The Student Room Group

Am i stressing too much about what to do after uni or?

hey, so im doing a software engineering degree in a i guess..upper mid rank uni - going into second year

but i am not sure if i want to do software development anymore - well, not like coding..like the standard path of front/back end or fullstack.. i was thinking of going to do either something completely different like big4 audit (or related), or something like data analytics

in terms of work experience.. i do tutoring for my sister and some other people, so i guess this has given me communication, patience?, organisation skills and such

but my main worry is seeing some posts and stuff online of people going YEARS without getting a related / any??!! job, and im kinda scared of getting myself in that situation

i was going to be looking at placement opportunities this year, and was thinking of either commuting to nearer cities to me like birmingham (like 1hr ish), or if i only get something in london then id probably find a flat or something..or maybe commute by train because I can still get work done. But i heard that placements are also super competitive, but thats whatever, i dont mind, its just the thought of "what if i dont manage to get a placement?" that keeps playing on my mind..

..in terms of projects i can show, i have one where i analysed earthquake data to show the location of it and size..and a university coursework of a loan management system in java, and im working on a game in python like space invaders..

but for some reason, i feel like thos wont be enough?? maybe my projects are too simple and om not good enough? (major imposter syndrome may e i know lol), but this kinda makes me feel like im doomed after if i dont get a placement

also, i dont know if my 'work experience' would be good enough for graduate employers in schemes - like if i dont do a internship ive kinda made it seem to myself that i am basically screwed..and i dont know if a graduate job or entry level admin job for example, would hire someone with a (potentially unrelated degres), based off tutoring experience, and a skill based cv?

so yea, for a few months now ive kind of been panicking about this (maybe for no reason?) and its kinda got me in a not great state

so i guess this post is mainly just a way to write how i feel, so i at least stop thinking about it so much, but if i had to ask, i guess my question is, are my prospects potentially that bad? or am i making this a bigger deal than it really is?
Reply 1
Original post by Al3x235
hey, so im doing a software engineering degree in a i guess..upper mid rank uni - going into second year
but i am not sure if i want to do software development anymore - well, not like coding..like the standard path of front/back end or fullstack.. i was thinking of going to do either something completely different like big4 audit (or related), or something like data analytics
in terms of work experience.. i do tutoring for my sister and some other people, so i guess this has given me communication, patience?, organisation skills and such
but my main worry is seeing some posts and stuff online of people going YEARS without getting a related / any??!! job, and im kinda scared of getting myself in that situation
i was going to be looking at placement opportunities this year, and was thinking of either commuting to nearer cities to me like birmingham (like 1hr ish), or if i only get something in london then id probably find a flat or something..or maybe commute by train because I can still get work done. But i heard that placements are also super competitive, but thats whatever, i dont mind, its just the thought of "what if i dont manage to get a placement?" that keeps playing on my mind..
..in terms of projects i can show, i have one where i analysed earthquake data to show the location of it and size..and a university coursework of a loan management system in java, and im working on a game in python like space invaders..
but for some reason, i feel like thos wont be enough?? maybe my projects are too simple and om not good enough? (major imposter syndrome may e i know lol), but this kinda makes me feel like im doomed after if i dont get a placement
also, i dont know if my 'work experience' would be good enough for graduate employers in schemes - like if i dont do a internship ive kinda made it seem to myself that i am basically screwed..and i dont know if a graduate job or entry level admin job for example, would hire someone with a (potentially unrelated degres), based off tutoring experience, and a skill based cv?
so yea, for a few months now ive kind of been panicking about this (maybe for no reason?) and its kinda got me in a not great state
so i guess this post is mainly just a way to write how i feel, so i at least stop thinking about it so much, but if i had to ask, i guess my question is, are my prospects potentially that bad? or am i making this a bigger deal than it really is?

Your projects seem ok, but maybe do a more complex project using different languages and frameworks that companies commonly look for to show that you have the skills and experience to provide value to that company, and talk about them in detail in your application. You need to stand out from the crowd with your application showing that you have an interest in that particular field and have the projects to back it up. You can also try to go to events like hackathons or networking events or just enter competitions with a project you made (There are lots and it doesn't matter if you win its good to talk about them on your CV). There are a lot of internships and if you put in effort into each application I'm pretty sure you can get in. Gou shouldn't have trouble finding a placement if you actually try, but its not the end of the world if you don't get one, you'll just have to do more personal projects to stand out or at least try freelance programming to put on your CV. There are a lot of internships and if you put in effort into each application I'm pretty sure you can get in. The people going many years without a position if they have good grades most likely aren't putting in the required effort. You'll be fine, no need to stress.
Reply 2
Your projects seem ok, but maybe do a more complex project using different languages and frameworks that companies commonly look for to show that you have the skills and experience to provide value to that company, and talk about them in detail in your application. You need to stand out from the crowd with your application showing that you have an interest in that particular field and have the projects to back it up. You can also try to go to events like hackathons or networking events or just enter competitions with a project you made (There are lots and it doesn't matter if you win its good to talk about them on your CV). There are a lot of internships and if you put in effort into each application I'm pretty sure you can get in. Gou shouldn't have trouble finding a placement if you actually try, but its not the end of the world if you don't get one, you'll just have to do more personal projects to stand out or at least try freelance programming to put on your CV. There are a lot of internships and if you put in effort into each application I'm pretty sure you can get in. The people going many years without a position if they have good grades most likely aren't putting in the required effort. You'll be fine, no need to stress.

hey thanks so much for the response, it helped calm me down quite a bit!

i was just also kind of worried about, if i dont get a software or IT related role, whether my degree and/or lack of experience would stop me being able to get an admin entry level role in the nhs or something, or even a retail thing or a job at mcdonalds to keep the time going by?

honestly my main fear after uni is just doing nothing at home, and i sort of convinced myself that if i get a degree i wont be able to get any other things becauze a) i have a degree, and b) i have no experienxe and would be 21 and why would mcdonalds hire someone with a unrelated degree and no experience when they could hire an 16yo?

sorry about being so down my confidence is just not there atm ☹️
Reply 3
Original post by Al3x235
hey, so im doing a software engineering degree in a i guess..upper mid rank uni - going into second year
but i am not sure if i want to do software development anymore - well, not like coding..like the standard path of front/back end or fullstack.. i was thinking of going to do either something completely different like big4 audit (or related), or something like data analytics
in terms of work experience.. i do tutoring for my sister and some other people, so i guess this has given me communication, patience?, organisation skills and such
but my main worry is seeing some posts and stuff online of people going YEARS without getting a related / any??!! job, and im kinda scared of getting myself in that situation
i was going to be looking at placement opportunities this year, and was thinking of either commuting to nearer cities to me like birmingham (like 1hr ish), or if i only get something in london then id probably find a flat or something..or maybe commute by train because I can still get work done. But i heard that placements are also super competitive, but thats whatever, i dont mind, its just the thought of "what if i dont manage to get a placement?" that keeps playing on my mind..
..in terms of projects i can show, i have one where i analysed earthquake data to show the location of it and size..and a university coursework of a loan management system in java, and im working on a game in python like space invaders..
but for some reason, i feel like thos wont be enough?? maybe my projects are too simple and om not good enough? (major imposter syndrome may e i know lol), but this kinda makes me feel like im doomed after if i dont get a placement
also, i dont know if my 'work experience' would be good enough for graduate employers in schemes - like if i dont do a internship ive kinda made it seem to myself that i am basically screwed..and i dont know if a graduate job or entry level admin job for example, would hire someone with a (potentially unrelated degres), based off tutoring experience, and a skill based cv?
so yea, for a few months now ive kind of been panicking about this (maybe for no reason?) and its kinda got me in a not great state
so i guess this post is mainly just a way to write how i feel, so i at least stop thinking about it so much, but if i had to ask, i guess my question is, are my prospects potentially that bad? or am i making this a bigger deal than it really is?
SE is good with a good portifolio and a few certifications, you will be good to go.
Reply 4
Original post by Al3x235
hey thanks so much for the response, it helped calm me down quite a bit!
i was just also kind of worried about, if i dont get a software or IT related role, whether my degree and/or lack of experience would stop me being able to get an admin entry level role in the nhs or something, or even a retail thing or a job at mcdonalds to keep the time going by?
honestly my main fear after uni is just doing nothing at home, and i sort of convinced myself that if i get a degree i wont be able to get any other things becauze a) i have a degree, and b) i have no experienxe and would be 21 and why would mcdonalds hire someone with a unrelated degree and no experience when they could hire an 16yo?
sorry about being so down my confidence is just not there atm ☹️

I'm quite confident that if you genuinely try you will get a software or IT role, but if you don't there are a lot of entry level admin roles which I'm sure would welcome a software engineering degree, and if by any miracle you still can't get one, you can still go into retail temporarily with a degree (or leave it out if you aren't being accepted)
Hi, I've graduated recently with a CS degree and managed to score a data job in a company without an internship (loads of my friends got internships but I just wanted to enjoy my time at uni, so chose not to), so it's definitely possible!

My entire CV was skill-based, a lot of it was carried by my uni projects as I had no other experience - my modules allowed me to become a project manager once, I led a few software teams and also had a position in a society for a year or 2, which all showed what skills I had acquired during my time at uni. I also showed off a few courseworks and grades on my CV, explaining the project in a sentence and what I achieved.

Therefore, I'm sure if you dress up your projects in a nice light, you can have a proper stab at getting a job in IT!

Good luck - please message me if you have any further questions.

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