Large number of A-level students already setting their sights on Postgraduate courses to enhance career prospects
This is a very interesting result. Many students are planning well ahead of time.
Almost 70% of students, yet to take their A-Levels, are planning on taking a postgraduate course in their desired field in order to look more appealing to employers.
In a survey carried out by The Student Room and The University of Sheffield, 500 students were questioned about their reasoning behind planning to go ahead with postgraduate study.
Of those who wanted to go ahead with postgraduate study, they claimed their motivation behind was increasing their employability chances and salary as well as the government loan scheme also playing a large role in their opinion.
The study revealed that 68% of A-level students planned on postgraduate study while 77% of undergraduates also planned on continuing their study into postgraduate level.
In general, students believe a postgraduate degree will increase their chances of being employed in a competitive job market.
As well as this, close to 68% of students believed a postgraduate degree would make a difference to their salary and their chances of landing a good job and role in the area of their choice. The general consensus is that those with a postgraduate degree will be top of the pile when it comes to employers hiring.
Following on from that, out of the sample surveyed, 63% of those A-level students believe the university you study at will also make a big difference. The same number said they had planned to study their undergraduate course and postgraduate course in different universities, with their postgraduate degree being studied at what they believed would be a “more prestigious university”.
Head of UK/EU student recruitment and support at the University of Sheffield, Al Carlile, responded to the survey and said the new students loans becoming available such as in Sheffield, allows for “launching new postgraduate scholarships, learning more about when and how we should be providing effective information to help inform future choices is incredibly important.”
The Student Room’s community director, Jack Wallington, believes it was exciting to see students considering postgraduate study as it gives them the opportunity to further steer their study into the career they want and are interested in.
He said: “I’d recommend to students going straight into postgraduate study to also seek work experience related to their course and career in order to further enhance their employability and be work-ready.”
