Using Your Subject

What careers can I go into using my degree subject?

Exploring the careers paths of previous graduates in your subject can be a good way to understand the options open to you. 

• Research what previous graduates from your course at Oxford have done by looking at our graduate outcomes survey.
• Find national data on the career destinations of graduates in your subject area in the annual publication What do graduates do?
• Look at what types of jobs alumni are doing on LinkedIn where you can search by degree subject studied at Oxford. 
• Read summaries of career options for your degree subject from Prospects and TargetJobs
• Professional bodies specific to your subject area sometimes produce a summary of career options that directly use your discipline: examples include the Institute of Physics and the Institute of Classical Studies. 
• Talk to tutors and your peers from within your field to learn about what other people have gone on to do, again listening to identify options which might appeal. 

Thinking deeper about 'using your subject'

Defining ‘using your subject’ is a useful way to crystallize what you’re really looking for and develop options beyond just the basic list above. See if any of the following factors resonate with you (there might be more than one):

• Analysing further what I developed in my major thesis/dissertation/project
• Applying the technical knowledge or skills from the course to the real world
• Continuing to use specific skills or techniques I practised on the course
• Being around people who I can talk to about academic ideas
• Making the transition from ‘student’ to ‘worker’ feel more gradual
• Being in a similar environment as I was on my course
• Trying out some of the range of skills I’ve learnt to figure out my next step
• Working in an area of work I understand well and feel confident in
• Keeping my interest in the subject alive

It’s only the first three factors which relate to the specific academic skills from your course: the others are possible to fulfil in a much broader range of ways.

Using transferable skills

The vast majority of potential jobs and employers do not require specific courses, and are open to nearly all degree disciplines. For them ‘using your subject’ means employing the many transferable skills from your degree, as well as your interests and motivations (which may relate to your subject choice in the first place).

Initial research

To start to generate some more career options, and build up your own list of possibilities, you could try conducting some initial research:

• Research what alumni have done by looking at our graduate outcomes survey and use the information to pick a few options which appeal to you. You could also look at what types of job alumni are doing on LinkedIn where you can search by degree subject studied at Oxford. 
• Talk to tutors and your peers from within your field to learn about what other people have gone on to do, again listening to identify options which might appeal.
• Take an online career questionnaire or try career planning exercises - you can learn about these using our advice for generating options.

Mapping options out

Another idea is making a 'map' of the different areas which relate to your subject or specific interests. Take each question in turn to help you research the organisations and kinds of work that serve these different niches.

1. Who is creating new work/ideas? (Academia? Businesses?)
2. Who is communicating about the new work/ideas? (Marketing firms? Media? TV production houses?)
3. Who is making the work grow? (Entrepreneurs? Firms? Investors? Government?)
4. Who is making sure the work is being done properly? (Regulators? Reviewers? Government? Professional associations?)
5. Who is in a helping role around the work? (Charities? Government? Businesses?)
6. Who is doing grass roots/front-line work? (Retail? Public services? Small businesses? Individual practitioners?)

An example: using a subject interest in literary fiction

Answers for someone keen on a career revolving around their interest in literary fiction, following investigation using our information pages for Publishing and Creative Arts:

1. Authors (some of whom have staff), literary agents, new writing festivals and events
2. Specialist marketing firms, in-house teams in publishing houses, trade press like Bookseller, consumer press and media (from Front Row and Sky Arts and specialist production companies to informal blog reviews), literary festivals
3. Publisher's merchandising and licensing teams, rights management, film, theatre and TV companies
4. Publishers Association (PA), Public Lending Right, Copyright organisations, UK Intellectual property, Society of Authors, IP and entertainment law firms
5. Lots of non-profit writers groups, creative arts charities, Arts Council England, NESTA, DCMS, literary review and consultancy firms, museums (e.g. Story Museum), public libraries, education and teaching
6. Booksellers, including e-commerce, independent booksellers, high-street booksellers, book 'club' models, e-publishing and self-publishing platforms.

This method generally ensures that you end up with more options than those that seem most obvious at first, but it's vital to do your research first to build up this list. And remember, each organisation will have a team of people doing lots of different roles - from updating the website to managing the finances.

What to do with your map

Use your map to explore organisations' websites to look for job opportunities and learn more about what they do. If you spot something that is particularly interesting to you, whether it's an advertised role, or an area of work that's ongoing, you could get in touch speculatively to ask for advice/ work experience to learn more.

Not using your subject directly is normal for many graduates! Most graduate recruiters in the UK don't require a specific degree subject - the exception is usually for highly technical roles, which require specific previous technical knowledge and experience. The majority of graduates find work in fields other than their areas of academic study.

Demonstrating your motivation for an industry and transferable skills you have developed through other activities are very important to prospective employers. These can come from many different areas of your life such as work experience, internships, student society roles, working as part of a team, project work, volunteering, JCR/GCR roles, shadowing or information interviewing. If you can demonstrate the skills and attributes they're looking for, then you're a competitive candidate.

N.B It's very important to understand the skills and abilities the industries/employers you are interested in are looking for and this should form part of your initial research. This will give you a realistic view of their expectations and also the opportunity to develop or build on any skills (if necessary) to make you a competitive applicant.