There was a time when only certain degrees seemed to have clout in the world of work. Examples of this enduring misconception went along the following lines: if you want to go into the City, you’d better do something based around maths or economics; if you want to be a lawyer, do law or maybe history (or another of the humanities) and then a conversion; if being a land agent is your goal, perhaps geography would help; and English if you fancy a career in publishing or journalism.
Nothing could be further from the truth nowadays. A good degree from a decent university (or a university with a strength in a particular area) is your goal to success in your career. Crucially, it’s everything else you do that will get you that job, such as work experience, clubs, hobbies, charity work and programming ability.
This is because graduate recruitment these days is moving increasingly towards the attitudinal model, based on those skills you can demonstrate (other than those directly related to the subject of your degree) that will make you a good fit for, and a strong player in, a particular company. Recruiters are not seeking mass-produced, cardboard-cut-out employees – they are now looking for diversity in all its forms, including diversity of degree subject.
The applications for a number of graduate roles now often don’t ask for your degree subject or institution in the first rounds – it’s the answers you give to their initial questions that help progress in the application process. Some will require numeracy, but you probably wouldn’t be applying for those if it’s not your strength; others, for example, are looking for situational judgements, based on your experiences, regardless of university academic discipline.
There is a huge positive in this shift. It frees you up to study pretty much whatever you would like to do without fear of reprisal in the job application market. Most graduate jobs ask for ‘a good degree at 2:2 or above’ and don’t specify subjects.
This is also great news given the increasingly tough environment in higher education for applicants from the independent sector. Now is the time to look around for ways of accessing top institutions by picking less traditional degrees. Can you adjust your degree subject to something less competitive than the real hard-hitters? An example I’ve previously suggested is ancient history instead of history. Or sociology instead of psychology (looking at societal behaviour rather than individual behaviour, but there are huge areas of crossover). You’ll often find a grade or two difference at the same institutions by being canny in your choice and finding something related. As long as you are interested in the subject matter, this could really work for you.
Maybe you would consider adding in a less popular subject to your main subject. Modern languages are helpful with this, and lots of universities are now offering them
ab initio (from scratch), so you don’t even need an A-level in the subject to apply, and they don’t have to be European languages either.
Something else to consider is the gendered approach. There are schemes to encourage more women into engineering, and Coventry University, for example, has secured funds from the Office for Students to explore different marketing methods to attract more men into nursing and allied professions. These are just two examples of interesting recruiting practices that could work to your advantage.
Of course, there will always be some jobs that require specific training. Nobody wants to be treated by a doctor without a recognised qualification in medicine, but that brilliant doctor you’ve met might have done a different degree first, and then postgraduate medical training. And the same is true for almost every profession. With lifelong learning now an accepted fact of life, why not retrain having done a first degree in something else? Many professions look for post-grad or on-the-job professional training. Law, surveying and accountancy all fall into this category, and your first degree needn’t be even related. A recent example of someone I helped is a student who was awarded a BA (Hons) with a 2:1 in music from the University of Nottingham, and then did a master’s (MSc) at King’s College, London in adult nursing (with no science A-levels) and is now a successful practising nurse.
So the message is clear. Don’t worry if the subject you want to study for your undergraduate years is atypical, and don’t be afraid to look for the less traditional courses to gain competitive advantage. Just remember, do lots of other things in addition to your studies to give you those essential skills and experiences that recruiters can’t resist.
Anna Rogers is an independent universities adviser with over 20 years’ experience helping and guiding pupils to make excellent, effective university applications. She can be contacted via email: annalchrogers@hotmail.com, mobile: 07810 437089 or via her website: annarogers.net