What to Do if You Want to Change Careers After Graduating

It’s no secret that the tech industry is booming with no signs of slowing down. The global IT market grew to over $8852 billion in 2023 making it one of the most exciting and lucrative sectors to work in. Every day new job roles are being created to match evolving technologies, with even more to come. What makes tech so unique is that it arches into nearly every other sector of life – from healthcare and finance to communications, travel and more. There’s never been a better time to get into the tech industry and if you’re interested in exploring a career in tech, you’re not alone.

Luckily, you don’t have to have studied IT or have come from a technical background to pursue a career in tech. For example – you could have studied for an economics degree in college and after graduating decided that this wasn’t the career for you. In fact, recent research shows that nearly 87% of people under 25 are likely to want to change their career plans in the next year. So, how easy or difficult is it to change careers after graduating? In this article we’ll look at the best routes for switching careers after graduating with a focus on moving into a role in tech.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a great way to earn while you learn. Jointly funded by employers and the government, apprenticeship programmes provide a unique mix of hands-on work experience as well as academic study. They are great to get your foot in the door in an industry of your choice that may otherwise have been closed to you.

You can do an apprenticeship if you’ve finished Uni and completed a degree. However, the only caveat is that your apprenticeship needs to be in a subject that’s different from your degree. For example – if you have a degree in software engineering, you won’t be eligible for a degree apprenticeship in the same subject. This is because one of the main criteria for an apprenticeship is to gain new skills.

This is perfect for someone looking to make a career change after graduating. Case in point – our current FDM apprentice Wajiha Shah went to law school, but three years into her degree realised that it wasn’t the right career for her. Instead, she decided to pursue an IT apprenticeship – which brought her to FDM.

Talking about her experience of changing careers she said, ‘I didn’t know about degree apprenticeships before I started researching them. I wish someone had told me before! A degree apprenticeship gives you the skills as well as a free degree so you have no debt.’

Check out FDM’s Apprenticeship Programme to find out more.

Did you know?

According to a recent survey, Baby Boomers (born between 1946 to 1964) spent 8 years and 3 months on average in a role. For Millennials (born between 1981 to 2000), that number reduced to 2 years, 9 months whilst for Gen Z, (born between 2001 to 2020), it’s 2 years, 3 months.

These stats reveal the growing regularity of job and even career changes with each progressive generation. Younger generations are more likely than their predecessors to look for a career change if they’re not satisfied in their present roles. This is why more and more opportunities are now available for people to retrain and replan their career journeys.

Graduate training programmes

Graduate schemes are a popular choice for those looking to explore a different career path after college. Graduate training programmes usually last between one to two years and help set graduates on a successful career path after college or university. Often, you will be able to apply for a graduate scheme at the end of your second year of university, in the springtime, or during your final year. 

At FDM, we recruit graduates throughout the year. What sets our graduate programme apart is that we welcome applicants from all degree backgrounds So you don’t need to have a technology degree to join our Technical Graduate Programme.

Emma and Parveen are currently enrolled on FDM’s first all-female Software Development programme. Before joining the programme, Emma had a degree in psychology from Lancaster University whilst Parveen studied Physics at the University of Kent. Speaking of her experience of retraining in tech Emma said, ‘a lot of jobs expect you to have the knowledge and skillset to go into the workforce and be able to cope straightaway whereas FDM acknowledged that if you haven’t got that computer science background, you need that little bit of extra help to be able to get into the workforce and to do what you ought to do.’

Our technical streams include:

• Business Intelligence
• Cloud Computing Engineering
• Data Engineering
• Robotic Process Automation
• Salesforce Development
• Software Development
• Software Testing
• Technical Operations

For those looking to explore a career in business, our Business Consulting Programme offers the following streams:

• Business Analysis
• Project Management
• Risk, Regulation and Compliance
• Salesforce Analyst

Ishaan Tugnait joined FDM’s Business Analysis course in September 2021 with a background in history. But as he soon found out, not having a background in finance did not hold him back in any way. Currently in the professional services industry working for a management consultancy company, he spoke of his FDM training: ‘I didn’t come from a financial background. I studied history, so this training made me job ready on account of the skills on offer.’

Over the years, we have trained thousands of students on our Graduate programme and placed them with our industry-leading clients. Our graduates have come from diverse backgrounds widely different from the streams that they pursued on the FDM training programme. Our recruitment processes focus on the potential of the candidate rather than previous experience.

What to expect from the FDM Graduate programme

We don’t expect you to have a clear career trajectory in mind when you join us. Our graduate programme provides the opportunity to figure things out as you’re trained in the practical and professional skills to prepare you for the workplace.

The FDM Graduate Programme starts with 6-14 weeks of training through the FDM Academy and offers the opportunity to achieve industry-recognised certifications depending on the career pathway you choose. TIG or Tech Industry Gold is the industry recognised accreditation for all tech-related education and training programmes.

FDM is proud to have joined the Tech Industry Gold community as the first organisation to achieve accreditation for Foundation Training Programmes for eight of our courses.  

After successfully completing your training, you will begin your two-year career journey and will be placed with one of our global clients as an FDM Consultant. 

Stepping into a new role can be daunting particularly if you’re doing a full career reset. However, with a partner like FDM with over three decades of expertise in helping people launch their careers, you can have a seamless transition into your dream role.

Our 2023 Grad applications are now open. Apply now to kickstart your career in an exciting new role.