Tips for Starting University

It's that time of year again when students are heading back to school, work starts up again, and thousands of new students prepare to begin university. It's an amazing and exciting time, heading off to a different area or city, with the prospect of independence and loads of fun. But in the hectiness and excitement of those first few weeks, it easy to forget to make the most out of the experience. So here are my top things to remember to make sure you don't miss out!

Talk to everyone - When you first turn up at your accommodation/flat or whatever, it's so easy to just stick with the first people you speak to, or to your flatmates, who are instantly familiar to you. But it's important to chat to as many people as you can in your halls, because you never know who you might get on with. And you can meet some pretty interesting people during those first few weeks! So remember to get out there and just be friendly.

Join a society (or societies) - The old university cliche. Everyone tells you to get out there and join as many societies as possible. But seriously, they say it for a good reason! Most societies offer completely free trial lessons/classes/meetings in the first few weeks of term, to give you a chance to try out different things to see what you like before committing. They are such a good way to meet new people and try things that, to be honest, you don't ever really get the opportunity to sample again, in this much variety (and for free) after university. Really, I wish I had joined more societies, as the few I did go to were such a laugh and really fun. And they don't need to CV-boosting and all that. They just need to be fun and something you enjoy. Hey, my uni even had a Harry Potter society! Not sure which employer would see that as a bonus...

Work hard (but not too hard) - Okay, so this one applies to basically the whole of first year, as opposed to just the first few weeks/months. At most uni's, first year doesn't contribute to your overall degree. So it is DEFINITELY fine to be a bit more chilled out about your studies, and not majorly stress yourself. University learning is a bit of a game-changer from sixth form/college learning so give yourself time to adjust. However, I really do think it's a good idea to work hard and really try your best with essays and exams in first year. Mostly, because it gives you a great foundation to move off from after first year into second and third, and also, because it helps with feedback. Tutors can only give you accurate feedback if you're working at your best at the time, and getting honest, helpful and constructive feedback can be so useful (it was for me) for those trickier second and third year exams and essays. Working at your best and not spending too much time hungover (or out) can give you a confidence boost for the year that actually do count.

Go out - And on a completely different note! Make sure you make time to go out and have fun, and explore your new city/town/country. Honestly, some of my best memories of uni are from first year, either from crazy nights out, cute nights in with my flatmates, or just spending time getting to know my new home and any attractions it has. It can be easy to just stay in the bubble of your university and work and reading, but rarely will there be a time in your life again where you have so much free time, and not a huge amount of responsibility, so go and make the most of it

Lastly, don't overthink it. Weird one considering I've just spent the whole of this post suggesting ways to make the most out of your uni experience. But the most helpful advice I could give you is just to go, and do it your way. Do exactly what you want, even if you do it by yourself. If someone doesn't want to go with you to a society meeting, go alone. Have fun, make sure your getting your work done, and go out and meet as many people and experience as many things as you like. It's your university experience, and you only do it one, so do it the way you know you'll be happy with :)

SHARE:

0 comments

58.8% of graduates are in non-graduate roles. So now what?

Last month brought with it the rather depressing news that 58.8% of graduates are in roles that did not traditionally, or previously, require a candidate who was educated to degree level. We're talking bar work, waitressing, sales assistant jobs. You get the idea.

It seems that now, a degree is becoming, or has become, a pre-requisite for entering the work force, in any industry. Of course, traditional careers such as medicine, finance and journalism still require entry-level candidates with degrees, but the news that over half of the graduate work force are in jobs that have never previously asked for degrees from their prospective employee's, represents a rather dismal outlook for this year's haul of graduates, and beyond.

To me, the problem seems obvious. We are sending, or rather the government are sending, thousands upon thousands of students to university, allowing them to gather mass amounts of debt, all with the promise of the career they desire and the notion that, if you go to uni, you'll get it.

But the sheer surplus of students and graduates who cling to that dream is the issue at hand. More people than ever are heading off to university, and the problem is is that there simply aren't enough jobs being created in order to provide for the number of graduates universities are producing. We're being sold the 'work hard at uni for the dream career' transaction, but not the reality of the situation once we're no longer students, but alumni.

What can be done is obviously a matter of huge contention. It's easy to surmise that the creation of more jobs roles, particularly in competitive industries, is the solution. But that simply isn't feasible in a lot of fields. Next option. Less students heading off to uni? But with the growing number of basic jobs requesting graduates to fill their roles. it isn't realistic to try and discourage people from university.

It really is the definition of a catch-22 situation. Too many talented and hard-working graduates, to the limited number of desirable, and attainable jobs in popular careers and industries.

While I don't think I'm in a position to propose a viable solution to the problem, I do think that jobs roles that don't necessarily, and did not traditionally, require a degree and the skillset that comes with that, should not specify graduates on their job postings. But then, where would graduates attempting to gain their dream careers be, if those jobs too were closed off for them?

Apprenticeships now seem to be gaining in popularity, with their promise of a real, paying job at the end of years of supported study. As an alternative to the uncertain and unclear future of a graduate, it's easier to see why these schemes are appealing to so many now.

So perhaps the solution is for non-graduate roles to stay that way, and for less people to go to uni? It would be a sad situation if people were discouraged from university, which, outside of all the controversy of career prospects surrounding it, is an undeniably amazing and valuable experience in and of itself.

Whatever the solution, it seems clear that graduates must be more hard-working and entreprenurial than ever, in order to secure anything like their dream job, in the murky waters of today's job market.

SHARE:

0 comments