#Career goals?

So this post may be a little (well maybe a lot) different to what I usually post, but I know for so many people my age, the career ladder isn't such a clear path anymore and many struggle on what to do when leaving college, sixth form or University. Speaking from personal experience, in my family it has always been ingrained into my siblings and I, that we would all pursue a degree regardless of the subject and that the natural order of things would be that we would have a 'proper' job waiting for us upon graduation. But with such a changing job market, is the traditional career path an archaic idea?

With such an over saturated market of applicants with undergraduate degrees, more and more young people are understandably finding it difficult to make themselves stand out, often resorting to extending their higher education to pursue a Masters or Phd qualification, which in itself does not guarantee employment and can be expensive. Similarly, many candidates may be at a disadvantage due to lack of work experience in their field, which is a circular argument, given that work experience in a majority of fields is hard to obtain without an established contact or similar previous work experience. 

However, with the job market in such flux, surely this is a great opportunity for young people to take the initiative and make their own mark? The digital revolution for instance, has enabled new job categories to be created and enabled the ordinary person to be a self startup of sorts. A writer can for instance, self publish their work online at little to no cost, the young person with a solid idea could apply for secure funding and realise their entrepreneurial dream, and the global nature of the web has enabled everyone to have the opportunity to improve their job prospects using everything from a C.V builder, to learning a new language for free. 

Perhaps this entrepreneurial aspect should be reinforced when teaching young people in schools and higher education, about different careers to engage this thinking early on and inspire a large subsection of the next generation to become job creators and engage in an entreprenurial mindset, which is beneficial regardless of what career path they choose. 

These are some films that me and my friends relate to when it comes to that in-between stage of leaving University and figuring out how you want to make a mark in the world. Definitely check them out!

The Intern

Postgrad

Reality Bites

The Devil Wears Prada

What are your views? Do you think there should be more of an emphasis on entrepreneurialism versus following a traditional career path? Share your views below.