Be all that you can be

The best way to improve your career chances is by further your knowledge and understanding in a chosen area or field, so many of us all finish college and university and think that is the end of education for them.

But why should this be? I finished university two years ago now and although i was glad it was over allowing me to find a job and make some money this should not mean it is the end of education for me just because i am working.

There are still loads load further education courses out there that could help improve your career and give you that satisfaction of learning that so many forget about as they get older.

When researching and seeking advice regarding graduate employment, it is important to consider the full range of jobs that are available to those suitably qualified. The statistics alone do not provide a full picture, so it is worthwhile considering all angles available. First, consult a careers counsellor or adviser, usually provided by the university or educational institution. Recruitment agency advisers are also worth approaching for tips and guidance as they deal with employment issues daily.

In today’s employment market there are many more senior positions and fast track schemes available to the new graduate that would have been available 20 years ago. This is due to the fact that a much higher proportion of the work force are now graduates, therefore widening what is available to fresh employees. Another side effect of the increase in the percentage of graduate in the market is that graduates are can now start within a company in a position that does not require a degree and climb the ranks, gaining more and more experience along the way.

When searching for either a graduate career or job, it is very important to stay realistic and concentrate on the progression that is offered within the company. This long-term view will allow for better prospects in the future and make it easier to move horizontally within the industry.

With the relevant research, education, CV and career plan it should not be difficult to achieve the career that you want.

Once you have a good idea of what you want to do having graduated from university, think hard about your feelings about further education and/or training, what skills and experiences you already have, what sort of working environments may or may not appeal to you and the sort of life you want to live.

Once armed with all this self-reflective knowledge, go out there and start asking around, but try to do so in a focussed and structured way.

Here are some examples of ports of call during your enquiries:

- University careers adviser.

- The information garnered by Prospects, particularly the ‘What jobs would suit me?’ section (found at: www.prospects.ac.uk/links/Pplanner). This service offers CV checking, careers advice and details for a whole range of regional graduate services in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

- Psychometric tests. These are often offered by university careers offices and are an excellent way of analysing oneself. They test numeracy, literacy and diagrammatic reasoning, and show your strengths and weaknesses in these areas. Some companies and organisations (like the Civil Service) require candidates take psychometric tests, and research shows that practice actually improves performance, so never be disheartened by a poor first showing after one such test.

- Prospects.ac.uk also offers a wide range of tests and self-assessment exercises for you to peruse at your leisure. Take a look at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/Online/Tests.

Before you decide on which university to go to it might be worth looking at the League Tables that are printed every year by the Guardian (you can also find them online with a search).

These tables will show you how well your potential university is performing in terms of how many graduates they have and at what level, although bear in mind that these tables do not always specify down to departmental levels, so a slightly lower scoring university overall might have a better specific department than a higher scoring university.

If you look on the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) website and on the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s (AHRC) website you can find a list of university departments that qualify for ESRC and AHRC recognition and funding, which means that they excel in those fields at least.

A final point to consider is that just because you might be attending a University or department that is recognised as being at the top of its particular tree does not mean that you will be guaranteed better grades. All the work and dedication will still be yours and all a good university will be able to offer you is good facilities and good academics to teach you.

So you can count on a high graded university to have all the facilities you need, but you still need to be sure that you want to dedicate up to 4 years of your life studying full time.

Many university courses provide given the option of some kind of professional work placement, which might be an incentive (or disincentive) to take up that course.

These placements can take various different forms, the two most common being:

- A one full-year placement, most often between the 3rd and 4th semester or second and third year

And,

- Two 6 month placements one in the 2nd year and one in the 3rd year.

If you have never worked in the field that you wish to become qualified in by returning to university, a course with a work placement is an invaluable way of introducing yourself to that sort of work and will also look good on your CV when you come to apply for the sorts of job you want after graduation.

Professional work placements offer the added benefit of giving you a break from full time studying, which can get rather monotonous after a while. You could return from your work placement having had an interesting break that has provided you with new perspective and momentum to finish your studies.

There are even courses with work placements in other countries, giving an opportunity to see a bit more of the world and potentially even to learn another language if you want – always a bonus in our globalising world!

One very important thing you should check in advance of applying for a course with a work placement is age limits. Although not always the case with university courses that have implicit work placements, some work placements are open to people only up to certain ages – so you should be sure to get any potential restrictions spelled out in advance.

First and foremost, if you are returning to university as a mature student the chances are you already has a reasonably good idea of the sort of course you want to take up. Although reading prospectuses is important, you will have to read beyond the prospectus to get a clear picture of exactly what you can expect from the course and what the course expects from you.

There are so many courses available that have the same or very similar names, but this doesn’t mean that they actually teach quite the same topic. I have a friend who went to university to study Strategy and Intelligence, thinking that he would be learning existent military strategies and means and laws of intelligence gathering, as was the implication of the prospectus. What he ended up getting taught was a far more historical course with an emphasis on researching the circumstances and dates of particular events and the names are histories of the people involved.

Also remember that most degrees in the UK are modular, which means that instead of spending all day every day studying one topic, you can pick different topics within the same academic sector – or you can even sometimes mix radically different modules, like theatre studies and pure maths.

Finding out the teaching style for the course in question is another very important factor in you deciding whether or not to take it up. Check to see how much coursework is expected from the coursework and whether it is exam based or dissertation based.

If you find that you can’t concentrate in exams and tend to perform at a sub-optimum level under that sort of pressure, clearly you might want to consider looking for a course that relies mostly on coursework – unless of course your reason for going to university is to challenge yourself by facing such fears, in which case more strength to you!

Things to look into:

- How much of the course is exam based?
- How much coursework will be involved?
- How much lab-time or group work is involved?
- What is the marking system at that university?

If you consider all these factors carefully before making any binding decisions you are more likely to find the course that is right for you, whether that is in of its actual content or its teaching style or examination methods.

Surf the internet. Look at the online university prospectuses. Go to the department websites and chase up any more information that you can – it’s even worth looking up which academic is teaching your subject and seeing what his or her research interests are. Your never know what you might find helpful or revealing.

If you are still unsure, call the department and ask. It’s more than likely that you will be able to chat with the module convenor and get an even better picture of the course.

There are all kinds of reasons why you might want to go to university later in life, either for a second degree or to pursue your first, and it isn’t as hard to get there as you might imagine.

There are some difficulties of course, especially if you have a family to take care of, but these are by no means insurmountable. Indeed many people return to university later in life ( I did!), and in fact the vast majority of universities cater for mature students specifically.

There are generally two reasons why people want to take up a university degree as matures students: to change their careers/improve their employability or just for the love of studying a particular topic. If you are motivated by a specific career objective make sure you get as much accurate and up-to-date information about the qualifications and skills before you pick a university course. It would be a nightmare to get onto a course only to find out that it isn’t the right one for you.

Careers and job centres are good sources of advice but doing your own research is probably advisable too. Be sure to look online at the career you are interested to find out any skill-sets or qualifications that might be vital/useful. Even just chatting online with people already employed in your dream career can provide all kinds of useful insights.

Next, decide what method of formal education would suit you best: full-time, part-time and by distance learning.

Of course the method you settle for will depend largely upon your personal circumstances (like whether you have family; whether you’re mobile and so on), and of course on how much time you have available around other work commitments. You should also consider what sort of student you are. For instance, if you find it difficult to motivate yourself to study by yourself, perhaps attending classes would be a good idea?

If you are at home looking after young children, distance learning might be most useful for you, allowing you to timetable your studies around meal and bedtimes. Conversely, if you have family (or whomever) happy to look after your children on a regular basis, perhaps going out to daily classes at a nearby college or university would be most beneficial.

Only you know your circumstances, so think careful before committing any large amounts of money or time to a prospective course.

If you have had to leave full-time education because of the arrival of a new baby it is not impossible to return to education if you want to. Indeed it is often a good idea to do so.

Education and qualification can help both you and your child by helping you develop new skills, gain some qualifications and improve your employability. It will also get you out of the house regularly, improve your confidence and social skills and even find you new friends.

However, you may be unsure about leaving your child in someone else’s care while you are out studying – indeed it’s a big step for every parent to let someone else look after their children.

It’s important to remember that there is help available and there is no great pressure on you to rush back into education before you feel ready. Take the time to look around at the options available to you, both in terms of classes and childcare provision and make the right decision for you.

If you are under 16 years old you are still of school age and chances are that you will be encouraged by various agencies to stay within the school system until you complete your GCSE’s. However you won’t be forced and there are other options available to you.

Home tuition is an option, but this can be expensive and you have to be able to discipline yourself to work from home – trickier than you might imagine when there is TV, internet, family and a fridge to distract you! Also home tuition can be expensive, unless you happen to have a family member with a university degree who is willing to supervise your studying, then he or she may be able to act as your official tutor. Whatever the case, if you work from home you will have to be able to set aside time to study and complete coursework on time.

If you have been consistently unable to finish coursework on time for your exams and/or do not wish to sit your GCSE’s, then it might be possible for you to attend other accredited courses that teach life skills, numeracy, literacy and basic IT skills.

For details browse through the government homepage for local authorities: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/localauthorities/index.cfm?action=home

Barring an untimely death or complete incapacitation it is never too late to change your life for the better – and even if you are incapacitated, there’s almost always a possibility that you can do something.

Generally speaking, if you are dissatisfied with your current job there is always the possibility that you can change it to something that better fits your interests and skills. However, if you don’t have the experience of skill set to get the job you want, what can you do?

The questions you have to ask yourself are:

- Are you dissatisfied with your current job/ living circumstance or level of education?
- Are you interested in learning or doing something new?
- What is preventing you from doing so?
- What can you do about it?

In our first few article we are going to look at returning to education – whether that’s going back to school after dropping out or leaving to have a child, returning to university as a mature student or taking up a course of training to increase your knowledge base or skill set for a new job.

Although any of these can be tricky, especially if you have dependents like children, a disabled family member or elderly parents, there are all sorts of ways to lessen the impact of your intended return to study upon your family and other responsibilities.

Next time we will look at returning to school or training if you are a teenager with a child.