Your Degree Doesn't Have to Decide Your Entire Career

Your degree isn't a career contract

You spent three years studying for your degree, maybe more depending on the course. This can make it feel like you're supposed to find a job directly related to it afterwards. But your degree doesn't have to decide your entire career.

Studying History doesn't mean you have to become a historian. Studying English doesn't mean you have to become a writer. Studying Biology doesn't mean you have to work in a laboratory. And studying Computer Science doesn't mean you have to become a software developer.

Your degree is one part of your experience. It isn't a career contract. There are historians who studied English, software developers who studied musical theatre, and all manner of professionals who are in an industry completely unrelated to what they studied at university.

Think about your transferable skills

A degree teaches you more than the subject itself.

Depending on what you've studied, you may have developed skills such as:

• Research
• Writing
• Presenting
• Data analysis
• Problem solving
• Organisation
• Critical thinking
• Communication
• Project management
• Working independently
• Meeting deadlines

Those skills can be useful in different careers

For example, a History graduate might have developed strong research, writing and analytical skills that could be useful in marketing, communications, policy or project work.

A Psychology graduate might move into recruitment, HR, customer research or business development.

An English graduate might move into content, communications, publishing, marketing or account management.

A Geography graduate might find opportunities in environmental work, planning, data, consulting or business.

And a Computer Science graduate might decide they prefer project management, product development, sales or teaching rather than writing code all day.

The subject you studied doesn't always determine the skills you can use.

Employers often recruit for more than qualifications

Some careers require specific qualifications. If you want to become a doctor, engineer, lawyer or teacher, for example, there are specific routes and requirements you may need to follow.

However, many jobs don't require your degree to be directly related to the role. Employers may instead be interested in your ability to think, communicate, learn, solve problems, organise and work with people. Those are skills you can take with you into different industries.

Your first job can be an experiment

You don't have to know exactly where your career is going. Your first graduate job can help you work that out. Perhaps you take on a role because it sounds interesting, discover that you enjoy a particular part of it and then specialise in that area. Or the inverse can happen, and you realise that you want to do something different.

That's perfectly fine, because careers aren't always planned in a straight line. Sometimes you find the right direction simply by trying something that wasn't in the original plan.

Don't undersell yourself

If you're applying for a role that isn't directly related to your degree, don't apologise for your background. Instead, think about what your degree has taught you that could be useful.

Don't just say 'I have a degree in English.' Explain what that means in terms of your skills: 'My degree involved extensive research, writing and presenting complex ideas clearly.'

That's much more useful to an employer, and if you've gained experience through internships, part-time work, volunteering, societies or personal projects, bring that into the conversation too.

Your degree is a starting point, not a destination

Your career might follow the subject you studied.

It might take you somewhere completely different.

Both are perfectly valid.

The important thing is to look at the opportunities in front of you and ask:

• What can I bring to this role?
• What could I learn from it?
• Where could it take me next?

You don't have to spend your working life doing exactly what you studied at university