about wage level and focus on employer name

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Look at apprenticeship schemes, uni isn’t what it’s hyped up to be. I would go far as estimate 80% of the people I know do not work in the sector they originally went to university to study, they’re all paying the price with the student loan repayments

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

Hmm I did really well in my GCSEs so I feel like I should be aiming for something intellectual.

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Ipoopedinthefridge@reddit

Intellectual? Sorry but comments like that just shows you haven’t looked into them, There are plenty of highly well respected jobs that come through via apprenticeships, an ex of mine was an apprentice for BAE, studied for his degree via the BAE apprenticeship scheme at a military base (as a civilian) and qualified as an electronic engineer - complete with honours (can’t remember the exact degree) My daughter (currently in uni studying to be a nurse as she wasn’t able to nab an apprenticeship) - her best friend is currently on a 6 year apprenticeship with a legal firm in london and hoping to qualify as a solicitor by the end if it. My partner studied motorsport engineering at Oxford brooks - and he has taught many apprenticeships over time, he said himself if he could do his time again, he’d rather be paid to learn and get the experience and be more employable than go down the uni route, struggle for years to finally be able to break into the motorsport world,

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

Sorry if that came across as rude, let me put it another way. If I don't go to University my Chinese mum will travel back in time and abort me 🙃

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carlovski99@reddit

Ha ha - good sense of humour is an underrated soft skill as well. 'Modern' Apprenticeships are a good option, and many give you a degree at the end of it anyway. It's hard work though, you are studying and working at the same time. And the best schemes are incredibly competitive, way harder than University applications or most first graduate job schemes. They aren't the only ones available though

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dbxp@reddit

In the UK you can become a fully chartered accountant without ever going to uni which is a very respected qualification including in China

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Leachy06@reddit

You can do that and work the usual 8-5 job. I work full time from home, with the same company since i finished my apprenticeship 9 years ago. Salary £93k

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

Really? Can I ask what you do?

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Leachy06@reddit

In Management within the rail sector

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jelly10001@reddit

Granted they are very competitive, but you can do degree apprenticeships.

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Physical-Bear2156@reddit

Above all else, do something you are interested in.

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MushyBeans@reddit

We have new starters straight from uni who struggle with the having to work all day, every work day part of the job. I always worked part time and never had an issue when I started to work full time, so maybe that helps.

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Real23Phil@reddit

Be curious about stuff, read/ask honest questions about it.

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_DoubleBubbler_@reddit

Think creatively when looking for a good job is the best advice I can give. For example in my early twenties, I took a chance in attending a recruitment open evening at an interesting sounding technology company. It was for software engineers but I wanted a sales role, but by good fortune the sales manager was at the event and we got chatting. She liked my approach and enthusiasm so when the next junior sales role came up, I got the job!

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

That does sound like a salesman, showing up anyway and trying to make the sale (selling yourself in this instance).

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dbxp@reddit

At the junior level it can simply mean being someone the seniors like to hang around with as they show you the ropes

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_DoubleBubbler_@reddit

Haha, true. To be honest, I didn’t particularly like sales or the cut-throat nature in some teams I worked in / eventually managed. It was a means to and end though financially, and I left in my thirties to join the Police.

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dbxp@reddit

Don't just get a degree in anything, look at what it can lead to careerwise Be skills focused, these skills could come from a qualification, job experience or a hobby. When I'm looking at a CV I want to know what can this person do for me?

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He_ofshadowsandtouch@reddit

Number 1/ avoid anything AI will do

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spartan0746@reddit

Do a year in industry if your degree offers it, projects and relevant groups and societies at the same time.

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Ill-Security-5344@reddit

i wish this was as easy as it sounds. im going to uni this sept in law+placement year, and ive heard horror stories on how ppl can’t get placement years cuz 1) there just isn’t that many offered 2) that increases competition

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Emergency-Assist-421@reddit

Very few good law firms recruit via placement years. It might be semi useful experience but most recruit via vacation schemes.

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Ill-Security-5344@reddit

yea ive heard of the vacation schemes but even those are competitive 😂. i just hope i get a placement year cuz i think a year in industry would give a better insight into working in law than a couple weeks u know? Either one, id be blessed

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spartan0746@reddit

At the end of the day you still have to put the effort in. We interview a good number before offering to them, and a large number come across incredibly poorly: no research on the company, no level of interest or enthusiasm shown, poor communication etc. We aren’t asking for much, we expect little technical skill, but we do expect some amount of actually trying.

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

A year in industry is an internship as part of your degree right?

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simmonator@reddit

Former colleague of mine did one (while doing a physics(?) degree). But yes, it’s a year in the middle (usually between 2nd and 3rd year) of the degree where you’re on a placement. He insisted it was a great idea as: - it’s a year actually experiencing work relevant to the degree, so you can test if you like that sort of thing. - it’s a good way to be exposed to Work culture and get rid of any bad habits (and get used to new ones). - he made a good impression and felt confident that he could turn up there after finishing his degree and have a foot in the door if they had recruitment on their mind. - similarly, even if he didn’t go for that one, he had an actual reference who could say “yeah, he always turned up on time, had good ideas, and he really took to coding”. - he got paid and could therefore afford more pints in his final year. If you can’t do that, I’d also recommend summer placements for similar reasons.

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Ok_Adhesiveness_8637@reddit

Some time companies who do these will take you on straight after your degree. I even knew one dude be offered a part time role during his last year of his degree, completely based around how he did during the year.

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

That does sound like an ideal way to get into an industry. Thanks I will look out for degree programs that have them.

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Ok_Adhesiveness_8637@reddit

Please do, i run a recruitment company in the stem field and I always recommend them to anyone asking about degrees!

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FREESHAVOCADO0@reddit

It can be a year out that functions in that way, usually the uni doesn't help you get the role though.

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spartan0746@reddit

Yes, we take them at my workplace every year. It means you get paid for a year midway through a degree and then finish with a year’s work experience. All our previous interns haven’t struggled after graduating because of that, a good number were given offers to return to us once they finished their degree.

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Ecstatic_Effective42@reddit

I did this for my degree, it was (is?) called a sandwich course. It formed part of my degree course, and was the reason I walked into a full time job as soon as I graduated. A guy I worked with called up and basically offered me a job where he was working.

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J453y@reddit

Maybe it’s just the area I live and the industries I’ve worked (CNC Machining for aerospace and industrial) but every company I’ve worked for seems to struggle to get quality apprentices. It’s generally well paid work with quite a lot of ways to progress and skills you can take to another company if you decide you want to move on. And it’s not grunt work, it’s a high skilled trade that can be engaging, challenging, and fun. So yeah I’d really recommend looking at apprenticeships

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jelly10001@reddit

Get as much work experience as you can, whether through an apprenticeship, summer internships or year in industry, and learn how to sell yourself (on paper and verbally).

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ThatNiceDrShipman@reddit

Learn how to write polite, professional but slightly demanding emails. This is a skill that is in use all across the business world, and even with AI assistance many people don't get the tone right. Learning to touch type will also get you work, even today.

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Full-Suggestion-1320@reddit

Do volunteering in any capacity you can even if it's unrelated to your desired career. Volunteering proves you have desirable, transferable skills. Look at the course you are being offered, what is the employability rating for that course at that uni, it's no good going for a university with an an incredible reputation if they aren't preparing you for an actual job. If 50% of the course are still unemployed after 6 months I would be thinking very hard about whether you should be going on that course.

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No-Veterinarian-3916@reddit

Don't just go to uni for the hell of it. Have a strategic career plan. Get a degree that will help current and future job prospects.

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Competitive_Pen7192@reddit

This is key. I went to uni over 20 years ago and the advice from careers advisors is go to uni with no actual end game which is completely the wrong thing to tell kids when they know no better. Fine back then as the jobs market was probably better and I found a career for myself after graduation. No thanks to my undergraduate years however. It's a different prospect today and kids starting now need a plan sooner there than later which is difficult when you're young.

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thorn312@reddit

Yep, I didn't go to uni despite most of my friends going, because I didn't have a specific plan of what I wanted to do, plus I was working two jobs while in 6th form to help pay the rent as my mother was really struggling financially. Not that she'd have tried to stop me if I decided it's what I wanted, but it would make a huge impact on the family. If someone wants to go to uni, plan plan plan!

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YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)

I hope it's all worked out for you now.

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thorn312@reddit

Definitely! I've done all sorts of jobs and am currently settled in to eCommerce.

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Muted-Marionberry328@reddit

Improve your soft skills. It's assumed that you have the hard skills already and that's your key in. However things like communication, organisation, initiative and time management are crucial, and in practice it is the main difference between a raw graduate and experienced worker. If you hosted an event for charity, worked or volunteered, or do anything that demonstrates these these skills then many people will be impressed and ask for an interview.

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xian0@reddit

Actually know what career you're going for and don't just pick the most generic options that you can think of from the top of your head. Because they might be completely open to you joining but they aren't exactly going to come bother you into signing up.

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Ding-Dong-Diddily@reddit

Get the benefits application in

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Tiger_Tail77@reddit

Take your time to think about what you want to do. Delaying uni for a couple of years is no bad thing. For example, I studied MFL, but as I've got older, I've realised that I wish I did something more along the lines of environmental science.

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AreaMiserable9187@reddit

Pray pray pray there’s jobs for you 🤞🏻🤞🏻

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Own-Story8907@reddit

drugs, onlyfans, have rich parents

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Own-Story8907@reddit

or work experience, get relevant certs and hope for the best

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Own-Story8907@reddit

or yknow, hardcore drugs and be an e-thot

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Mysterious-Bid-9446@reddit

Leave the country

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KaleChipKotoko@reddit

Work experience and examples of you putting your theory into practice. Go to insight days. At careers fairs don’t just speak with the companies you’ve heard of - they may all offer something you can do.

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Pagan_MoonUK@reddit

Get a job, by that I mean study and work. Regardless if you get a part time job in retail or catering, get some sort of work experience under your belt. You need to be able to deal with people and cultivate people skills in the workplace. Don't segregate yourself into a clique or hang out with people own age group in the workplace, acting like it's an extension of the school playground. Do voluntary work if you can, anything to bulk up your CV.

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