First Year Students

Welcome to the University stage of your career. Yes, your career has already started! The decisions you have made about what and where to study were career decisions, whether specific (for example, aimed at becoming a nurse or a civil engineer), or rather general (for example studying biology or history with no specific occupation in mind).

You will have further career decisions to make while you are studying, such as: 

• What major to select (usually by your second year)
• Which elective units to do (could be every session)
• The requirements for professional registration in your chosen field
• How to explore various career options (at any stage of your course)
• How to get work experience, part-time or in vacations (at any stage)
• How to identify the skills valued by employers
• How to prepare for graduate employment. (in your final year)

The University Careers Service exists to help you with these or any other career questions. We provide individual careers counselling, workshops, and careers fairs where you can meet potential employers. We can’t always provide full answers to your questions, but we can always help you find authoritative sources.

And of course our comprehensive website provides information about a wide range of career issues, links to other helpful sites, and a job vacancy service.

Any of these things might be useful to you right now (for example if you are simply looking for a part-time job to earn some extra money), or later, when you are choosing units each semester, or in your final year, when you are planning your next step – a graduate job or further study.

All the things you do while at University can contribute to your “career development learning” which is the currently popular term. We encourage you to identify and record what you believe you have learnt from your part-time work, your sporting and community activities, and your course (of course!) You can match these against the University’s list of Graduate Qualities – look them up at www.uow.edu.au/about/teaching/qualities/. We know that these same qualities are highly valued by employers in all fields.

So, even though you have just arrived at University, don’t wait until your final year before you think about that major step – what you do after graduation. Think about the career implications of all the decisions you make, and all the experiences you have. Come and talk to us at any time or to book an appointment with a Careers Counsellor phone: 02 4221 3325.

Last updated: February 6, 2008