Career paths to pursue post-coronavirus

If you’re in your final years of high school or contemplating a career change, you’ll most likely be thinking about career paths that guarantee job security and a successful professional future. While many things are still unknown, what is clear is the need for a degree in a post-coronavirus world.

The following careers and corresponding degrees are predicted to set you on a secure path beyond this pandemic. We’ve looked at government data and spoken to leading academics. However, it’s important to note these predictions may change as the current situation continues to unfold.

Nursing

Nurses are the backbone of Australia. And as many of us reflect on the role we want to play in society, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more meaningful career than nursing, especially given the vital role they play in the healthcare system.

By studying a Bachelor of Nursing at UOW, you’ll be equipped to handle acute, chronic and complex health conditions, as you apply the theoretical components of your degree to practical situations. Further, 93.1% of our nursing graduates gain full-time employment within four months of graduating, in comparison to the national average of 80.1%.

UOW alumna Kelly Chan has found working directly with COVID-19 patients in intensive care challenging at times, but incredibly rewarding.

 “Being a registered nurse and spending time caring for these patients, I am grateful to be able to directly aid in the recovery of the most vulnerable and seriously affected by the volatile virus.”

Discover more about studying nursing at UOW

Public health

Since the spread of the virus began, it has become clear that the world’s wellbeing requires a clear understanding of diseases in populations, how they is spread and who they affects. Public health experts are critical in disease prevention and good health promotion for all. Combining skills in the epidemiology of disease and ill health with creative global thinking and innovating quickly in times of crisis has made a difference in countries that are on top of their public health.

In the past few years, public health practitioners are highly sought-after by organisations in both the health care and corporate worlds. As businesses rushed to implement strategies to maintain the health of their employees and clients, the changes made so far provide us with an amazing opportunity to create further lasting impacts in the world, improving productivity, social cohesion and collaboration in the process.

The Bachelor of Public Health at UOW focuses on training future public health practitioners and innovators who can do all that and more. Graduates will be able to understand and tackle health challenges that are complex, multidisciplinary and global, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Kishan Kariippanon from UOW's School of Health and Society explains how UOW’s public health degree is taught by an experienced and diverse team whose job it is to fully prepare students to join the global public health workforce. Dr Kariippanon notes that public health professionals who are trained to work across different cultures, tackling physical and mental wellbeing challenges, engaging with vulnerable populations, and using evidence-informed strategies and wellness modalities, are highly desirable by employers.

Discover more about studying public health at UOW.

Supply chain management

With the massive disruption witnessed in the recent months, be it empty supermarket shelves or long delays in delivery, it’s clear supply chain management is more relevant than ever.

Dr Matthew Pepper, Senior Lecturer in the School of Management, Operations and Marketing, says organisations must be resilient and adaptive to change, and adds this will only happen with effective supply chain management. Dr Pepper notes that the future of business is uncertain, and organisations must know and understand their end-to-end business – their supply chain – to shape their operations for the future. He suggests that organisations will need to rethink their sourcing strategy, global distribution networks and overall capabilities to deal with fluctuating demand patterns and risks.

With a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Supply Chain Management at UOW, students gain an in-depth understanding of not only how businesses work, but also how they partner with other global businesses to deliver value to consumers. Future career possibilities from this degree are robust and diverse: operations manager, supply chain analyst, procurement professional and business improvement across many sectors, including pharmaceutical, defence, transportation and mining. Further, this degree allows you to join a dynamic supply chain management alumni network.

“Many organisations frequently come back to us looking for graduates to join their programs. We have alumni contacts in organisations such as Nestle, Woolworths, Hilti, Thiess, Mainfreight and Palladium,” Dr Pepper adds.

Discover more about studying supply chain management at UOW.