Graduating in 2016. I don't want a "corporate job" (most grad schemes).....

They might advertise on your Uni careers site no? When I was looking for internships there were loads on my Uni website from smallish companies in the local city which I didn't come across anywhere else.

I just don't want to do another year of University and I really cant see myself doing Engineering. Even the thought of the year ahead now depresses me somewhat. I need to crack on and start earning some mons. If I was going to apply to an Engineering company now I'd probably apply for roles in their admin/office/financial departments rather than Eng-type roles.

I haven't actually checked that site in such a long time :blushing:

, I'll see if I can remember my login :tongue:

(thanks!)

Wow, it sounds like you weren't enjoying the degree at all!

I remember you saying you were into Robotics though so I can understand the MEng for you, but for me I just feel like I'll do an MSc in future if I turn out to regret leaving. Did many people you know leave after BEng?

I didn't think I'd talked about it that much :colondollar:

I know of a handful of people who left after BEng, and of that group, I know that one person did an MSc at another university, no idea about the others!

It definitely makes sense, if you feel like you wouldn't gain from an MEng, or find something you want to specialise in :yep:

and you might get your employer to pay for an MSc in the future, you never know :wink2:

Reply 21

username1799249

19

Fret ye not. It is indeed true that the corporate world is generally the only place visible to most graduates. But as mentioned before, for every corporate there are 10's of smaller companies struggling to hire. They can be a mixed bag but you never know until you try and once you have a year or so of experience under your belt there is no harm in moving on. Try looking on job boards, but also, much more increasingly on LinkedIn. The graduate intake has probably dried up for the time being, but in the new academic year, there will be a fresh round of recruitment fairs worth going to. Avoid the large corporates wishing to add you to their marketing mailing list and head for the small locals. Ask them if they have any jobs now. We have just recruited x3 gradies off the back of a recruitment fair.

Good luck!

Reply 22

Joinedup

20

usual internet resources... plus your uni careers service might have some ideas about SME's that are interested or have recently been interested (and therefore might be interested again) in hiring grads.

Reply 23

Milkround Student & Graduate Careers

Official Rep

1

Original post by OhBreev

Graduating with a STEM degree from a top Uni in 2016.

Pretty much all grad schemes seem to be corporate jobs where you wear a suit every morning and go to meetings and make small-talk by the water cooler and pretend you give a crap about your co-workers etc....

I prefer the idea of working in a small environment with only a few employees. Seems more personal, less robotic. Nom saying?

However, I don't want to spend my life making minimum wage.

Anyone else feel/felt the same way? Advice would be grand. Also not bothered about which sector I go into (bored of STEM).

Hi,

Sounds like a job at a start-up or SME is what you're looking for. While it may seem that every graduate goes on to join a graduate scheme in a corporate, in fact, the majority of graduates start their careers at smaller businesses.

As I started my career at an SME myself, I recently wrote an article for London School of Business & Finance on this topic that may be of interest: http://www.lsbf.org.uk/blog/news/opinion-features/why-starting-career-sme-good-for-you/93039

The good news is, there are actually plenty of graduate opportunities within small businesses that might be of interest to you - have a dig around on Milkround's recruiters page for ideas, as we have lots of employers to choose from, some being large corporates and some being smaller businesses you may not have heard of.

If you have any specific questions about what it's like to work at a small company vs working on a graduate scheme, feel free to DM us - in the meantime, best of luck!

Chantelle & The Milkround team

Reply 24

OhBreev

OP

3

Original post by Milkround Graduate Careers Team

Hi,

Sounds like a job at a start-up or SME is what you're looking for. While it may seem that every graduate goes on to join a graduate scheme in a corporate, in fact, the majority of graduates start their careers at smaller businesses.

As I started my career at an SME myself, I recently wrote an article for London School of Business & Finance on this topic that may be of interest: http://www.lsbf.org.uk/blog/news/opinion-features/why-starting-career-sme-good-for-you/93039

The good news is, there are actually plenty of graduate opportunities within small businesses that might be of interest to you - have a dig around on Milkround's recruiters page for ideas, as we have lots of employers to choose from, some being large corporates and some being smaller businesses you may not have heard of.

If you have any specific questions about what it's like to work at a small company vs working on a graduate scheme, feel free to DM us - in the meantime, best of luck!

Chantelle & The Milkround team

Interesting piece.

It's crazy how little University students hear about SMEs and start ups. I spent all of last year applying for internships, going to career fairs etc and doing research and only in the last week have I found out these options.

Thanks for posting.

Reply 25

Milkround Student & Graduate Careers

Official Rep

1

Original post by OhBreev

Interesting piece.

It's crazy how little University students hear about SMEs and start ups. I spent all of last year applying for internships, going to career fairs etc and doing research and only in the last week have I found out these options.

Thanks for posting.

You're welcome - I've worked in both small, high-energy start ups and two large corporations too - so feel free to message me if you've got any specific questions!

Reply 26

matt_t88

Original post by Princepieman

Try Research and Development jobs at innovation centres/other companies - the atmosphere isn't as corporate.Alternatively, any tech company/tech startup will have a very chilled environment with near zero occurrence of suits.Posted from TSR Mobile

Agree with Princepieman, if you want un-corporate, look at startups and SMEs. The startup I work in could not be more relaxed in terms on working environment. Table tennis table, beer fridge, wear what you want etc but the work is equally as hard and challenging. As you are in a smaller team, your impact is much greater and you are expected to pull your weight.

I joined a startup after my one year graduate program and I learnt so much more there than I did on the grad scheme simply because I was exposed to so much more of the business and ended up working across disciplines and helping out with things I wouldn't have been allowed near in a more corporate environment.