Careers

As a final year undergraduate at City, University of London, I’m on the cusp of the working world. Right now, I’m trying to crack the journalism industry. In fact, I’m quite worried about my future and how my life will pan out after I graduate. However, the fact that I’ve carried out a lot of work experience throughout my studies helps me stay calm. I think not only has it prepared me practically for this industry, it’s also helped me refine my career choice.

Stepping into the unknown, I decided to attend a new college known as Ada, National College for Digital Skills. I was fascinated by the fact that the college specialised in digital skills and it was an opportunity I couldn’t miss. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I am surrounded by a dynamic community of digital thinkers who have similar interests and values.

While it is important to enjoy your university experience in the moment, it is always worth having an idea in the back of your mind about what you plan to do when you leave university. It might be further study, it might be travelling or it might be heading straight into a career.

I have earned myself an undergraduate degree after three years of pretty exhausting work. I treated myself to a month’s holiday in Germany, explored new destinations, picked up extra work shifts and am now writing job applications.

In this period after graduation I've also experienced these seven moments that I feel are common to the graduate experience. You know you’re a university graduate when...

1. You realise you may never have to study again

J.P. Morgan has been ranked as the best undergraduate employer in the UK by students.

Based on more than 5,500 student reviews on RateMyPlacement.com throughout the 2015-16 academic year, the table ranks the top 100 organisations in the UK for graduate jobs.

To be eligible, companies must recruit more than 20 students a year on placements, internships, vacation schemes and insights and have to have at least 15 reviews on their website. 

Elise Thrale is a second year French and Italian student at the University of Bristol

I began my degree completely unacquainted with Italian. After arriving late to my first ever seminar, my tutor asked me in Italian what my name was. I just stared at her until she spoke to me again in English. 

Ever heard of a unicorn? No – not the mythical horse with a horn on its head, but a start-up company worth in excess of a billion US dollars.

While you might not be familiar with the term “unicorn” to describe such companies, you will almost certainly be familiar with some of the companies that fall into the category: Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, Groupon and Deliveroo to name a few. The list is pretty big.

We are living in an age where information is, quite literally, at the fingertips of students looking for careers advice. As well as the more traditional careers advisers and jobs fairs, this wealth of resources now extends to smartphones via email, the internet and an ever-growing array of social media networks.

But it seems that university students still see parents, friends and family as the most useful for counsel on their future careers.

There’s an optimistic outlook for graduate career opportunities in the UK, according to a survey of careers advisers at UK universities.

Despite Brexit-related concerns about the job market, about 70 per cent of the respondents to AGCAS’ Graduate Labour Market and Student Engagement Survey reported an increase in the number of graduate vacancies compared with the previous year, but this was down by more than 10 per cent from both 2014 and 2015.

Switzerland, Germany and Sweden are the best destinations for students looking to have a successful career abroad, according to new research into expatriate employment.

Europe is judged to be the best region overall, even though expat earnings and benefits are below the survey average.

Nonetheless, more than half the expats working in Europe say that the work culture is an improvement compared with their home country.