There are many reasons to go to university. It’s a time to experience life away from home, to broaden your horizons and meet new people, as well as to gain additional education. But the purpose at the end of all that is to access the graduate jobs market. Given the debts that are now associated with three or more years at university, that factor will be uppermost in the minds of many matriculating or graduating now. But going right into a job isn’t the only way to move on after uni. A graduate scheme is another option, as is an internship. (In fact, internships are available while you are at uni, in the holidays, sometimes for terms of up to three months in the summer or for a few weeks at other times. These can be a great way to experience life in the workplace and get to know a particular company. With such a tough jobs market, you would be right to take any opportunity you can get along those lines.)

Research out recently suggested that the average student could soon be building up debts of around £50,000 over the course of a three year degree. That figure is disputed, with others calculating it will be nearer £40,000, but either way, that’s a huge amount of money to have to pay back when you leave. However, this is a different kind of debt to other loans like a mortgage. The tuition component is quite low interest, and only has to be repaid after you pass a certain threshold of earnings. You also have to remember that the average graduate will earn an additional £100,000-plus over the course of their working lifetime, above and beyond the debt their studies involved.

Nevertheless, £40-50,000 is a huge amount of money – more if you are considering a longer course, such as for engineering, which frequently involves a ‘sandwich’ year in industry. With that in mind, you should do everything you can to prepare you for accessing graduate jobs. A graduate scheme will introduce you to a company and lead you into their organisation, but these are currently in short supply. Another option is an internship (after uni, this time). These are often low-paid or expenses-only but are a foot in the door in many cases. Whilst you won’t want to be building up more debts, if the internship leads to a proper job at the end of the term, then it will have been worth it.

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