Is Our Undergrad Degree Enough to Get Us a Job?
Being in the last year of my undergrad, I can not help but stress about what my next step is. Do I take a year off? Do I find a job right away? Or, should I go to grad school? I am sure most of you can relate to these questions as we want to ensure that we will secure a job in our field as well as one that pays enough so that we can pay off all that student debt!
I found this article very interesting since I feel that there has been a major increase in the necessity and pressure of getting a postgraduate degree in order to land a good job. As the article mentioned, “Universities UK (UUK) report, Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education 2015, showed that over the 10 years from 2004-05 to 2013-14, the number of postgraduate research students rose by 27.2 per cent and postgraduate taught students by 8.4 per cent”.
Living in a world where one degree does not seem to cut it any more, do you think it is possible to still get a job without a postgraduate degree or should everyone be preparing to study more after their first degree? Also, do you think that postgraduate degrees are a necessity for all students or do you think that it depends on the field of study?
Interesting article, Mae!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it is possible to get a job without pursuing a specialization after completing an undergraduate degree, but there are a lot of factors to consider. I think that a specialization does help you stand out and ultimately, gives you more time and experience in a certain field. I personally found it really hard to compete with people who had more experience + university degrees when I was looking for work in journalism with only a diploma. However, looking back I was also only 20 years old, so I was really lacking in both industry and life experience.
There are a lot of students that go to university right after high school whose interests may change over the course of four or five years, or they may end up graduating still unsure of what they want to do. I think that pursuing further studies, travelling, or taking on internships are great ways to gain more experience and knowledge to help make what is a really big decision!
I also think that, as the article you shared says, you should consider the industry you're interested in to see if further education is even necessary. I recently spoke to an alumni from our program who is now a professor at Humber and McMaster in digital marketing related courses, and she also owns her own business as a digital marketing consultant. She told me that she is seeing a lot of people who have no post-secondary education at all taking on various digital marketing roles because they might be social media influencers, or have blogs/vlogs with large followings and are able to demonstrate that they possess the skills required to do the job.
So, again, a lot of things to consider. I don't think there's any right or wrong way to approach further education! If someone thinks they'll ultimately benefit from it, then why not go for it?
Mae,
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a concern that every 4th year undergrad creeping up on graduation has for their future. Although, most of the time I really think our degree is going to be enough. I think with our degree alone, employers will give us a second look, 4 years of post secondary education is an accomplishment and people notice that.
I also believe with new technologies like LinkedIn you can use this to your advantage, personally brand yourself to stick out and this will help you find a job.
With your article in mind, there is no doubt that the statistics seem daunting, and the words from others are discouraging although with an undergrad degree you already have something to make you stand out.
I think a lot of people these days look at the ways in which they won't get a job instead of all the reasons why you could. Your degree, your volunteer experience, your extra curricular participation in clubs around campus... all of these things are vital parts of a resume and I still do not think they go unnoticed.
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as you. I think it's important to identify our priorities and see which direction is good for now. I know we have to plan everything for the future and build upon this elaborate plan. But part of our privilege allows us to do things for the now. I took a year off from school and travelled solo for 6 months and worked two different jobs, thus gaining a lot more life experience and seeing what I wanted to do. See what you can do now with what you have. If you have some money, travel a little. If you need to support yourself, explore job opportunities. That's my advice for you.
But in terms of our actual undergraduate degrees, I think that it's important to acknowledge the type of jobs we can get which are mainly entry level and maybe to our interests (depending). It's hard to get any higher level jobs with just and undergrad degree and something that is specific. But if we can get an entry level position, we can move up. I also think that some areas such as HR and CPA need further education, which can help you get roles in those positions. For myself, I'm in sales for tech companies, and I don't need more training or education after my undergrad. But my HR friends do need to pass exams and go for masters or certification programs.
It's not hard to find jobs anymore especially with the technologies, but it's hard to get them. Understand yourself and what you're good at. If you can master that through work, do it, if you need more education to master it, do that. For people like me, my undergrad degree is sufficient for my future.