Professionally Accredited courses
Professionally accredited degrees have been approved by a professional body to meet the standards and needs of a specific industry, so are relevant and employable. Look at degree apprenticeships too. The best professionally accredited subjects (career paths, tenure, best remuneration, and best graduate prospects):
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· Accounting & Finance / Accounting & Economics / Accounting & Law / PWC Flying Start (ICAEW, CIPFA, CIMA, ACCA, CFA) / AAT
· Actuarial Science / Finance & Actuarial Science / Actuarial Science & Mathematics / Maths, Statistics & Actuarial Science (IFoA). The best UK universities for actuarial maths are Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh and City St Georges Uni in London. Others that have been running courses for many years: Southampton, Kent, London School of Econ., Swansea, York, QMUL, Liverpool, Essex, and QUB
In the United Kingdom, London is the dominant centre for insurance and reinsurance. Do Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications
· Aerospace Engineering / Aeronautics (Aerodynamics) (RAeS)
· Architecture / Structural Engineering & Architecture / Architecture & Landscape Architecture / Architectural Engineering. Develop a hobby such as Architectural Photography, as you can find a creative outlet for your work, and you will learn to appreciate civil eng.
· Automotive Engineering / Civil Engineering / Civil & Structural Engineering / Aeronautical Engineering / Electronic Engineering & Computer Sci. / Maritime Engineering / Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering / REME apprentice / RE – Construction Engineering troop (1 RSME Regiment) / Royal Signals / Agricultural Engineering - best place is Harper Adams University.
· Building Surveying / Quantity Surveying / Real Estate & Urban Planning / Construction & Surveying / Real Estate Finance (RICS & CIOB). UCL, Reading, Oxford Brookes, UWE, Loughborough, Portsmouth, Aston, Leeds Coll of Building, Ulster, SHU, NTU, and HWU.
· C. Sci & Cyber Security (NCSC) / Software Engineering / Robotics & Control Engineering / Information Engineering /Data Science (p/t Cyber Reservist - Joint Cyber Unit Cheltenham (Maritime Cyber Unit, LIAG Royal Signals, or RAF 6 Cyber Reserve Squadron). Universities to target: Edinburgh, Imperial, UCL, Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, KCL and Southampton.
· Dentistry / Dental Therapy / Dental Therapy & Hygiene / Gateway Programme – Dentistry
· Diplomat (PPE/Law/Lang/Hist & lang) + Work Experience: internships at embassies/NGOs. Skills: Strong communication, negotiation, & analytical. Also, rapport building, analyse current affairs, adapt to cultures+local customs, languages, adapt to policies
· Drama – (a) Degree at a Drama School – RADA, LAMDA, or RCSSD (b) English Lit + drama sch (c) Anna Scher Theatre: extra-mural
· Economics – Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, Durham, Bristol, Nottingham, KCL, Edinburgh, Exeter, Bocconi, & St A.
· Education - Child Development, Educational Psychology or Education Policy – Cambridge, Bristol, Durham, Reading or Edinburgh
· Engineering and Architectural Design (ARB/RIBA Part 1, JBM and CIBSE) – Bartlett School of Built Env. at University College London
· Engineering Design (Creative Engineering) - Imperial, Loughborough, Bath, UCL, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, City St Georges, and Aston
· Engineering Geology & Geotechnics / Mining Engineering – (Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3)) - Exeter University
· Fashion Design: Central Saint Martin, Edinburgh Coll of Art, London College of Fashion, MMU, GSA, and Kingston – industry links
· Fashion Management + Enterprise DIPS: (University of the Arts London: LCF)/Strategic Fashion Management (UAL: LCF) (CMI)
· Horology – Birmingham City Uni (accredited by British Horological Institute (BHI), and the British Watch and Clockmakers Guild)
· Horticulture: RHS qual Capel Manor, BSc Horticulture (Plantsmanship) SRUC/Royal Botanic Garden Edin, Diploma at Kew (RBGK)
· Journalism (NCTJ accreditation) – Undergrad: Sheffield Uni. Postgrad via Econ/Eng Lit/Hist/Hist&Lang: Cardiff U, Sheffield U or CSG U. (trains you how to collect and interpret data, conduct research and writing, and be a creative thinker with good people skills). Also, do short course/courses in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, as images can be powerful journalism tools.
· Languages to learn Mandarin, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, German, and Hindi. English, Mandarin and French = official languages of UN. For a UK intelligence career, languages like Mandarin, Russian, and Arabic are highly valuable, along with others such as Persian, Korean, and various African languages, due to their strategic importance and the global landscape of intelligence gathering. GCHQ recruits for language analysts. Birmingham, UCL/SOAS, Cambridge, Oxford, Durham, Bristol, Leeds, StA, Edinburgh
· Law / Law & French Law / Law & German Law / Law & European Law / Law & Accounting - Cam/KCL/Edin/Durham/UCL/Oxon (join the Honourable Artillery Company it’s the Army’s only Reserve Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) Regiment)
· Logistics with Purchasing Management / Logistics, Procurement and Supply Chain (accredited by CIPS/CILT) – Aston or Heriot-Watt
· Management & Human Resource Management (Accredited by CIPD) - specialise in Employment Law + also do REC qualifications
Uni for UG: Aston, Brunel, Leeds, Roehampton, Greenwich, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Leicester, UWE, Westminster, LSBU, and Lancaster
· Medicine / Veterinary Medicine / Gateway Programmes – Medicine or Veterinary Medicine / Veterinary Nurse
· Physics with Meteorology / Geophysics & Meteorology / Meteorology & Climate Science – Reading/Edinburgh for RMetS CMet. (Mobile Meteorological Unit (MMU) provides weather services to the RAF. Made up of meteorologists who work at Met Office)
Look at climate investor jobs, as combines climate science and investment techniques (CFA), or weather derivatives, which are financial instruments used by organizations part of a risk management strategy to reduce risk associated with adverse weather.
· Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering / Maritime Engineering – Southampton / Warsash Maritime Sch / Newcastle / Strathclyde
· Nursing – (Adult / Child) - Join RAF Reserves as Medical Support (Nursing) officer / Midwifery
· Nutrition & Dietetics / Sport & Exercise Nutrition / Nutritional Sciences / Nutrition & Medical Sciences / Human Nutrition
· Optometry / Audiology / Orthoptics – Cardiff/Aston/Sheffield
· Pharmacy (Royal Pharma Soc.) / Chemistry with Cosmetics Sci (Society of Cosmetic Scientists) / Chemical Engineering (IChemE)
· Physiotherapy / Occupational Therapy (Also, Yoga and Pilates quals) – Join RAF Reserves as Medical Support (Physio) officer
· Psychology and Clinical Psychology (BPS + Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy))
· Radiography / Diagnostic Radiography / Radiotherapy & Oncology
· Teaching – Maths / English & Drama (age: 7-11) Durham/Reading, or Maths/English/C. Sci/Hist +PGCE Oxon/Edin/Durham/Cam
All of the above degrees offer very good career paths, and if you want to do it, they also offer opportunities in academia too!
Reply 1
Now for industries where there is less regulation, and less paperwork, such as the creative field, professional representation is less important. Realistically it is still advantageous to know you are doing a degree that is set up to certain standards, so you are not just taking on something that could be useless to the field, but this is harder to find in the creative field.
My advice would be to work backwards, look for grad jobs that might be of interest, and then look at the requirements, see what degrees or experience they need. The grad job market at the moment is not fun, the odds of getting a job are very low without a placement, internship and additional experience, so finding something with real industry connections, potentially in the form of a degree apprenticeship might well be better. Once again these can be very competitive, so it all comes down to hard work and what you do to complement your formal education.
Reply 2
Now for industries where there is less regulation, and less paperwork, such as the creative field, professional representation is less important. Realistically it is still advantageous to know you are doing a degree that is set up to certain standards, so you are not just taking on something that could be useless to the field, but this is harder to find in the creative field.
My advice would be to work backwards, look for grad jobs that might be of interest, and then look at the requirements, see what degrees or experience they need. The grad job market at the moment is not fun, the odds of getting a job are very low without a placement, internship and additional experience, so finding something with real industry connections, potentially in the form of a degree apprenticeship might well be better. Once again these can be very competitive, so it all comes down to hard work and what you do to complement your formal education.
Thank you.
The school's Careers Department' has warned all parents and children who are aiming to go eventually go to university about the graduate market:
'Since 2015 research has consistently shown that ‘more of those who had chosen to study the most directly vocational subjects, and those who had specialised in numeracy-based disciplines, appeared to have got a job appropriate for someone with their qualifications,’ Findings from research undertaken since the 2009/10 recession show ‘proportion of graduates unequivocally under-employed has increased steeply’. There may well be mismatches in the provision or quality of higher education courses in relation to the changing needs of industry, commerce and the professions. ‘[T]here is growing competition from highly-skilled job applicants from other countries in the increasingly global and fluid labour market. '
(Sources: ‘Does Britain have too many graduates?’ The Conversation, Jo Adetunj, ‘Futuretrack’ project at Warwick Uni)
Reply 3
The school's Careers Department' has warned all parents and children who are aiming to go eventually go to university about the graduate market:
'Since 2015 research has consistently shown that ‘more of those who had chosen to study the most directly vocational subjects, and those who had specialised in numeracy-based disciplines, appeared to have got a job appropriate for someone with their qualifications,’ Findings from research undertaken since the 2009/10 recession show ‘proportion of graduates unequivocally under-employed has increased steeply’. There may well be mismatches in the provision or quality of higher education courses in relation to the changing needs of industry, commerce and the professions. ‘[T]here is growing competition from highly-skilled job applicants from other countries in the increasingly global and fluid labour market. '
(Sources: ‘Does Britain have too many graduates?’ The Conversation, Jo Adetunj, ‘Futuretrack’ project at Warwick Uni)
The concerning part is how many people I also know, who didn't do degrees or dropped out, and still can't get a job, even with more vocational college qualifications as they are competing against people with 10+ years of experience, for minimum wage. Those I know who do have a job from this route, are doing jobs they don't enjoy or see progression/ a career in. They can't find a career, which I suppose is the pro of a grad job, you build a career. Though getting a grad job is a nightmare, the statistics are like 1 job per 1000 applicants for engineering, and it's not that dissimilar in other sectors.
The fundamental problem is most companies do not have designated roles for new young talent, and if they do, then they might only take on 2-5 people each year for a company with 100k employees...
Young people, regardless if they have a degree or not, have to now apply for up to 100+ jobs, and they might hear back from 5, and even then you have to pass online tests, video interviews, assessment centres etc.
The stress of getting a job is ridiculous, and no one really prepares you for it.
From my experience, there are a few things that seem to help:
•
Having high grades (they just cut low-grade candidates before reading their CV as they just have so many to get through)
•
Having a Masters degree, every single person I met at assessment centres, the final stage of recruitment, had a master's degree, and I know that Bach students have a much harder time than Masters students at finding jobs.
•
Having a year in industry or a summer internship. Real experience in the industry is so important, even if that experience is part of your qualification or a module. I have also noticed a lot of these grad jobs are being given to the people who did a year in industry with the same company, one company my friend did a placement with said that 7 out of 10 people at the final stage interview for this grad job had worked with the company before, and there was only 3 jobs available... imagine being one of those 3 people who hadn't worked with the company... odds stacked against them.
•
Having extra qualifications, volunteering, and experiences that show leadership on your CV. Behavioural competency has become such a big thing in grad recruiting, the amount of personality tests companies use to filter down applications... If you fail the personality test you get instantly rejected...
Every option seems daunting at the moment, so I wouldn't worry too much about an accredited degree vs vocational qualification etc. It's the work done outside of formal education which will help get a job, little and often is the best way. Doing something small every 3-6 months to build up a CV that shows continuous personal development goes a long way, and most young people do not even consider building up their CV until it's too late. Grad jobs open in Sept, so all the experience on your CV has to be things you did during GCSEs, A-Levels and the first 2 years of university. Students get long summers after they finish GCSEs, A-Levels and each year of university, the best thing you can do is designate some time to build up a CV with work experience or short courses, it goes a long way.
Reply 4
The fundamental problem is most companies do not have designated roles for new young talent, and if they do, then they might only take on 2-5 people each year for a company with 100k employees...
Young people, regardless if they have a degree or not, have to now apply for up to 100+ jobs, and they might hear back from 5, and even then you have to pass online tests, video interviews, assessment centres etc.
The stress of getting a job is ridiculous, and no one really prepares you for it.
From my experience, there are a few things that seem to help:
•
Having high grades (they just cut low-grade candidates before reading their CV as they just have so many to get through)
•
Having a Masters degree, every single person I met at assessment centres, the final stage of recruitment, had a master's degree, and I know that Bach students have a much harder time than Masters students at finding jobs.
•
Having a year in industry or a summer internship. Real experience in the industry is so important, even if that experience is part of your qualification or a module. I have also noticed a lot of these grad jobs are being given to the people who did a year in industry with the same company, one company my friend did a placement with said that 7 out of 10 people at the final stage interview for this grad job had worked with the company before, and there was only 3 jobs available... imagine being one of those 3 people who hadn't worked with the company... odds stacked against them.
•
Having extra qualifications, volunteering, and experiences that show leadership on your CV. Behavioural competency has become such a big thing in grad recruiting, the amount of personality tests companies use to filter down applications... If you fail the personality test you get instantly rejected...
Every option seems daunting at the moment, so I wouldn't worry too much about an accredited degree vs vocational qualification etc. It's the work done outside of formal education which will help get a job, little and often is the best way. Doing something small every 3-6 months to build up a CV that shows continuous personal development goes a long way, and most young people do not even consider building up their CV until it's too late. Grad jobs open in Sept, so all the experience on your CV has to be things you did during GCSEs, A-Levels and the first 2 years of university. Students get long summers after they finish GCSEs, A-Levels and each year of university, the best thing you can do is designate some time to build up a CV with work experience or short courses, it goes a long way.
That's scary!! Apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships seem to be the way to go nowadays, as you get experience, qualification, and crucially you get paid too. However, for creative subjects they are rare and those that are offered are highly competitive. Unfortunately, there are are a lot of organisations offering courses that lead nowhere, but promise a lot.
The school my daughter goes to does not encourage students to study marketing, advertising, PR, film and media, or mass media communications courses, as there are very few courses that are worthwhile, careers are dominated by freelance jobs, and most degree courses seem to be little more than a job creation scheme for those teaching at an institution, as very few of the academics have worked in the sector. At degree level journalism, teaching (specialisms: Maths, Art, and English & Drama), and law are the main ones that are promoted, as there are many career paths available.
I am just glad that we are at an early stage, so we will hopefully be able to help ensure she gets the best outcome.
Reply 5
The school my daughter goes to does not encourage students to study marketing, advertising, PR, film and media, or mass media communications courses, as there are very few courses that are worthwhile, careers are dominated by freelance jobs, and most degree courses seem to be little more than a job creation scheme for those teaching at an institution, as very few of the academics have worked in the sector. At degree level journalism, teaching (specialisms: Maths, Art, and English & Drama), and law are the main ones that are promoted, as there are many career paths available.
I am just glad that we are at an early stage, so we will hopefully be able to help ensure she gets the best outcome.
I think the key foundation to establishing a route on a creative career is to be creative. To be honest, it's easy to say 'I'm creative' if the academic route isn't appealing, and for employers, the difference between saying it and doing it is a portfolio and a breadth of practice. So whatever the direction of creativity, being able to show what you've done, made, built, tried, worked with, worked on, explored etc is key to an employer investing in you.
So then the challenge is finding the opportunities within the appropriate media, making websites, running someones social media, painting, painting, painting etc
Reply 6
So then the challenge is finding the opportunities within the appropriate media, making websites, running someones social media, painting, painting, painting etc
I agree.
My daughter's school advises that for those looking to get into drama or acting, but it is equally applicable for tother creative subjects. hope it helps you.
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Practical experience is crucial
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Specific subjects within a degree/foundation course
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Consider your career goals
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Create a physical portfolio of what you have done – brochures, photos, etc.
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Develops skills in communication and audience engagement, which are crucial for any performer.
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Creative Writing (look at 'Weird Fiction' genre to help expand creativity) - turn one of the short stories into a play
One creative person I met at Brighton had multiple creative things that she was doing - fashion design, 'natural' cosmetics, photography, scriptwriting & drama, architectural drawing, painting, ceramics, and photojournalism. She did an undergraduate degree at Graphic Communications at Reading University, and then went on to set-up a business ie market stall at Camden Market, which has the launch pad of several UK fashion brands.
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