HAS MY DEGREE REALLY BEEN WORTH IT?

WORKING THE NITTO ATP FINALS BACK IN 
NOVEMBER 2017.

It’s undeniable that the fear of finding suitable postgraduate employment is starting to set in. It may only be February but in just a few months I’m expected to be ready to jump straight into the big wide corporate world AND hit the ground running. Despite having had an incredible year out on placement at The Walt Disney Company and having a killer job at The O2 Arena, I can’t help but worry myself! When should I start applying? Will I find the perfect job for me? Will I find a job AT ALL? I have endless questions filling my head but I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and wait just a little longer. Before I really let the panic sink in…

However, one of the biggest questions that I can guarantee is on the top of many student minds across the country is whether our degrees have been worth the time and backlog of student debt. This seems to be a debate that has now made its way to the top agendas in parliament. While Theresa May rules out competing with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour promise to scrap tuition fees at least young people across Britain, considering a future at university, can be grateful for her review of tuition fees and university funding.

4 years ago when I applied to university I wanted to continue studying and focus on a new, exciting subject. I hoped this would ultimately lead me down the right career path and perhaps even straight into an industry specific job. Being a rather hopeful and possibly naive 17/18 year old the £9,000 a year tuition fees were the least of my worries! Student Finance will have me covered I thought! Now further on down the line I realise while I may soon be leaving Greenwich degree in hand, I’ll also be dragging away a £60k debt that’ll stay with me for the next 30 years. Oh and the 6.1% interest… don’t even get me started on that. The pressure of finding a graduate job and a well paid one too is definitely building up.

Let’s get business critical now. What did I even get for £27,000?! Has it all been worth the investment? What’s my return looking like?

Whether our degrees have provided us with the right skills for post-graduate employment was another topic debated in a student workshop earlier this month. I can tell you it was certainly a heavy one. I was found later on that Friday evening crying at my laptop desperately updating my CV. Talk about doubting your life choices.

From the workshop I realised the vast difference in what our degree teaches us, to the expectations of employers. While our degrees have introduced us to the industry, taught us the basics and the theory behind events, they have allowed us to develop the necessary soft skills employers look for in the perfect candidate.

It is recognised across industry, academia and at universities that event management undergraduates need both ‘hard’ (career and discipline-specific technical knowledge) and ‘soft’ (more generic interpersonal) skills in order to succeed. However this student workshop certainly stressed the greater importance of the soft skills.

The teaching group brought to our attention various job specifications, listing out the qualities the ideal candidate should have. Surprisingly, everything listed wasn’t something you can teach through a degree. These are traits you pick up throughout your time studying. A couple of examples include -Excellent organisational skills and ability to multitask, Great attention to details and Strong written and verbal communication skills.

While the content of our degrees could be improved to bridge the gap between industry and academia, I still deem my time at university to have been well spent. It has opened up many opportunities, introduced me to brilliant friends and future colleagues, as well as shaping me into the passionate, driven and inspired individual I am today - which I will be forever grateful for.

I feel the industry can also be grateful for the experience university provides future events managers. Current managers can look forward to seeing fresh faces and a new wave of talent coming through their office doors this year, as I strongly believe Events Management degrees are setting strong foundations for growth and providing the soft skills necessary to be a successful events manager. 

In a previous post of mine I reflected on the skills I gained from one group assignment in particular. While many group work activities haven’t exactly been a choice of our own, they have helped to improve our communication skills, develop our people skills and at times left us with little choice but to step up and take a managing lead - all in order to get the work completed in a timely manner. What employer wouldn’t want to take on an individual with this experience?

The only thing that still leaves me worrying is industry practice. While this knowledge is only something you can truly gain while on the job, everyone has to start somewhere. Writing this blog post has truly enabled me to see for myself the wide range of skills I have developed and experiences I have had over these last 4 years - all of which I will be taking on to my future career.

IT'S SAFE TO SAY I'M CERTAINLY GOING TO MISS
THIS BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS.

So, with my placement experience under my belt, here’s hoping my ‘degree-developed’ skills set can land me some graduate interviews! But also my dream employer see’s the enthusiasm and excitement I have for the industry and take’s a chance on me. I certainly believe I’m well prepared now for whatever the crazy world of events wants to send my way.