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Why your degree doesn’t determine your career - with Zack Ballinger

Change Work Life
Change Work Life
Episode • Sep 28, 2021 • 46m

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#107 - Zack Ballinger explains why the subject of your degree doesn’t determine your career path and shares helpful tips on how to get on a great path throughout university and beyond.

What you'll learn

  • [01:45] Zack talks about setting up a career pathway library.
  • [03:14] Zack explains what inspired him to work on the project.
  • [05:09] Examining the importance of your degree in relation to your career path.
  • [07:25] Why societal pressures have an impact on choosing subjects for university.
  • [09:54] The importance of starting work with career counsellors early.
  • [11:24] Why you should spend the time with guidance counsellors and careers coaches.
  • [13:48] Using LinkedIn to work on your brand.
  • [16:36] Figuring out if university or college is for you.
  • [17:12] Looking into vocational courses if they suit you more.
  • [20:04] Looking at the effects of changing your course or major part way through.
  • [22:25] Taking elective classes to learn particular career paths.
  • [25:27] Are any degrees “useless”?
  • [27:10] Looking at what a degree gives you, aside from the education.
  • [28:05] Job requirements being a degree in itself.
  • [30:24] Education might not always fix the problem after losing a job.
  • [33:36] Looking at what value an MBA degree would bring you.
  • [36:22] Making use of free career coaching while at university or college to further your prospects and build connections.
  • [41:29] How selling things in your free time can help you learn business skills.


Resources mentioned in this episode (some of these are affiliate links and we may get a commission in the event that you make a purchase - this helps us to cover our expenses and is at no additional cost to you):


For the show notes for this episode, including a full transcript and links to all the resources mentioned, visit:

https://changeworklife.com/why-your-degree-doesnt-determine-your-career/

Re-assessing your career?  Know you need a change but don't really know where to start?  Check out these two exercises to start the journey of working out what career is right for you!

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