Technology
'What can I do with my subject?' is a familiar question from students visiting the Careers and Development Centre. Having spent 3 or 4 years of your life studying a particular discipline it would be reasonable to assume that there will be some connection between this and the rest of your life. Certainly for technology students this is truer than for, say, humanities students. If you are someone who is unsure about what you want to do next then have a look at our 6 Step Careers Guide. In the past graduates from your school have been employed in the Engineering, IT, Media, Broadcasting, and many other sectors – check out the Sector Briefings on the Graduate Prospects site for more information. Don’t forget that many companies are looking to recruit technical specialists. Organisations in the finance, banking, the NHS, and University sectors often recruit graduates from technical degrees.
What skills have I gained?
In order to understand what you can offer an employer you need to be aware of the skills that you have developed. Obviously technical skills are high on the list and these are what the technical sector is primarily looking for in their new recruits. For more information about skills development and transferable skills see Finding a Job and Applying for a Job. To help you consider these skills, the Higher Education Academy has provided a guide to each subject, outlining the skills used throughout your degree The documents can be quite detailed, but if you look for the skills sections they are fantastic for helping to identify the skills (rather than knowledge) acquired throughout your degree subject:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/honours/default.asp
What jobs are related to my subject?
There is a wider variety of job roles within the technology sector than you might at first think. It is quite common for students and graduates to be aware of only a few job roles. Knowing what other roles exist can help you to make a more informed decision about your future, and may also identify an exciting career that you’d never heard of. See your subject area below for more resources.
Engineering
The obvious engineering routes for Brookes students will be through automotive, electrical, electronic, mechanical and aeronautical. However, other roles to consider are management consultancy, project management, technical sales and technical journalism. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in Engineering and other areas
IT
There are a variety of roles within IT, the more common ones are software engineer, IT consultant, database manager, and systems analyst. Others you may want to consider include helpdesk support, account management, IT trainer, project management, pre and post sales support, and technical hardware support. Your choice of job could be dependant upon how much contact you want with customers – the more technical the role the less contact you will have. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in IT and other areas
Multimedia / Sound Technology
The media world is a hard nut to crack from a jobs point of view. Not only is it very competitive to enter but the variety of jobs available is extensive. Combine this with the broad multimedia knowledge that this course equips you with, and choosing a career becomes difficult. On the one hand there are the obvious roles such as website designer, video production and animation. On the other there are roles such as management consultancy, journalism, pre and post sales support, project management and software engineering. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in Media, and other areas
Mathematics / Statistics
Mathematics is an academic subject rather than a vocational course and therefore graduates of this subject do not have a clearly defined career path. This can be a positive thing as it means that there is a lot of choice. The more common job roles are teaching, statistician, IT and accountancy. But many employers do not specify a degree subject for their graduate trainee roles which means that roles in management consultancy, banking, retail management, the civil service, and many more are open to you. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in economics and statistics and other areas
Business/Management (technical)
Depending upon the modules you took, you could move into a business role, a technical role or a role which combines both. Previous Brookes students are now employed in roles such as maintenance engineering, transport planning, quality inspection, systems administration, mechanical design engineering, investment banking and logistics. With so many options it’s necessary to identify what’s important to you. Do you want to work with clients? Do your skills suit negotiation rather than problem solving? Or do you want to move into management or become a technical specialist? Once you’ve prioritised your ‘job wants’ you can then match these to the available job opportunities. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in management services and other areas
Telecommunications
Having chosen to study telecommunications, it’s highly likely that your career choice will be in this job sector. This is a fast moving industry and it will be important to keep your knowledge and skills up to date. There is a range of jobs available including customer support, sales, network design and building, planning, research, product analysts, technical product specialists, solutions architects or IT. Check out these links to Graduate Prospects for more ideas:
Options leaflets
Job Profiles in IT and other areas
What are the postgraduate options with my degree?
Postgraduate study is another option and many students take this route feeling that it will boost their employment prospects. This is not necessarily the case as you may already have sufficient skills and knowledge to get the job of your choice. In some circumstances a postgraduate qualification is a must, especially if you are considering an academic or research career. This is because it enables you to specialise in a particular field or topic.
Make sure you check out the information on this site about ‘Postgraduate Study’.
For specific information on postgraduate programmes at Brookes, click here.
If you are considering teaching, here is a website with all the information you need.
And for more general advice from Prospects, click here.
Remember there are lots of professions that welcome graduates with degrees from other subjects e.g.:
Law, Social Work, Accountancy, Psychology, Teaching
Most of these professions will require you to do some kind of postgraduate conversion course or professional exams. This can be expensive but it is important to know that you these options are still available to you.