What to do after you finish year 12? 

According to the the 2016 Census of Population and Housing , 24% of Australian youths and adults have completed a Bachelor Degree education or higher. This was a 6% increase from 18% a decade ago. 

The total number of people that hold a Postgraduate degree qualification in Australia went  up from 631,000 to 921,000, a 46% increase from a decade ago. 

Some of you may be thinking, should I go to university or should I start working? Is university worth the money I pay for it or the time I spend? Or should I start working at Maccas and save up enough to invest in a house?

You've come to the right place... we are here to help!

This blog will share with you the strategies and information that can help high school graduate make more informed decisions and know the steps undertake in order to succeed in this ever changing landscape of modern society! 

Though university/college is a very exciting and important period of a young person's life, what about the rest of us who don't feel this way towards getting a Tertiary Education? 

Image from The Friends’ School Incorporated Trading as The Friends’ School

Evidence suggests in 2017, around 45% more students enrolled in a bachelor degree than a decade earlier*. Australian population with a Bachelor's Degree is slowly but steadily increasing each year, however, according to researchers from University World News, they say "the projected growth in jobs still falls well short of the number of graduates who will be looking for work." 

"Degrees still matter, but there is a fundamental problem of insufficient demand in the Australian economy," they say.

For more detailed statistics about the working population in Australia, visit: https://bit.ly/3gKIBZ7

Degrees with high employment rate

The highest full-time employment rate of 97.2% is experienced by pharmacy undergraduates followed by 94.9% by medicine undergraduates according to a survey released by the Australian Department of Education and Training in 2019. 

The university with the highest full-time employment rates for undergraduates immediately after finishing their degree is Charles Sturt University, with an employment rate of 87.5% followed by Charles Darwin University with 83.2% and the University of Sydney with 81%.

Degrees with low employment rates

The job landscape is quite barren in terms of opportunities with some industries in Australia. Many of the niche industries that are booming around the world such creative arts, psychology and communications are still in the emerging stages.

The degrees with the lowest full-time employment rate are creative arts, with a rate of 52.2 per cent followed by psychology with 60.3 per cent and communications with 60.6 per cent, the annual survey conducted under the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching survey program found after receiving more than 129,560 responses across 102 higher education institutions.*

These industries are still in the emerging stages and do not currently generate enough attention to provide many job opportunities, with many of them expecting years of experience for a junior associate position. 

Share of Australian population that hold Bachelor Degrees or Higher 1989-2019
Image taken from Statista.com 

What should I do after I finish Year 12? 

Pursue a Tertiary Education Course

If you did an ATAR, chances are your score will limit or determine which university you're going to end up in. For those that didn't do an ATAR and wish to enrol in university later on in life can enrol in a bridging course at TAFE NSW or other higher education providers in Australia.

Pursue a job in the Service or Trade Industries

Alternatively you can start an apprenticeship at a trade and get straight into work or you can work for some of the big retail brands or in the hospitality industry. 

This option is for those that have something significant going on in their own lives, something that they are passionate about and enjoy more than working or making money. 

Start Start your own Business 

This is my favourite topic and its about freedom above all else. Sure it can take some hard work but once done correctly, it allows me to live life according to my own rules (within the confines of the law of course) and my own schedule!

Finding your own niche

There are several ways to making money on your own but it all depends your own ability and skills to complete a task. Are you willing to learn a new skill and put in the time and energy into making it work? Because that's what it takes when you are an entrepreneur. You make it work no matter what! If one way fails, try another! 

For more advice and tips on finding your niche, visit urbandesigner.shop and get access to information, services or courses all for free!

Written by Jack Qiu

Bachelor of Design - Raffles College AU

Certificate IV - Property Services

Specialising in Marketing, Sales and SEOs

Owner and administrator of urbandesigner.shop

Statistics gathered from external website sources:

www.universityworldnews.com

theconversation.com

www.smh.com.au/education