Using your subject: Business

Learn how to use a degree in Business to enhance your career prospects

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The Careers Advisers for the School of Business are Craig Reoch (for undergraduate students), Jill Moore and Hayley Smith (for postgraduate students).

Craig has worked at the University of Dundee since 2018 and has graduated twice from the university, so is up to speed with all the options available to you as students and how to access them. Jill has been working in Higher Education since 2005, providing advice and guidance to Home, EU and International students at all levels from pre-sessional to postgraduate research in a number of roles in Scottish universities. Hayley has over six years of experience working within education and has worked abroad on several occasions.  With this blend of international exposure and educational knowledge, she provides comprehensive support and guidance to students.

Craig and Jill hold Postgraduate Career Guidance and Development qualifications, and Hayley is in the final stages of gaining her certification. Your Careers Advisers can support you with your career planning and decision-making; CV, application and interview guidance; information on the graduate labour market and exploring opportunities for career development. You may know exactly what you want to do after your studies, you may have no idea yet or you may be somewhere in between.

We are here to support you, no matter what stage you are at with your career planning and look forward to working with you.

Getting started: building your experience while you study

Studying for a degree in the School of Business at University of Dundee means that there are a wide range of career options open to you when you leave university. Many roles in business are open to graduates with degrees in a wide variety of subject areas.  Whatever area you are interested in, gaining experience while you are at university is important. This can be through part-time work, internships, business games or getting involved in wider university life.

Use the following links for ideas on how to build your experience while you are a UoD student:

Thinking about your next steps: using your subject

The sections organised by subject area below provide a summary for students who are considering using their subject area in their career after graduation. This is not an exhaustive list of roles or sectors, more a place for you to start exploring your options. Remember that, as many roles are open to students of different disciplines, you can also refer to the sections on other subject areas.

Economics

Below are some suggestions which might help you to start your research into a variety of career areas, depending on your interests.

Jobs

Many economists find employment with:

  • Bank of England
  • Government Economic Service
  • The Scottish Government Graduate Development Programme (applications usually open in January each year)

Common types of roles that Economics graduates may be interested in:

  • Banking and Finance
  • Risk and Actuarial
  • Statistician
  • Data Analyst roles in a variety of sectors (including government, the pharmaceutical industry and business)
  • International Relations (IR) roles (interest in IR can lead to roles in the diplomatic service or as an international aid development worker)

You could also explore roles in areas such as:

  • energy economics
  • health economics or
  • social research

Useful links on Economic careers:

Finance

Below are some suggestions which might help you to start your research into a variety of career areas, depending on your interests.

Jobs

Careers in finance (particularly accounting and banking) are popular choices for many graduates of different backgrounds and the sector is very diverse. Many finance graduates find employment in

  • Tax
  • Risk Assessment
  • Commercial Finance
  • Insurance
  • Pensions
  • Retail banking or
  • Investment banking

Graduate Schemes

All of the above sectors offer graduate schemes and it is worth doing your research to find out which ones interest you the most. Smaller accounting firms also offer graduate roles. Many larger organisations offer generalist graduate schemes, which allow you to experience different roles over the typical 2-year graduate scheme, so you don’t have to specialise too early. You should be aware that these larger organisations typically start to advertise their graduate schemes from autumn each year (with applications usually closing around December). However some schemes close at the point at which they become full, so you may wish to apply early!

Common types of roles that Finance graduates may be interested in:

  • Chartered Accountant
  • Retail banking
  • Investment analyst
  • Financial Adviser
  • Stockbroker

You could also explore roles in areas such as:

  • public sector
  • retail
  • healthcare
  • technology
  • engineering

Useful links on Finance careers:

  • ICAS: the ICAS Fair is usually held every autumn where you can find out about graduate schemes, recruitment processes and the differences between companies
  • Inside Careers 
  • TARGETjobs
  • Prospects
  • Careers Service: the Careers Fair takes place every autumn - a great way to meet employers and find out more about what they offer, and to ask questions about their recruitment processes
  • JobShop
  • GoinGlobal: planning to look for work or internships abroad? GoinGlobal is a fantastic database which contains country guides, job postings and employer information for your country of choice

Business Management

Below are some suggestions which might help you to start your research into a variety of career areas, depending on your interests.

Jobs

The Big 4 consultancies all have internship and graduate scheme opportunities that run each year:

  • PwC
  • Deloitte
  • KPMG and
  • EY

Graduate Schemes

Again, many larger organisations offer generalist graduate schemes – these give you the opportunity to experience different roles over the typical 2-year graduate scheme period, so you don’t have to specialise too early. Remember that larger organisations typically start to advertise their graduate schemes from autumn each year (with applications often closing around December). However some schemes close at the point at which they become full, so you may wish to apply early!

You might also consider looking beyond these organisations to consider smaller organisations. SMEs (small and medium enterprises with less than 250 employees) often have great roles for recent graduates, which can give you a broad experience of an organisation and lots of responsibility from the outset.

Business Management is a wide-ranging degree that allows you to enter many different business roles and sectors. Common types of roles that Business Management graduates may be interested in:

  • Business Consulting
  • Marketing
  • Sales or
  • Human Resources

 You could also explore roles in areas such as:

  • local government
  • the National Health Service (NHS)
  • manufacturing or
  • retail

Useful links Business Management careers:

  • Get into consulting 
  • TARGETjobs
  • Prospects
  • Chamber of Commerce websites (research the labour market for a specific geographical area)
  • LinkedIn:  to find out about smaller companies, and you can also request to join ‘School of Business at the University of Dundee’ where we post job adverts and information about smaller companies
  • Careers Service:  the Careers Fair takes place every autumn - a great way to meet employers and find out more about what they offer, and to ask questions about their recruitment processes
  • JobShop
  • GoinGlobal:  planning to look for work or internships abroad? GoinGlobal is a fantastic database which contains country guides, job postings and employer information for your country of choice

Exploring your options: getting support from the Careers Service

If you would like to explore your options further with your Careers Adviser, please feel welcome to

  • Book an appointment with Craig (undergraduate students) or Jill (postgraduate students)
  • Ask a question on our CareersPortal
  • Drop in for a Quick Queries session:  Wednesdays 11:00 - 13:00, School of Business or Monday-Friday 11:00 - 13:00, Careers Service