Career planning

Understanding how students think and plan for their careers is central to the Futuretrack. Areas investigated include:

• clarity of ideas about career plans before university by age, course and sex
• does university give you better career options?
• vocational courses
• access to careers guidance.

Further detail

Graph: Do you know where you’re going and how to get here?

Click above to enlarge

• Most students have a clear idea of what they want to do with their degree.
• Over 50% have a clear career focus when they join university.
• Less than 3% start university having no idea what they want to do with their lives.

Careers guidance pre-HE

• Only 35% of school students feel that the careers guidance they received was useful to them.
• Black students are most likely to agree that they have excellent careers advice – possibly because they are older when they apply.
• Students doing courses lasting more than four years, HNDs or Foundation Degrees are most likely to be vocationally-focussed.
• Students who perceive their course to be vocational (e.g. medicine) are more likely to have occupationally-focussed career plans.
• Age is a factor: the older the student, the more likely they are to be career-focussed.
• Family background is important: first-generation university applicants are more likely to choose university because ‘it is part of my longer term career plans’.

Student quotes about careers guidance

“University is about making new friends and bettering your knowledge – but ultimately it’s about widening your options for your future career.” Female, Education, South West.

“A lot of career guidance encourages students to go on to university and study for a degree. A degree is not a suitable career path for everyone.” Female, Physical Sciences, Greater London.

“A lot of the information given is aimed at college/6th form leavers…I am a mature student with limited access to careers guidance and found it difficult to find help and support.” Female, Combined Arts, East Midlands.

“I feel there is too much pressure on A-level students to chose a career now (i.e. when they finish college). Sometimes taking a bit of time helps decisions become clearer.” Female, Creative Arts and Design, Yorkshire and Humberside.

Read the complete report

If you want to read the first stage report in full, contact us for a copy. If you’re a Futuretrack participant why not play with the results yourself? Log-on to the members’ section and search the survey to uncover some fascinating results.

Read other sections of the Stage 1 summary

1. Who's taking part
2. Application
3. Attitudes to higher eduction
4. Choice making
5. Funding and debt
6. 2006 survey results home