What job should I do after uni??!

Turns out going to uni wasn’t just for the bants

4 years ago | UPDATED 4 years ago

“What job should I do after uni?” is a question you’ll hear at least 10 times a day throughout final year as students realise that their “safety net” degree doesn’t necessarily translate to the adult world.

Maybe it’s true of you study something useful like Medicine or Law but, for all the humanities grads out there, figuring out what you should do after uni when you’ve got a degree that’s applicable for basically anything is hard. Especially when there are 2.3 million other students entering the workforce at the same time as you.

So to help you narrow down your options we’ve split the huge overarching question – “What job should I do after uni?” – into three, more manageable, sections (and the numerous navigational questions that fall under them):

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**1) Which industry should I work in?**

Unless you’ve done enough work experience to already know, it’s worth taking some time to think about what you really want to work in (whether that’s related to your degree, or not). These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you tackle the big “What job should I do after uni” question:

• What are you passionate about?

• What are you good at?

• What’s your ultimate goal?

• Where do you want to be based?

• How much of a work/life balance do you want?

**2) Which company should I work for?**

Every year The Times releases its ranking of The Top 100 Graduate Employers, which is a good way of figuring out the companies you want to work for. On top of this, these are the questions you should ask yourself:

• What sort of atmosphere do you want to work in?

• What size of company do you want to work for?

• What job benefits do you want?

• What salary would you like?

• What industry do you want to work in?

• Do you want the company to be focused on improving diversity, equality, sustainability?

**3) Which role should I be in?**

Some Graduate Schemes allow you to rotate across different departments and learn about a variety of roles. However, most jobs are at least department specific (i.e. HR), so it’s worth doing some research into specific job descriptions to make sure you understand what the job actually is.

Do your research

I’d love to be able to click my fingers and magically tell you what your life’s career should be but, frankly, If I could do that then I wouldn’t be sat here writing this. Yes, some quizzes may help you narrow down your choices, but ultimately the only way you’re going to be able to find the right job for you is to do your research.

Google is about to become your new best friend – If you have a question, ask the internet and it shall provide. But, don’t do all your research online. Make sure you talk to people: your friends, parents, relatives, friends’ parents, rogue connections you made working in your local pub that one time, etc. Don’t be afraid to use your connections to get the answers you seek. Sometimes asking someone to meet for a coffee can be way more useful than Googling job specs.