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A serious question (with a long answer)

This is mainly to the second and third years because it's more important for us than for freshers. Indeed, I would recommend it being the last thing on all fresher's minds. But it is a serious question and it does need asking, and answering, soon, sadly.

What the hell are you actually going to do after University? Will all you engineers go off and build? Will all you geographers go off and colour in? Will all you Mathematicians go off and lock yourself and a big equation in a room for the next five years? Or will we all just bum around?

After previously favouring the bumming (oo er missus), I now actually intend to follow a career in law. I'm aiming for the magic circle, and as a result I'll need to get a quality work experience this year. I'm still considering the Aldi management scheme and will look into Proctor and Gamble marketing.

The thing that bothers me about law is, if I took the Aldi management thing, in my first year after Uni I would be earning 37k, I'd have a free car, and I'd be an actual manager of 3 or 4 stores, with loads of responisbility etc. Whereas with law I'd still be studying, doing the LPC. Which doesn't thrill me (it's not the money, it's the responsibilty it represents).

I want to go into the real world and have responsibility! And actually do things.

What about you?

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Reply 1

iliketurtles

I've just started my second year of Computer Science which is supposably a good degree to get a really decent job from. Starting salaries are around £25-27k for someone who has no work experience but has potential, rising quickly once you've got a few years experience. The worst possible outcome would be working as second line technical support on £17-20k, with little chance of any progression with the company. But still, it's an almost guaranteed job if I can't find anything better, plus its some real world experience.

I haven't really decided what I'm going to do after uni, I'll probably think more after my 2nd year and depending on whether I can get a good placement during the summer. I'll maybe do Cisco certification and become a professional network engineer, which on the highest certification level has the possibility of travelling all over the world on £100,000+ per year. Even on the lower certificates you can easily earn £60,000+ as a starting salary. There's also a lot of money in IT consultancy and contracting. My overall aim is to be on at least £50,000 pa within 10 years of leaving uni.

If everything goes completely wrong, as a backup plan I intend to do a PGCE and then become a IT/Computing teacher in a college or sixth form. Very secure job, with reasonable pay (long summer holidays :biggrin:

), currently offering a golden hello and it's relatively easy to become head of department after a few years teaching, or if you're older.

Alex

Durham University

Durham

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Reply 2

TKR

Aww I find it nice to hear people tell everyone their dreams of piles upon piles of riches.

Reply 3

Jelkin

I wish it -were- the last thing on my mind...but I'm doing English and know that making a decision now is probably not any harder than making a decision in 2 years.

The only thing I really really want to do is playwriting, which is why I do a lot of it. Last year I did a voluntary writing scheme for Poole Tourism Board where two other writers and I wrote a series of sketches to be performed on location around the area. It had a run of six weeks and did really well. Because the director liked my writing, he asked me to write the entire thing this year, and this time are paying me £800! I'm hoping that this'll look good on my writing CV. Other than that I intend to keep sending scripts to the Royal Court Theatre, who send you back feedback for free, and hopefully I'll enter a heap of competitions. It's a pretty hard career to get into, and to be honest I don't have a lot of optimism or much of an idea of how to do it, but I'll try, at least! I plan to do a lot of research into it. I'll probably put my name down on the Writer's Programme at the Royal Court after uni (might do a master's, depending on how this degree goes!).

Hey, at least mine isn't about riches - playwrights don't make a lot!

Reply 4

arkbar

I'm going for 'something not soulless'.

Reply 5

Christo

I think the only thing I know about life 'post-university' is that I want some form of black car when I'm older.

Ima retire at 50.

Not a clue :biggrin:

I could do anything really.. but away from what would be soulless merciless moneymaking I want to write a successful novel. I have always wanted to, and I also want to write and star in a sketch show of sorts, because the realms of monty python is also a personal aspiration.

Whatever I do for a job will probably be just random and stupidly well paid, but very boring... so lets say my dream is to live in a house with amazing friends, have an awesome social circle and keep doing things all the time and to never let myself die before my time.

Nothing worse than settling down.

Reply 9

Jelkin

RobbieC

Nothing worse than settling down.

Seconded...

Reply 10

goldenbarnes

If you've got enthusiasm for life and you're an outgoing individual, there's no reason why you cant have a great social life etc while 'settling down'. If you equate settling down to banality show a little imagination and expand your horizons. 'Settling down' need not be boring or uneventful.

Reply 11

Jelkin

Yeah, I know really, I was only kidding...marriage/kids scare the bejeesus out of me. :redface:

Reply 12

Rach:)

goldenbarnes

I agree. Settling down isn't necessairly bad.

Back on track....after uni I'll probably work for 6 months/a year in some most probably boring job, then go travelling for 6 months and THEN think seriously about what to do with the rest of my life....there are ways of postponing it! :rolleyes:

Reply 13

Eddie K

I want to work in Dubai on those immense islands they are building in the Gulf...

Unlikely, I know... but one can dream!

Golfs!

Jelkin

.
The only thing I really really want to do is playwriting, which is why I do a lot of it.

That's so cool. Go you!

What kind of plays do you prefer to write?

EDIT: forgot a [ in quote
EDIT 2: forgot a / in

Reply 16

Jelkin

Thanks!

Uh, it depends. The commissioned sketches I wrote were family-oriented historical comedy sketches, which were surprisingly fun. I write quite small-scale stuff, usually focusing on various human relationships. My first play was about a girl dealing with her mother's death and right now I have a love triangle one going on, but I'm worried it's too bog-standard-romantic-comedy. I'm also writing one about a British jazz pianist in a cocktail bar in New York during the prohibition era. It's a bit cheesy at the moment though, I think...

EDIT: Come to think of it, I lied...playwriting's not the ONLY thing I want to do, but saying that I'd like it if my band made it is so lame. :redface:

Reply 17

Inks

I pull in different directions, so I want to get experience where I can in whatever takes my fancy.

Would like to do a research project next summer in biology / geography, but as yet that's still a pretty abstract plan, as I'd have to come up with my own project and as of yet I um, haven't. I know what I'm interested in though– sustainable community development, ecologically friendly agriculture (organic food makes me happppy… :p:

).

However I don't know if I've the right kind of mind for continuous research. Just have to see how I go. I like writing, and it comes naturally to me, so journalism isn't far from my mind. Would also like to write some fiction that I can actually finish, though I care more about satisfying my own creative interests than selling them (which seems too high a hope to hope for).

Aaand I want to travel a bit, and also do the whole family thing, with pets and a house and um, kids… i suppose… But this is not near-future. Wombs are scary. :biggrin:

I think that's enough ambition to frustrate me for a while. :yy:

But hey, if all else fails, there's always waitressing… For ever and ever and ever.
:eek:

Reply 18

vickyrkenya

At the moment my main aim is to get a 2.1 or above in my degree, then go on to do a masters followed by a phd program (hopefully in something like stem cell research). However, a little plan always at the back of my mind is to do graduate level medicine and become a doctor. Im not sure i would want to stay in the UK to do that though...the courses in places such as the USA seem to be much more suited to my way of working.