Degree or Nahh?? Here's another option :

Experience and Mentorship:

It’s taken time to learn that experience outweighs almost everything when building a career. Mentorship is an underrated key to success and asking for help is a learned skill.  

In the last 5 years, I completely changed my career. Everyone has the power to change their trajectory in life with these two fundamentals;  mentorship and experience. Here is how I did it. 

The Graduate Complex 

COVID exacerbated my lack of experience. I had every notion that after I graduated from university I would land a job in my chosen field, a simple A-B transaction, a degree for a job. Instead, I left uni and was instantly hung up, high and dry, on the long washing line of unemployed graduates. With no industry experience to back up my degree, I was walking the plank into the sea of unemployment with university projects, charisma, and pleading. Hindsight tells me this wasn’t the best combination to expect great results.

For the jobs I did apply for, like many others in my position, I was met with deaf ears. I met little of the “Must Have” section on the job postings. COVID or No COVID this ordeal is one that many recent graduates or career changers face. 

A job came up in a local bouldering wall. The stars had aligned enough for me to throw myself into something new. I never saw myself progressing in the outdoor industry but having no pre-requisite of what to expect from the industry and no reputation to protect I could make mistakes and learn quickly. Often when we have something to lose, we hold on too tight hindering growth I was happy to be starting fresh is often easier than protecting a legacy. 

So how do you start gaining experience? 

Gaining experience is often minimally paid but, it is necessary. Entry-level jobs are a good way of getting your foot in the door. Understanding what you are signing up for be it a job or a course can be achieved by experiencing a taste of the thing. It is your time and your money that is being invested after all.  In the outdoor industry shadowing is a key element of passing qualifications. Most of the time this is unpaid. Partaking in shadowing and making time for volunteering in your industry of choice can create the foundations you need to get started. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither was a career.

Why is mentorship important?

When undertaking a course there is an exchange of money and time for the tutor's experience. When undertaking a new job role, managers and leaders within the company become mentors to you so you can develop into the role appropriately. Now some course leaders and businesses will be better at this than others but asking the right questions and turning up to the right courses to gain the connections will develop your pool of potential mentors. 

Asking For Help?

Go to your pool of mentors and ASK THE STUPID QUESTIONS. Those stupid questions will come up at some point, better that it’s in a controlled environment. You can start small, but being open to asking and accepting help from more experienced folk, makes learning occur so much quicker. Mentors are more inclined to support you when you are actively participating in your CPD. This includes applying for jobs you don’t feel qualified for, you never know, you may be brought in for an interview and discuss options and the next steps for your career. You can even reach out to people on social media like LinkedIn or Instagram to professionally ask about discussing careers. Asking for help… Yes, it can be hard and unnerving but like most things in life, it is a practiced skill. The more you do it the easier it will be. 

Final Thoughts

There may have been MANY things that an outdoor education degree would have given me that would have changed my outdoor practices, given me a wider scope of sports experience, or progressed my coaching at a different rate. Since changing my career trajectory I have learned that having a degree isn’t the defining feature of success in a lot of industries, gaining as much experience in the chosen field and building solid relationships with experienced people in your industry to help guide you, are both defining features of success in all industries. 

Good Luck X