For many young aspiring professionals, the university is often the next natural step after completing A-Levels and or BTEC’s in order to enhance career prospects. Whilst completing a degree, students can often be presented with a world of opportunities whether that be in the form of placement years, a year abroad, and or other work experience tailored around said chosen degree.
For the duration of undergraduate courses, some universities offer course-related years abroad which can aid students in advancing their industry knowledge and gaining an insight into company operations and the policies that surround them. The advantageous benefits of studying abroad can introduce students to improving their language skills, increasing awareness of industry jargon, increasing cultural awareness, and an opportunity to widen a networking pool; all desirable skills which employers can largely be impressed by.
Networking can be considered to be a significant factor when concerning a career and or job prospects. When at university, students are assigned personal tutors who are there to help them throughout their academic journey and aid them with advice, encouragement, and mentorship. In observance to networking, university tutors can be favourable connections to have post-grad. They can be advantageous and reliable references who can aid you in the job application process through the use of letters of recommendation which can assist students in either further education and or post-university employment.
With the increased popularity of networking website LinkedIn, it is easier to collaborate with other students and employees of the university previously or currently attended and in turn, this can widen your networking pool and potentially increase professional opportunity.
As aforementioned, University can often feel like the next natural step for aspiring professionals and even more so if one needs university in order to excel into the next step of their career. Career paths such as becoming a lawyer, a doctor, a biomedical scientist, engineering, and many others, often require further education inclusive of a Bachelor’s, masters, and a doctorate. The opportune benefit of completing further education past your bachelor’s degree tailors aspirants even further into specific career paths and enables them to attain enhanced intelligence around a specialised field of study. Additionally, everything learnt from previous education can be applicable and practised whether that be through broadening networks, making further connections and increasing earning potential.
However, it is also worth acknowledging that university is not in everyone’s post-eighteen plans and thus, other avenues of attaining career prospects can be explored. There are a variety of routes which can be explored through on the job training, apprenticeships, and internships. Careers which are inclusive of accounting, and journalism – although university would be beneficial – can provide candidates with enlightenment and familiarisation with operations of said industry and the ways in which the workplace functions on a day to day without having to complete a bachelor’s degree.
The previous avenues mentioned can be viewed to be more beneficial in terms of having to acquire and learn quickly – which can be advantageous in moving on to the next step – but they also aid in developing interpersonal work relationships simultaneously, which can be viewed as advantageous in building professional connections and further enhancing a career.
Conclusively, it is evident that attending university can be advantageous as well as challenging for those who choose to attend and complete degrees. University can align students with opportunities they may not have been able to attain without attending university, and an experience which can easily be applied to post-university employment or further education.
As aforementioned, further education whether that be a master or a doctorate can also further enhance tailored career prospects as well as potentially increasing earning potential whilst also allowing students to develop jargon and widen their pool of connections. However, it is also worth noting that university is not for everyone and fortunately there are other ways of achieving career goals without having to attend university. On-the-job training, apprenticeships and internships are three of many ways to build the foundations for a budding professional. Ultimately, it is what you as an individual deem to be the best course of action.
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