What are your dcs planning to do if they graduate this year?

[blueskypink]

• if they're not doing a vocational degree?

DS graduates this year but has made no plans other than a vague notion of travelling a bit. He doesn't want to 'rush into anything and make any wrong decisions'.

Got you now blueskypink.

senua it's horses for courses. The company I work in would not value a year spent travelling. An applicant to the graduate program might find themselves losing out to someone who had spent a year getting some industrial experience.

Opportunities for travel and experience of different cultures are not restricted to gap year travelers and tourists. I and many of my colleagues have lived and worked abroad extensively

I thought that the whole point of grad schemes was that you took a rookie generic graduate and trained them up. I presume that you are quite a specific industry if you want prior experience.

All industries are specific. The one I am in is fairly ummmm... hairy arsed(!). A graduate coming in with some experience of the ground floor will carry a lot more weight than someone who spent a year backpacking around the world.

We are going through this right now. She's hoping for a training contract, but if she doesn't get one we will probably support her through her lpc. God knows if it's the right decision. Laws a really competitive field.

It seems training contracts aren't confirmed until aug. She's at a Russel group uni amd on target for a high 2:1 or a first, but it's tough and it's anyone's guess what will happen in terms of contracts.. In addition we don't even know where she will be based. So accommodation a question also.

It's really stressful for them at the same time as going through their final year. I keep telling her just to focus on getting the best degree she can and getting her applications in, but it keeps cropping up as she's a worrier.😞

I can see why some employers wouldn't value travelling over relevant work experience. Gap years or whatever are a bit of an industry now so not quite as impressive or difficult this organise as they might have been 20-30 years ago. So many people doing them - I expect they bump into people they know along the way. Not to say it's not an enjoyable experience of course and deserved after all that studying.

Students have to work hard to get good results but I dont think that taking months and months off to recover is building the resilience needed to work full time and study for professional exams in the evenings and weekends as many graduate programs demand.

A holiday is fine but beyond that a potential employer might worry that the graduate wouldnt be able to cope.

DS graduates this summer and has a graduate job lined up with the company he worked for in his year out. It’s a great fit for DS that will help and support him getting his professional qualification and means DS can stay in his current location with his uni friends as many of them are staying in the area too.

My DDs got a vocational job lined up but most of her friends seem to wander round aimlessly for years afterwards.