University Courses with good career prospects

tunde10

I was wondering if anyone can help me out here. I am asking on behalf of someone currently in first year of A-level and has no idea what university course to take.
He current does Art, Geography & History. These don't seem to be realistic courses that can lead to a job.

So basically i am asking for suggestions on University courses where once you finish, you can apply for a job and actually have a chance of getting one. So ideally courses/career where the jobs are available or even a growing need in the near future. Also courses where it is relatively easy to get in and do not need 4 A's etc.

An example from personal experience is Accountancy and Finance. On completion of this course, i got an office based job. This eventually led to an Accounts Payable role and professional studies towards being qualified. Once qualified, i expect to earn £38k+ in UK and also allows the opportunity to go abroad.
However even this isn't the greatest option as i know many people i graduated with with no jobs.

Any suggestions would be great then i will compile a list to send to the person where he will research further and find something they will like but also be of use.

V_Chic_Chick

Personally I think the idea that a university education should lead directly to a job is one of the greatest fallacies around in university education today. Around 70% of graduate jobs do not specify what degree subject you need to take, and there are many good and enjoyable jobs out there which require a degree, but it's not clear which degree could ever lead directly to that job. In contrast, there are very few degrees where immediate graduate-level employment is effectively guaranteed afterwards, and those tend to be thing like nursing and dentistry.

Unless someone is on a specifically vocational course (and they shouldn't be, unless they genuinely want to follow that career path) then IMHO it's very rare for the content of their degree to be the most important thing that they learn in the long term. I know of three people, off the top of my head, who are forging successful careers as a direct result of taking up a new sport at university. I can think of several more for whom part time work has led to graduate level employment. I know that my career ambitions have changed whilst at university (I'm a second year), for reasons that are nothing to do with the course itself. You also get transferable skills whilst studying, and being able to relate those to what the employer wants is (essentially) how you get the job.

In terms of specific degree courses he could look at, most of the social sciences and humanities would be open to him. Law (no, deffo not a guaranteed job at the end FYI, and it's probably not worth doing law unless he can get into a Russell Group uni) would be another option, alongside things like nursing and social work. I believe that architecture would be an option, though he would have to check subject requirements.

He should be having a look around the open days of universities he is interested in in the summer term of Y12 / early autumn term of Y13. If he can narrow things down a bit, then they will have subject-specific info that he can use to decide finally. And if he can't make up his mind, then a gap year is an entirely legitimate option.

MartinSpoon

My story - I focused on sciences and computing at school, did well, I went to university to study Astrophysics, found out I didn't like the maths, tried switching to computing, didn't like that either.

In my third year, I started a new degree course in theology - something completely different, but I thought I'd enjoy it. I did, it was great.

In my final year, I applied to some of the big graduate recruiters - it's not quite good today as it was 5 years ago, but the principal is still the same, many graduate recruiters don't care which degree you have, they want to know if you could be good at the job.

5 years down the line, I'm with the same large company that took me on as a graduate, working as a business improvement consultant, in a field I had no previous experience of.

So my experience is... if you don't know what you want to do, don't worry yet. Keep it broad at A-level, and if you still don't know what to apply for at university, do something you think you would enjoy, and worry about the job later. Like the poster above, I don't think people should treat university as only a means to get a job.

atypical

Where they study will be more important than what they study. Sticking to traditional degrees (history, sciences etc) will also help.

Most important to stress is that doing well in the degree is a given. They need to get involved with extracurricular stuff to stand out. And make sure they apply to the summer internships nearly all big employers offer.

savingpennies

I agree with many of the comments made by the other posters. He should go for whatever subject he is interested in. My OH has a geography degree and has worked in the logistics industry all his life. I have an English degree, but there were 20 other people on my course and I'm the only teacher. I advise A level students as part of my job: my advice? Study what you think you will enjoy and get good A levels to access the better universities. Interestinlgy, many of my former students who have now graduated are often asked about their A level grades as lots of students now come out with 2.1's and employers are looking further back sometimes even to GCSE's. Don't forget the other things: work experience, involvement in voluntary work, Duke of Edinburgh awards, etc.
And don't forget lots of jobs don't need degrees. Accountancy for instance can be accessed with good A levels. I wish him luck it's a tough world out there and it doesn't look to be getting any easier.

agrinnall

While I think this would have been the right place for this discussion the OP's duplicate thread on the Employment board now has over 50 posts so it would seem sensible for further posts to be made there rather than here.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4504337

fishforsale

atypical wrote: »

Where they study will be more important than what they study. Sticking to traditional degrees (history, sciences etc) will also help.

Most important to stress is that doing well in the degree is a given. They need to get involved with extracurricular stuff to stand out. And make sure they apply to the summer internships nearly all big employers offer.

dont listen to this idiot

Subject is more important as long as you have ABB in 3 a levels, and its even more important when you dont

I achieved BBBc for my alevels and am studying engineering, at a ex poly, but i expect to start on atleast 26k(chem eng) and by the time im 50 earn atleast 70k( average chartered wage)

Although, only if my dream of becoming an inventor fails!

nimbo

as long as he chooses a degree in a real subject (so no Kling-on or surf science) he should choose something that he will finish, and he will be interested in....

me sitting here saying he should study medicine is a pointless task if he's squeamish....

there is no such thing as a guaranteed job at the end of a degree nowadays...

Voyager2002

fishforsale wrote: »

dont listen to this idiot

Subject is more important as long as you have ABB in 3 a levels, and its even more important when you dont

I achieved BBBc for my alevels and am studying engineering, at a ex poly, but i expect to start on atleast 26k(chem eng) and by the time im 50 earn atleast 70k( average chartered wage)

Although, only if my dream of becoming an inventor fails!

The person to whom you responded is not an idiot, and gave good advice.

Obviously there are particular fields (such as Engineering and Medicine)) where it is crucially important to have the right degree subject, but there are vastly more opportunities where the subject is not important, and what matters is that the person has a decent degree along with a portfolio of transferable skills. And it is always important to go to a "good" university: someone who is still studying has no idea how easy or difficult it is going to be to get that first graduate job, nor whether it would have been easier had they gone to a better-regarded university.

bouncydog1

IMO the best degree for your friend is one where he is really interested in the subject. UNI is not all about partying and is now a real financial commitment. He will be there for at least three years so trying to study a topic just to get a job is rubbish IMO. as previously mentioned many of the top recruiters don't really mind what your degree is in, albeit a science degree would be valued more highly than a degree in photography. They are looking for people with the skill set provided by certain degrees e.g research and analytical skills.

If your friend has no idea of what he wants to do then get him onto the UCAS site to look through the various course contents. Once he has narrowed down what he is interested in, next step is to look at the UNI's offering those course and look at what they cover as they are all a bit different. He will then find that he likes a few of the courses and at that point he needs to go to the Open days during this summer. He will soon find a couple of UNI's that he really likes. Also take into account realistically what his capabilities are - no good really liking Oxford if he is only likely to get B grades! The choice cannot be made in5 minutes and he should already have started on this process as applications will have to be made after Summer break.