Postgraduate Career
This week's Careers blog post come from LinkHigher and is all about the different types of employer and how they value postgraduate skills.
It is almost impossible to generalise about all of the different types of postgraduate employers because of the simple fact that there is no such thing as a ‘conventional postgraduate’.
Variations in age, subject areas, work experience, life goals and motivation create an almost infinite number of postgraduate types and that means that the motivations for employing somebody with a Masters or PhD qualification are also massively varied. Perhaps an employer wants somebody with experience using a particular type of instrument; perhaps they want somebody who has worked in academia for a few years; or perhaps they just want somebody who can show they are packing a little extra intellectual muscle.
At LinkHigher we are passionate about the value of postgraduate study to all types of employers. However, if you look at all of the jobs being advertised in large companies that tend to recruit graduates it is actually still quite rare for an employer to demand a Masters or PhD level qualification. Therefo... Read On
Postgraduate Career
This week's careers blog post from our sister website LinkHIgher comes from International IT services provider FDM Group, who have given us their advice on how to get ahead as a postgraduate in the IT sector.
A career in Information Technology is extremely lucrative and one that provides excellent prospects and rapid career progression compared to other industries.
Almost all UK, and indeed international businesses, rely on IT in an assortment of specialist areas. Gone are the days when developers spent their working lives programming in back office rooms. IT Consultants are now required to adapt to new surroundings and work in high pressured environments, very much at the forefront of businesses.
However, despite the industry boom, sector skills council e-Skills recently reported that the demand for IT staff has overtaken the number of jobseekers.According to the report, the number of jobs advertised within the sector jumped to 101,000 in the third quarter of 2010, while the number of IT professionals seeking work fell to 100,000.This creates a huge window of opportunity for individuals looking to break into the industry and the rew... Read On
Postgraduate Life
Today's blog post is written by Daniel Colegate
There are many benefits to having a supervisor and during the course of your postgraduate degree you will find yourself becoming increasingly independent and able to think critically and analytically without their input. However, particularly during the initial stages of your degree your supervisor has a key role to play in guiding your development as a postgraduate.
The golden rule to remember so that you have realistic expectations is that your supervisor is not there to tell you what to do. They are there to guide your own work and help to shape ideas, not serve them up to you on a plate with no work on your part. This self-reliance is a key attribute of successful postgraduates and one of the key employability skills that distinguish postgraduates from first degree graduates. However, don’t think you cannot ask for help because you can. Just make sure that you think your questions through first and try to solve them, or at least suggest plausible solutions that you can then talk through.
It is the job of your supervisor to monitor and become involved with your work as a critical ob... Read On
Postgraduate Life
This week's post comes from Sam Oliver a PhD researcher and is featured in our 'Work-Life Balance' advice centre:
At this time of year many of us will be visiting family or travelling but still need to get work done.
Here are some top tips to stay productive this summer.
1. Define your spaces; separate work from home. Have a room dedicated to working. Don't do it wherever you happen to be. Set aside some space so that when you enter it you know consciously what you're there to do: go to work. It changes the state of mind from "I'm at home" to "I'm at work".
2. Set regular hours, and stick to the schedule.
3. Don't work in your pyjamas. This is a key part of seperating work time from family / relaxing time.
4. Stay connected. Use the internet and online tools like communities and forums to stay in touch with the academic world and your colleagues. It will help you stay motivated.
5. Close the door. It'll be very easy to leave the door to whatever room or space you set apart to be your workplace open. Don't do it. If the door is open, that represents something to you, and... Read On
Postgraduate News
Welcome to this regular Monday blog post, providing a snapshot of the week's most relevant news stories for and about postgraduates.
UK: Government White Paper Neglects Postgraduates
The UK government published its long-awaited higher education white paper last week, which sets out the new marketplace for undergraduate tuition fees. However, commentators have noted that the white paper says barely anything about the effect of fees on the increasing numbers of taught postgraduates, or how Britain can maintain its base of research postgraduates. In a foretaste of how the new marketplace for Higher Education might affect postgraduates, the University of Cambridge looks set to double fees for some postgraduate courses.
UK: Early-Career Academics Publicise Their Research
An X-Factor style competition run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council has uncovered ten academics who represent a new generaton of thinkers. Radio 3 sought applicants to pitch for a slot on its flagship arts and ideas programme, Night Waves, in which they would explain their research and share their knowledge in an accessible way with the general pub... Read On
Postgraduate Career
For many people a long term career plan is considered a thing of the past. Something that has become less and less important as the idea of a 'job for life' has diminished and more and more of us move around every few years.
So it was with great interest that I came across a recent survey conducted by recruitment specialist Robert Half. Although the survey itself was focused on careers in the finance sector it got me wondering if the same applied in other high level city jobs as well. The report indicates that more than one in four (27%) chief financial officers (CFOs) consider lack of long-term career plans the biggest mistake young accounting and finance professionals make in their careers.
CFOs were asked: “What is the biggest mistake, if any, young accounting and finance professionals make in their career?” The full list of responses were:
- Not considering their long-term career plans 27%
- Changing jobs too frequently 21%
- Not obtaining adequate educational/training credentials 19%
- Choosing the profession for the wrong reasons 14%
- Other 11%
- None/Don’t know 9%
Clea... Read On
