Another semester over, another year closer to the world outside of university. For some this prospect excites them, it means they can finally begin a career in their chosen field.
However, if halfway through final year you realised you hated your course, and the thought of working in your degree field for the rest of your life fills you with dread and despair, you are not alone. But you might not need to stay miserable either.
“I honestly fell into my current job”, Sarah, a business graduate said. “It was the summer after graduation, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my business degree. Rather than do nothing I decided to apply for a bunch of different jobs and see who got back to me. I ended up getting a job as a social worker, just helping out here and there. I surprisingly really enjoyed it and two years later, I’ve worked my way up a little, and I’m still here.”
“I’m kind of lucky my hobby became my career”, Laura, a communications graduate said. “In second year I became really interested in graphic design. I didn’t really think it would go anywhere, I just enjoyed playing around with it. About a year after graduation a friend of mine was starting a business and asked me to design the logo for it. From there I had more requests and just like my hobby became profitable”.
“After four years of studying chemistry, the prospect of going into it full time was a little daunting”, Dylan, an analytical science graduate said. “I was a bit creative on my CV. I emphasised my analytical skills and ended up with an entry-level job in data consulting, and I’ve honestly never looked back “.
Many people end up in careers that have nothing to do with the degree they chose. There are law graduates in film, computer science graduates who are chefs and art graduates who are bank tellers.
So don’t feel trapped by your degree. Think about what skills you’ve gained by studying that course and look into how they can be applied/adapted for a different job.
There isn’t one way to do life. You don’t have to follow the path you think is set out for you. If you don’t try, you’ll never know and that’s so much worse than trying and failing.