Seven Surprising Ways That a Degree Can Help Your Career Prospects

Having a degree won’t guarantee you a job after graduation but it will increase your career prospects in ways that you may not have even imagined.

University is a learning experience like no other and the skills you’ll learn both academically and socially will be invaluable when the time comes to pursue a career.

In fact, contrary to popular belief, even if your degree doesn’t end up relating to your chosen career you can still utilise the skills you learned while you were a student to excel in the workplace.

You will gain industry connections

Experience is now crucial in almost all applications, for all lines of work. Which is why more and more universities are now incorporating work placements as a part of the degree syllabus. As with everything in life, it is more often than not ‘who you know’ that helps you up in life, so make the most of the opportunity to gain industry connections while you’re studying!

You will learn invaluable research skills

No matter what degree you’re doing, you will spend some time researching. You’ll learn to navigate the extensive library system on campus, as well as online databases and you’ll be taught how write up and reference everything correctly. These are invaluable skills that will not go unnoticed in the workplace.

You will gain superior social skills

Networking as an adult can be difficult. Long gone are the childhood days when it was acceptable for you to simply walk up to someone and ask to be their friend. Going to university will give you the confidence and the social skills that you will need to succeed later on. And, as we’ve already mentioned, that all-important network can be the key to getting your foot on the career ladder so if you’re able to gain those connections wherever you go, you’ll already be off to a good start.

All-in-all you will gain a well-rounded skill set

University teaches you to multi-task, to meet deadlines, to think independently but also to work in a team, to problem solve and to network. None of these skills will go unnoticed on your CV as they can all be used advantageously within the workplace.

You can often specialise

Long gone are the days of simply doing a degree with no added extras. Nowadays most universities give you the option of completing additional courses or modules from other syllabuses alongside your standard timetable. These provide you the chance to either specialise further into the field you’re hoping to end up in (eg. Journalism) or add an entirely new strand to your CV (eg. First aid).

A degree will increase your possibility of advancement

Most companies prefer to hire internally when new opportunities come up. But that means that you need something extra special to stand out from the sea of colleagues who have the same knowledge of the company as you do. And a degree can be just the thing to prove that you have the determination, time-management and social skills necessary to succeed within a higher position.

And the biggie, you’ll make more money

While there is, of course, no absolute guarantee that this will be the case. There is also no denying the fact that people who have a degree, statistically, end up earning more than those that never went to university.

Shannon Clark writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and graduate jobs.