Alternative Career Paths

Besides entering the working world, today’s graduates are making new waves through positive change in other ways. Taking the path less travelled often leads to fulfilling adventures.

Taking “time out” (or a “gap year”) after your studies is a common route for many graduates in the West, and it is becoming increasingly popular here in Asia.

Although travelling may be challenging at this time, you can still aim for voluntary or paid work experience. Make arrangements with specialist organisations, NGOs, or even a company you are willing to complete a graduate internship in.

Taking these opportunities can also help you to make contacts which you can harness for professional networking. Short courses allow you to gain new skills or brush up on existing ones, be it picking up a new language or a new technology-centred skill.

Adding a new skill to your toolbox will not only impress employers, but can also help you meet the technical requirements for a role you are interested in.

Your gap year should help you work out what you want to do next, and provide the experience needed to find a job. Along the way, make sure you develop useful career readiness skills such as adaptability, flexibility and problem-solving.

In the same vein, be prepared to find ways to sync up with the recruitment cycle upon completion of your gap year. Do also keep in mind that you will have to compete with new graduates in the job market when you start your job hunt. A postgraduate qualification could improve your career prospects, but you will still need to consider your options carefully, as this choice is both time-consuming and costly. Make sure you are clear about what you are heading into and seek out good advice before making your final decision.

Shortlist the courses and institutions which you are considering, and consult your academic advisor, professor, or career coach if you need tips on how to prepare a strong application.

When choosing a course, you will need to consider its content as well as mode of study. The content should align with your motivation for pursuing a postgraduate qualification. If you are looking to add value to your undergraduate qualification for a specific career field, consider the relevance of the course’s content to the industry you aim to work in.

The mode of studying, whether oncampus or distance learning, full-time or part-time, also plays an important role in your eventual decision. Funding the cost of your further studies is another crucial factor.

If you are studying on a part-time basis and working a full-time job to service the tuition fees, make sure you are not overstretched. You would not want to take on additional debt for a course which does not advance your career pursuits.

However, if pursuing a postgraduate degree seems like overkill, consider a postgraduate conversion course for a career transition instead.