White Working Class Males in British Higher Education
“ Even if you don ’ t go into the field that you ’ ve got the degree in , say if you did a degree in banking , you could still get work in something different because it ’ s still a degree at the end of the day , shows skills .” --focus group participant
To get a successful job in the field of computer science
Not sure yet , just in the area of music
Something which will allow me to have an impact on how the world is treating the Biosphere .
Some of the focus group participants talked about their process of career exploration and the fact that they were still deciding what they would like to do with their degree , as illustrated by these quotes :
I just wanted to maybe find something that I love . … I know what field I love , but I don ’ t know what specific bit within that field , so I ’ m hoping that from my degree I ’ ll find something where I ’ m like ‘ Yeah , this is what I wanna do as a job ’.
My aspirations have also changed quite a bit , but in a similar field . … Now what I ’ m hoping to do is maths and cryptography .
I [ chose ] quite a wide degree in Business Management . … I just want to be successful in that field and have a long career , but yeah , I don ’ t know at all [ what job I want ].
Even if you don ’ t go into the field that you ’ ve got the degree in , say if you did a degree in banking , you could still get work in something different because it ’ s still a degree at the end of the day , shows skills .
For students in the middle of the career certainty spectrum who are certain about the field but still deciding which kinds of jobs might interest them , they want to know that there is support available , through their course , in their department , and at the university level , for exploring the different choices available to them . In terms of recruitment , it may be especially helpful for this group to highlight the different kinds of jobs available to them in their field of interest and what kinds of positions alumni of their courses are working in after graduation .
Among the survey respondents , 33 indicated that they were certain about their future career and they chose to pursue their university degree to specifically enable them to achieve their career goals , as highlighted by these examples :
Being a head of a marketing department .
I plan to complete my master ' s degree , then gain a job as a software engineer and progress up the career ladder . I ' m keen to work !
53
Become a RIBA Architect and set up my own practice . Chartered sport and exercise psychologist .