Spending so much time advising on career plans and ambitions I on occasion bring people up short when I ask the above question. I ask myself that question and I can certainly say as a trainee ACA embarking upon life at Price Waterhouse (that will age some of the readership I am sure) Newcastle upon Tyne never did I imagine that my career would be as an owner manager of a boutique recruitment firm. In fact, I doubt many of us even knew about recruitment firms outside of the USA.

So, it was an interesting insight to spend some time with my daughters’ undergraduate friends at Edinburgh University to gain their views of career planning, support and hopes for their futures post University. A particularly interesting exercise for me from those in the education sector concerning career options given the uncertainty in the broader UK, European and Global economies. I hope this allows you a moment to take stock as individuals currently on a career path and finance leaders of businesses.

For those of you part way through career, the information and experience gathered is without valuable but as each year takes you further away from the perhaps exciting, and or nervous tentative steps into your first job, it becomes easier to forget the struggles of being a new employee in the real world.  Undoubtedly, whether you are still in the field you chose at the outset, or not as in my case, there is no doubt that those first few years shape the rest of your career.

Yet what about those undergraduates today?

Some students were fairly confident in their answers; a medic, smugly stated that he knew exactly what he was doing once he finished – obviously as he long as he passes those demanding exams!

For the most part however, the other students interviewed, across humanities and sciences, didn’t have a career plan set in stone. Surprisingly few said that they would like to pursue the degree they are currently studying beyond uni, with only two wishing to stay in the current discipline to undertake research, and a Physics student, following that same field.

The other students stated that they would not like to pursue their subjects, although a few did say that they were considering a Masters, perhaps even a year abroad, as this gave them a chance to travel before they became tied down in a career. After that, however, they would use the skills gained in their studies in their careers, whether it be time management, research or writing, but in different fields to the one they are currently in.

As for the expectations from first graduate jobs, the expectations are wide. In many cases, the students didn’t really know what to expect, but assumed It would be a fairly low paid job, with (hopefully) encouraging and helpful employers who wouldn’t throw them in the deep end too much! While some students hope for employers who share their outlook and passions, and would be invested in helping their career paths set off well, other students merely said they were happy to be employed by whoever would take them straight from uni!

The final question asked of the students was how much help and advice did they receive about careers at school and university. While all the students agreed that at school the help provided for applications to university and preparing CV’s was very good, even when they didn’t know exactly what is was they wanted to do, they did not seem as pleased with the help at uni. Although they said it was there, it was very much up to the students to seek out and find.

So, what would you advise your younger self knowing what you do today? ABPM as experts in our field are on hand to support and advise you in your careers with a “take stock” review as well as a guide on the onwards career journey so do reach out to us when you need our assistance.

Rej Abraham, Managing Director