No, you don’t!

The decision you make now is based on your current situation, interests and skills, and the opportunities open to you.

Our interests develop, new opportunities arise, and situations change so it is not unusual for people to move between professions or specialisms as their career develops.

Come and talk to us about your next step - we have appointment in person and online.

Don't worry. There's time to figure things out so don't feel pressured into making a decision or applying for lots of jobs that you're not really interested in. We're here to help.

We can help you generate job ideas or narrow down some of your ideas based on your skills, strengths, and interests.

On our choosing your career pages, look at the scenarios and select the one that best fits your situation to find out what you can do next and how we can help.

Our subject pages highlight the career options with your degree and you can book an appointment to explore the destinations of graduates from your course using Graduate Outcomes information. 

Our advisers can help you every step of the way, book an appointment and get started.

Depending on the time you have available there are a variety of ways to improve your CV from short courses to volunteering. 

Learn more about online work experience options and how to develop your skills online.

If you want to know what skills and experience are required for different careers you can find out more on our Career paths page. 

While paid work through internships or temporary positions can be ideal experience, volunteering is also a good option to build experience and improve your CV.

If you are unsure of your next steps, remember that we offer lifetime support. We're here if you'd like to talk to us online or in person.

There are a number of ways you can find out about different careers and it's a good idea to use more than one.

1. Desk-based research: Use our A to Z career paths pages written by our careers advisers with specific content for UoN students. If the career isn't listed, try the Prospects website
2. Organise some work experience or work shadow someone: Try out the role to see if it's right for you and talk to those currently in the role.
3. Create a LinkedIn profile and explore organisations, job roles and connect with UoN alumni. If you connect with an alum, make sure you have questions prepared to make the most of their time.
4. Attend our events: From on-campus careers fairs to job and sector insight webinars, you can learn about a career by talking to employers, alumni and professionals working in the area that interests you.

Your degree subject does not always determine what career you go into. Even if you are studied a vocational degree such as engineering or computer science, you may decide to explore careers beyond your subject.

You can apply your transferable skills developed during your degree to a wide range of career areas.

Depending on the career you want to enter, you may have to undertake a conversion course (for example, for a legal career) or study for a master’s or PhD. Alternatively, your employer may support you to get a professional qualification while you are working for them.

Check out the routes into careers that interests you and talk to an adviser.

It's important to find out the routes into the jobs that interest you. Read the advice in the previous two answers.

We recommend you start looking for graduate vacancies using the following sources:

• MyCareer - our jobs board advertises hundreds of graduate roles from employers looking to recruit you. Take a look at some of the latest vacancies and login to see them all. 
• Subscribe to Jobs by email and you can receive vacancies direct to your inbox. 
• Graduate vacancy websites  - we list the key websites listing graduate vacancies plus organisations who can support under-represented groups
• Specialist vacancy sources - use our A to Z Career paths pages to identify specialist job boards

If you can't find vacancies for the role you're interested in, book an in-person or online appointment to talk to a member of our team.

It depends on the course. For some courses such as medicine or teaching, you apply through a clearing house and there are specific closing dates.

For most postgraduate taught courses, you will apply to the university. Popular courses attracting a large number of applications may close early when the institution has filled their places. In some cases, this can be as early as Christmas before the course starts the following year. For others, applications will be accepted right up to the start of the course.

There are set deadlines for some Doctoral Training Programmes but for other PhD opportunities the closing date for applications will be stated on the vacancy advert. If you are postgraduate taught student, check out postgraduate application timelines webpage.

Find out more about your further study options and funding.

It is entirely up to you if you want to tell an employer about a disability and if so, how much information you want to share. Any information you provide to the employer will only be shared with people directly involved in the recruitment process and not to the wider organisation.

You can ask for adjustments at every stage of the recruitment process so that you are not at a disadvantage.

Find out more about applying for job roles if you have a disability. 

Taking time out after your undergraduate degree or postgraduate course can offer great personal and professional opportunities.

You might take anything from a couple of months to over a year – how long isn’t important, it’s how you spend it. 

Go to our taking time out webpage to explore this option, consider what it might mean for you and be inspired.

Whether you're an EU or an international student, it's important to be aware that your right to work in the UK will depend on your visa.  

Getting involved and developing your skills through work experience, volunteering and extracurricular activities is a great way to stand out to potential employers.

Take a look at our international students' webpages for advice on working in the UK after your studies, what employers look for and help with making job applications.

On our How do I get a graduate job in the UK webpage check out two key resources: Target the right UK employer from eCareersGrad and Student Circus for job vacancies.

We recommend you start with:

MyCareer, vacancy board

During 2024/25, we advertised 752 overseas vacancies based in 65 countries on MyCareer. These vacancies were from employers targeting UoN students and graduates. Subscribe to Jobs by email to get the latest jobs or internships direct to your inbox.

GoinGlobal, international careers database

We subscribe to GoinGlobal so it's free to UoN students and graduates.

• 42 country guides from Argentina and Japan to the United States and Vietnam. Each guide contains job search resources, resume/CV guidelines, hiring trends, industry overviews, professional and social networking groups, work permit and visa regulations, financial considerations, interview tips and cultural advice.
• 32 global city guides from Amsterdam and Delhi to Shanghai and Vancouver plus 47 US city guides
• Job and internship vacancy database of 16 million employment listings updated daily

• Access to CultureWizard - compare your culture profile to 160+ other cultures and learn how to adapt your style to culturally-acceptable norms

• Directory of US employers who can employ international talent via the H1B visa

Log in to MyCareer to access GoinGlobal