14 May 2020

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Whether you’re approaching your final years of high school or recently graduated, it’s the question that is on everyone’s lips at family gatherings with a plethora of potential responses.

Don’t be frazzled if you don’t have an answer yet, because – despite the fact your aunty thinks you should know by now – it’s a lot more complicated than that. There are a bunch of factors to consider and decisions you’ll have to make, including finding the uni course that’s going to be right for you and what you want to do.

In a recent survey, we asked you guys why you would choose a particular education institution? And your answers showed that you were thinking about all the right things when it comes to weeding out the best course.

Here’s what you guys said:

1. Check out the career outcomes

A whopping 77% of you answered that the career outcomes of a particular course are most important when choosing the right uni degree for you (that is, the potential careers you can do after you graduate). It makes sense, that’s the reason most of us go to uni – to chase a passion.

What you should also look for though, is the employability rate of graduates from that uni (aka the percentage of graduates that get employed soon after finishing their degree). A uni with a high employability rate indicates that their courses will teach you plenty of practical skills and provide you with the work experience that employers are after.

At UTS for example, 92% of their students have found full-time employment three years after graduation. This is because they’re particularly focussed on ensuing their students gain real work skills during their studies, through practice-orientated learning such as internships combined with their super high-tech facilities. Can’t argue with those stats.

2. Suss out the course content

Over 68% of you agreed that checking out the actual content of the course – as in, what you’ll be learning throughout your degree – is the next best way to choose a good uni course.

This makes sense; picking a course that sounds genuinely interesting and engaging will mean that you won’t mind getting up early in the morning to make your 9am lecture, or pull an all-nighter to finish an assignment (okay, you probably will mind, but it will be a little less painful).

It’s certainly no secret that you’ll work harder if you’re passionate and enjoying your course. That’s why the course content matters a lot more to you guys than things like ‘reputation’ and ‘prestige’.

This is where young unis can have a little bit of an edge, as their courses are often more up with the times. UTS is considered Australia’s #1 young uni because their courses are innovative and always being updated with the latest industry info and technologies, so you won’t find yourself graduating with knowledge that’s already outdated.  

3. Connection with industry

Around 51% of you believed connections to industry was an important factor to look for in a good uni course, so things like placements and work experience during your studies. And who can blame you? Placements, internships and work experience are the perfect opportunity to network, get real on-the-job skills and potentially land a gig after graduation.

If starting your career long before you graduate is something you want to try, UTS does a cracker job with connecting you to industry opportunities and internships that you can undertake during your degree. You can even begin networking internationally as they provide study opportunities with more than 240 partners in 40 countries. Move over Pitbull, we’ve got a new Mr. Worldwide.

Basically, it’s pretty clear to us that you guys want results out of your courses. And with strong employability and a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, UTS is a uni you should definitely suss out during the Year13 Expo.

Jump over here to find out more info about them and their courses.