Options with nursing
A professional qualification is essential for jobs within nursing. Employers also look at your wider personal skills and abilities; the way you engage with people and a strong sense of professionalism, for example, are crucial to your work as a nurse.
Studying a vocational course like nursing gives you a range of professional and technical skills, including the ability to function effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and to support and advise patients and their families. You also develop the ability to assess, analyse, monitor and evaluate the care you deliver. A reflective approach to professional practice is very important.
During your training you work with people of all age groups, cultures and ethnic origins in a variety of settings. This allows you to develop excellent written and oral communication skills. You also learn to act as an advocate for others.
Nursing degree courses can provide you with additional transferable skills and personal qualities sought by employers in a range of sectors. These include:
The training also provides you with the opportunity to develop problem-solving and decision-making skills, as well as equipping you with confidence and the ability to deal with a diverse and changing profession.
A degree in nursing provides openings to a wide range of other careers but, in order to boost prospects, it is also important to gain as many of the relevant skills and as much relevant work experience as possible before embarking on a particular career.
Volunteering, internships, part-time jobs and student projects can help enhance confidence as well as improve skills in communication, organising workloads, using initiative, working collaboratively, conducting research and project management.
Related work experience in a clinical environment is always strongly recommended and may even be essential for work in the health sector. It can help to increase knowledge of the sector and enable you to establish important contacts. It is also possible to make speculative approaches, especially to employers whose business is in the line of work that you are considering.
Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it’s not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Look at your degree... what next? for informed advice on career planning and graduate employment, or login/register with My Prospects to find out what jobs would suit you, a helpful starting point for self-analysis.
Explore types of jobs to find out more about the above options and related jobs.
Nursing is a vocational degree. A 2012 HESA survey of 2011 graduates indicates that six months after graduation 85% of nursing graduates were in UK or overseas employment. Around 6% opted to combine work with further study.
Of those who were in work, 93% were working as health or associate professionals. Just over 1% of nursing graduates were in social care and welfare jobs, while 2% had taken roles in commercial, industrial or public sector management. Around 2% were believed to be unemployed.
Nurses work in many locations including GP surgeries, community settings, residential homes, occupational health services and hospices. Areas of work open to nursing graduates can also include management and training roles.
Qualified nurses also have the option of working abroad in countries where their qualifications are recognised. Find out more by contacting the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) international office.
Common employers include:
For more information on potential career areas open to nursing graduates, see health and social care
For further information on possibilities in other employment areas, see job sectors.
Statistics are collected every year to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, because the data is collected within six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do? and your degree...what next?
A 2011 HESA survey of 2010 graduates indicates that six months after graduation just over 1% of nursing graduates had gone on to do further full-time study, with a further 6% combining work and study.
There is a variety of post-registration courses available. For qualified nurses with an HND, there can be opportunities to top up to a degree. Graduate nurses can take Masters degrees in post-registration speciality subjects. Some of these options will be offered by your employer as part of your post-registration education and practice (PREP) requirement. Some training may be offered through study days. Practising nurses need to maintain skills through ongoing training.
Information about the range of courses available can be found by visiting NHS Careers . You can also contact the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) careers service.
These trends show only what previous graduates in your subject did immediately upon graduating. Over the course of their career - the first few years in particular - many others will opt for some form of further study, either part time or full time. If further study interests you, start by thinking about postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research to identify your options.
For details relating to finance and the application process, look at funding my further study.
