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Which Uni courses are likely to lead to jobs in future ?

Paul,

paulfromcamden said:
Joe - me either these days. Those days are gone. Times change.
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I hear ya, bro. I’m still trying to break into bee bum photography but try as I might it’s too narrow a niche to bank on.

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Joe
 
paulfromcamden said:
Joe - me either these days. Those days are gone. Times change.
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It seems like fairy stories these days, but jobs were easy to get in the 1960s and 1970s. I was in London working as a jazz musician. One day I came up with the idea of getting a proper job. So on an impulse I phoned Decca records and they invited me in for an interview. I had a chat with some of the senior executives there and they asked me what kind of job I was after. I said I wanted to be a record producer. They said that would be a bit difficult without some sort of track record but they would be very happy to start me in the A&R department starting next week. I told them I wasn't really interested in that side of it and preferred doing live gigs. They said they totally understood, wished me well and thanked me for coming in. Makes me laugh now to think of it......
 
Joe P said:
I’d be carefully in assuming that a keen interest in computer games is necessarily an indication of interest, aptitude and ability in computer science. Gaming can be the gateway drug but computer science today covers everything from theoretical aspects of the discipline (e.g., work on the kinds of problems computer can solve) to practical matters (e.g., softwarizing a network’s function so different network needs can be met on the fly) to differential privacy (e.g., ways of making aggregate data available for research without revealing personal data) to, well, … it’s really vast.

Joe
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It does feel a bit like clutching at a straw...
 
paulfromcamden said:
I guess something IT related is the obvious answer then.

The guy that ran the dev team in the last IT job I had (FinTech) was somewhat dismissive of graduates - he was more interested in school leavers who could show their own coding projects. He was of the firm opinion that they'd learn more in three years working in his team than they would at uni (and would be earning more at the end of it).

I don't know if that's true and I suspect it depends on the role/sector. It also ignores for me one of the best reasons for going to uni which is to leave the nest, become independent, make lifelong friends and all of that stuff. Though obviously that comes at a much higher cost now.
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The problem is that a large percentage of employers want degree educated now, even if the job really doesn't require that level of acheivement. They ask for it because they can. Things have changed drastically since "our time" when having a degree (any degree from any institution) put you in the top 10% of academic achievers. I was shocked to hear that as many as 50% of people in their 20's have degrees in the UK. So it's unsurprising when you then see (for example) every single "back office" position being advertised by Amazon stating Degree minimum, Masters or higher prefered. It's just become a joke. (and unlike the majority of employers there's no "or equivalent experience" option).
 
les24preludes said:
My experience as a career coach with "don't knows" is that after discussing options at some length they may need up to a year for a genuine choice to emerge. This choice comes from inside and can't really be hurried.

The alternative is what most of this thread is suggesting - choose a job with good prospects and make money at it. You might enjoy it a lot, a little or not at all. Ok if that satisfies you. It never satisfied me. I needed to love what I did, and I did indeed love everything I did. I followed my inner voice, which was always pretty clear. I realise that I was lucky, but I did always do my best as a career coach to help my clients find their inner voices too.
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That's the age old conundrum for the majority of people: Do what I enjoy/am interested in or Do what I'm good at and have the best chance of having the best paying career. The two together pretty rare.
 
Joe P said:
Paul,

Software-defined networking and network function virtualization are big and important areas at the moment. Basically, they are used by network operators to prioritize different aspects of a physical network using software.

Need low latency? — bingo, got you covered.

Need speed? — done

Need reliability? — got it

Essentially on the fly no less.

Joe
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Please stop.... feel like I'm back working for my previous employer... you'll be talking about serverless compute, microservices and containers next
:eek: :)
 
wulbert said:
Don't underestimate the value of an actual job upon leaving school. My son's best friend became an apprentice electrician and my son went off to college upon leaving school.
The (now qualified) electrician has earned maybe £150K since they both left school. My son has debts of around £30k and we've pumped in easily another £10k helping out. A net difference of £190k.
Even if son gets a decent job, straight after graduating, it will take about 5-6 years before he catches up with where his pal is now. And during that time his pal will have earned another £150k+. (probably a lot more, since he's now a spark in an Aussie diamond mine)

It's not just the cost of the degree, it the cost of 4 years + of lost income, parental hand-outs and pissing away rent to private landlords (when they could have been paying off a mortgage on an appreciating asset (that they can live in)).

All I'm really saying is, it's a big decision to do HE and not a neutral one. And at the end of the day, happiness trumps ALL. Even money.

I have a friend whose (brilliantly clever) daughter lives in a caravan at a horse stables, working for minimum wage, grooming and looking after the horses. She's as happy as the day is long.
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one of my relatives spent thousands on a degree then went into nursing but left that and is now an electrician earing ££££ in a big city in UK
 
Haven't read the rest of this thread, but as people are always going to get sick, especially as the population ages, something medical would seem like a good choice. (I guess I could add that, as people are always going to die, mortician would also be a good choice, with the added benefit (AFAIK) of not requiring any sort of university qualification).
 
Mullardman said:
The ability to get A or B in GCSE, doesn't necessarily translate into ability at A level. Needs thought..
For science/engineering/ tech based degrees and careers, maths, physics pretty much compulsory. For Medical stuff, surprisingly to many, it is Chemistry rather than Biology. Even then, mistakes in choice don't necessarily totally block access, so much as delay it.. for keen candidates.
Little is certain, but also little is permanently excluded.
The so called 'difficult' subjects, such as Maths and Physics, are universally acceptable, for both science and arts. In reality, all subjects are difficult for those who find them difficult and vice versa.
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Which is why it is ridiculous to have to choose at 16. GCSE to A level is a particularly high jump in subjects like maths and physics IMO.
 
Anyone else think that 16 years old is far too young to have to make choices that could (at least in theory) affect the rest of their working life ?
My advice for any kid that doesn't know what they want to do academically is to go and get a trade, there will always be work for trades (if they want too), it can take you anywhere (within reason) in the world, you'll never be replaced by a computer , and if they wish to return to education they always can when they're 20/21 as a 'mature' student, it should give them a little real life experience and hopefully develop a work ethic which should serve them well in life.
 
tones said:
Haven't read the rest of this thread, but as people are always going to get sick, especially as the population ages, something medical would seem like a good choice. (I guess I could add that, as people are always going to die, mortician would also be a good choice, with the added benefit (AFAIK) of not requiring any sort of university qualification).
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I did enjoy that series 6 Feet Under. Surprisingly.
 
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