Does everyone know what they're going to do when they graduate? I don't have a Plan.

[beansmum]

I love studying, love all the research and writing and thinking and drinking coffee. But one day I will graduate and need to get a job. I don't know what I want to do. Am I the only one?

Should I worry or just carry on and hope something turns up?

My original plan was to do a PGCE, but now I'm not sure. Places are like rocking horse poo, plus it's the added finance.

I graduate next year, so I need to pull my socks up.

Realise that doesn't help you at all. Bit you are not alone

Good! I keep having conversations with people where they ask me what I want to do when I leave uni and I have to say I haven't got a clue. Worst are the conversations with other students who have their entire life mapped out and know exactly where they want to end up.

I'm doing a law degree and a BA in Classics and History (not sure if you can do this in the UK, but double degrees are really common here in NZ, especially for law students).

I'm guessing that law will be useful for something, even if I don't want to actually practice. Not so sure about classics, but maybe I can work out some way to stay at uni for ever just reading Latin

I just kept on going... Masters, and PhD and am hopefully going to finish my PhD sometime this year and then perhaps stay in academia.... its a way of avoiding the decisions

That sound good! I'd love to do postgrad study, I'm just not sure how I'd pay for it. The stupid government here are changing student loans and allowances and limiting the number of years you can get a loan for. Which sounds ok(ish) until you find out they're limiting it to 4 years. 4. I don't know a single person who thinks it's a good idea (admittedly, I only know students and lecturers). It's going to take me 5 years just to get my first degrees, so anything after that is pretty much ruled out.

I'd secretly like to be a librarian, in a law library in Oxford or somewhere interesting, don't think it's going to happen though.

sounds good.

I told DH I am going to be a History teacher, I tell everyone else this too.

It is the plan, but if I am doing ok in a part time admin role that works for us as a family and DH continues progressing at work I am just going to keep reading, writing and drinking coffee - havent told DH just going to see how it pans out.

I am going to write at least one novel though.

Btw, law, history and classics will give you fantastic transferable skills, debating/arguing, ability to analyse, to write well.

beansmum it sounds like you want to be an academic! Can you get a job and study your Masters part time?

I suppose I could...I still have a year to go before I graduate, plenty of time to figure it out. I go through phases of complete panic, but I'm less worried about it this week!

Make yourself available to do odd jobs for your tutors... I did and got given some consultancy work to cover my masters (yay!) and then iffered a funded phd based on my work etc so sometimes you can get nice little nuggets....

Problem now is my funding has gone so i have 2 jobs at uni for 3 days a week leaving 2 days to write etc but still having to pay childcare for those days and so totally skint!!

So glad I am not alone! thing is I have finished uni and still haven't got a plan.

I am looking for a part time job to fit around son and partner but no joy.

Oh well it means I can defer my loan repayments whilst i an unemployed but the boredom of not writing/thinking/studying/reading/researching and drinking copious amounts of coffee is actually killing me quite quickly as it has only been a month since my final exam!

My work is paying for my degree - so I have to go back and work for them for three years - before I can have any plans of my own !!

I don't even have a pl