Building your career, studying in south Wales, and what true wealth means.
😊 Welcome
This week, part one of what you can do at university to start building your career. And it starts by understanding why you are there in the first place.
We have a look at one of Wales’s largest and most vocationally focussed universities.
And we finish with a thought about salaries, and true wealth.
✍️ How to start building your career while you are still at university (Part 1)
I am a member of a whole bunch of Facebook groups for UCAS advisers, parents and prospective students. They give incredible insight into the questions and motivations of different people, and occasionally I’m able to help answer some of the questions asked.
Earlier this year I saw a post by a parent which basically said:
“My son is in his final year of Finance and Accountancy, and we are wondering where he should be looking for jobs, as we aren’t really familiar with this sector.”
This is an unnervingly common question, and every time I see such questions I’m left pretty dumbstruck: How did it get to the point that three months from the end of a degree, parents are still worrying about their son’s next step?
Perhaps it is all down to a lack of communication between the son and his parents? Perhaps he has it all worked out and just hasn’t told them?
That may have something to do with it, but I also suspect there are thousands of students who really don’t have a clue what they will do next as they approach the end of their studies.
How do you make sure that isn’t you?
It would be easy to blame the university. They should have had more employers visit and speak to students; they should have had more opportunities to work on real industry problems. They should have…
But ultimately, this is your education, it’s your career, and it’s your life. So regardless of what support is offered to you by the university, this is not something you want to leave entirely in their hands.
And regardless of what subject you are studying, you are going to need to seek out a whole load of opportunities outside of your course in order to prepare yourself for your career ahead.
So how should you do this?
Well, a good starting point is to be fully aware of why you are going to university in the first place, and what type of course you are studying. Knowing this will help you work out what opportunities you should seek out while at university.
Below, I’ve characterised four different approaches to university, and begun to explore what type of opportunities each of these ‘characters’ might be advised to focus on.
Do any of these resonate with you?
📸 University Snapshot: University of South Wales
Became a university in: 1992 (though as usual, it’s a bit more complicated than that!)
Student population: 26,180 (2022/23)
Location: Pontypridd, Newport and Cardiff
Subject areas: Computing, Engineering & Science; Business & Creative Industries; Life Sciences & Education.
Admissions: Generally straightforward academic requirements, from A-levels CCC to BBB. BTEC Extended Diplomas and Access courses are welcomed too. Creative subjects will generally require a portfolio, interview, audition etc. while Nursing and Midwifery will also require an interview.
The University of South Wales was formed through a merger of The University of Glamorgan and The University of Wales Newport. Glamorgan, the larger partner, had become a university in 1992 having previously been known as the Polytechnic of Wales.
The university's largest site is at Pontypridd, where three campuses cover the majority of their courses. The sites are a short bus-ride apart, and are a mix of modern and character buildings. The main site at Treforest in particular has that distinctive campus-university community feel, while the sports park has some truly world-class training facilities.
The remaining two sites meanwhile are in Newport (Education, Business and Cyber Security) and Cardiff (Creative industries). Each of these are super-modern, impressive business-like buildings focusing on a small range of disciplines.
💡 Something to think about
I saw a post recently on Linkedin about earnings and feeling rich. The essence was that the author of the post was earning £100,000 per year, but didn’t feel rich.
They felt comfortable, sent their child to a private school (though not an expensive one), and most of the time, they didn’t have to worry about what they spent their money on.
But they didn’t feel rich.
Most comments were sympathetic, understanding that with sharp rises in the cost of living, things were getting tricky for everyone.
Most comments were not from those on or below the average UK salary, which currently sits at just under £33,000 per year.
So, how much money do you need to feel rich?
Well, John Bogle, founder of Vanguard investment managers, tells the story of a conversation he overheard at a party given by a billionaire, where two writers, Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller, are chatting.
Vonnegut informs Heller that their host, a hedge fund manager, had made more money in a single day than Heller had earned from his wildly popular novel Catch-22 over its whole history.
Heller responds, “Yes, but I have something he will never have… enough.”
True wealth, you see, is being able to say “I have enough”.
Thanks for reading!
Jonathan
