Search for Graduate Jobs
What is a ‘graduate job’?
How graduate jobs are defined and what makes jobs specifically graduate jobs is a deceptively complex subject. Graduate jobs are not simply jobs that you do when you graduate. Statistics from HESCU show that 6 months after leaving university, many students are doing jobs that don’t require a degree. Therefore, they are not graduate jobs.
Graduate jobs are usually those that require someone to hold a degree to start their career in that profession or industry. However, this is not always the case, as some graduate jobs can be done by people who have worked their way up. So there is no one complete definition of what a graduate job is.
Classifications for Graduate Jobs
As there cannot be one definition for graduate jobs, they can be summarised under four headings:
1. Traditional Graduate Jobs
Historically, these types of graduate jobs tend to apply to very established professions, where a degree is required for entry.. It is generally not possible to get a graduate job in these areas without one. Examples include areas such as Medicine, Architecture and Law (including Patent Attorneys).
2. Modern Graduate Jobs
Modern graduate jobs came about in new professional fields in the 1960s following the expansion of high education. Holding a degree became the normal point of entry for these professions – the likes of which include IT, Management and Journalism. Therefore a new set of graduate jobs came in to being.
3. New Graduate Jobs
There are even newer types of graduate jobs, which have come about in the last 20 years and reflect the changes in the world of work today. In the past, certain areas may not have required a degree, but now the best route into them is through graduate jobs. Marketing and Sales, Management, Accountancy and some areas of Engineering are examples of areas that have new graduate jobs.
4. Niche Graduate Jobs
This relates to industries or professions where in which the majority of workers are non-graduates. However, there will be more and more niche positions or areas within these fields that look for people who are degree educated. These niche graduate jobs can be found within areas such as sports management, retail management, logistics & transport management and many more.
Search for Graduate Jobs
Graduate Jobs with Inside Careers
Inside Careers hosts a range of graduate jobs from the traditional to the modern, the new and the niche. Regardless of what type of graduate job you want to work in, the best piece of advice we can give you is that you should understand your industry or profession. This is why for each of our graduate job areas we publish high quality graduate career advice, helping students be better prepared in securing graduate jobs. Check out our list of graduate professions.
As well as help in understanding the professions, we also publish more general articles to help you with securing graduate jobs. From understanding what you could be entitled to with graduate salaries in 2013, to advice on applications, interviews and assessment centres, we have published all you need to know in our careers advice section.