Further and higher education is more important than ever after the school years for opening up opportunities to meaningful employment. Graduate jobs and training are the modern day Holy Grail for undergraduate students, but entry to graduate jobs is often highly competitive. This all means that it actually makes sense to start looking at the kind of graduate jobs on offer through established resources like Guardian Jobs before you even begin your course, to give you an idea of what you are aiming at. Even better still is to have a look at the type and number of graduate jobs on the market before you even select a course of study. Does this all seem a little premature?
Well, arguably you still have several years to think about exactly what career you wish to pursue if you are yet to embark on an undergraduate course – thankfully nothing is set in stone. Despite this fact, the simple truth is that there are an ever increasing number of graduates being produced In the U.K, and this means increased competition for the limited number of graduate jobs available. If your college course or degree is fairly vocationally directed then you’ll usually have a fairly defined procedure for gaining entry to your chosen profession. However, if you are studying an arts degree – and by this I mean both entertainment arts like music and drama, and also the academic courses classified as arts – competition for graduate jobs can be really fierce.
This does not need to be a cause for anxiety, but merely a call to start thinking as early as possible about putting yourself in the best possible position to secure the kind of graduate jobs in which you can find professional fulfilment.
If you dream of a career as a musician or actor, then go for it, 100%. Take every possible opportunity for experience that arises during your study, and be prepared for the prospect of unpaid work, at least for a short while, after you graduate. If things don’t work out, there is always the option of then taking a vocational Masters or other post-graduate training course to equip you with the skills required by an alternative profession.
This brings us on to the next point, which is to apply yourself in a consistent and dedicated fashion to your undergraduate course, during each phase of this education (even first year!). Good undergraduate academic achievement is a necessary precursor for entry to most post graduate training. All those studying the arts, in the broadest sense, should be fully aware of this fact, as the number of graduate jobs available to fresh graduates without further training can be fairly limited. Again, these places will go to those with the highest academic achievement, and often those that also have a CV rich with extra-curricular experience. So study hard, and try and augment your CV with the extra experience available through things like University societies and clubs, or voluntary work. If like many you’ll need paid part-time work to survive, this too can often count in your favour.