Just Two Fifths Of Final-Year University Students Believe They’ll Land A Job In Their Chosen Field When They Finish Their Degree

The team behind www.NationalGraduateWeek.co.uk conducted the survey ahead of the newly launched National Graduate Week, which takes place between the 21st and 25th of September 2020, whereby more than 2,450 UK-based university students going into their final year took part in the research.

It was initially found that almost half of university students (48%) have no plan for when their studies come to an end next spring/summer, with 51% admitting that they are still undecided on what path they want to take, 19% saying they have given it absolutely no thought, and 9% of students stated they no longer want to go into their field of study after leaving university.

Those who stated that they do have plans in place for when their undergraduate degree comes to an end were asked to explain what plans they had; 43% said they intend on going into a job that relates to their studies, 15% said they will do volunteering and work experience to build up their skills in the workplace and a further 14% said they intend to go travelling.

When looking at what sectors students see themselves landing a relatable job in straight out of university, it was found that Medicine came out on top (54%), followed by Engineering (52%) and Law (44%). In comparison, those studying Leisure and Tourism (11%), Sports Science (12%) and Hospitality Management (15%) are the least hopeful of securing a job in their field of expertise when they graduate.

Those who said they wanted to go travelling were asked if they think they will be able to, with 81% believing travelling abroad will not be impacted by COVID-19 come the spring/summer of 2021.

Sharon Walpole, spokesperson for www.NationalGraduateWeek.co.uk, commented:

“These are hugely unpredictable times and the future of any student is of course in contention. Many students don’t know what the state of their profession will be like when they graduate and similarly many students who have finished university haven’t even had their official graduation ceremony as of yet. It is no surprise that so many students haven’t planned for what is coming up simply because it’s impossible to predict what the next few months will look like.”

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