Your Employability - We Do Care

When studying at the Computer Science Department, enhancing your employability is one of our key priorities. We offer a range of activities throughout your time in university to improve your employability. Below is a brief outline of what’s on offer.

Year 1

In your first year you will participate in an activity weekend. This weekend will help you develop your interpersonal, problem solving and team building skills.

Year 2

In your second year you will participate in a careers event in Gregynog Hall which focuses on improving your employability. You will get guidance on your CV, how to give a presentation and you will get an opportunity to have mock interviews with real life industrialists. All this will improve your confidence and make you ready for the world of work.

Year in Employment – Year 3 (optional)

All students are encouraged to spend a year working in the computing industry between the second and third taught years of their degree scheme. Help is available from the department and the University's Careers Service to find suitable placements and to develop your CV and interview skills. Our Industrial Year students are in demand with prestigious employers such as IBM, HP and Microsoft.


View Industrial Year Students 2012-13 Pin Map in a larger map

Finalists

In your final year you will look at preparing for employability at the end of your course. There are talks about planning for job applications, deciding on a career path and effective ways to approach potential employers. You can also book one to one sessions with the careers advisory service.

A significant part of your final year is your major project; this is your opportunity to complete a substantial individual project that is a showcase of your abilities, which is of great interest to employers.

Postgraduates

The advanced specialised skills and knowledge that students acquire on our taught postgraduate courses are ones that employers in the industry are eagerly looking for.  Many of the students on the courses are already experienced professionals and know from their own experience how much up-to-date expertise in these areas is in demand 

Lecture Service

Throughout your time here you will be given lectures by the Careers Advisory Service on a range of topics including: writing a CV, giving effective presentations, psychometric tests, assessment centres etc. As well as these timetabled lectures, numerous additional workshops and ad-hoc drop-in sessions are offered throughout the year. All this will help you prepare for life after graduation.

Personal Development Planning (PDP)

The Department encourages all its students to engage with PDP. Your own personal tutor will help you through the process of completing the Pesonal Development Portfolio.

PDP is a structured process of self appraisal, reflection, planning and record keeping which has these main purposes:

  • To help students to improve their quality of learning and their academic performance
  • To support processes of personal development including skills needed for a future career
  • To equip students with tools which enable forward planning to achieve their goals

Students have a responsibility to participate in PDP and for keeping their PDP Portfolio up-to-date.

PDP is about life, work and study. If it is done well, it supports students in becoming the sort of well-rounded, forward-thinking, adaptable and capable adults with good career prospects that we wish Aberystwyth graduates to be.

What do graduates from the Computer Science Department go on to do?

The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey collects information on the activities of graduates after leaving a higher education institution (HEI).  Highlights for the Computer Science department (2008/2009) include:

  • Aberystwyth first degree Computer Science graduates who entered employment six months after graduation entered a 'graduate' role, compared with first degree Computer Science graduates nationally: Aber 87.5%, nationally 69.8%; (Aber 17.7% more)
  • First degree Computer Science graduates from Aberystwyth enjoyed an average starting salary of £21,798 this year, £3,475 more than the average figure for all other Aberystwyth first degree graduates entering full-time employment
  • Fewer Aberystwyth Computer Science graduates assumed to be unemployed six months after graduation than Computer Science graduates nationally; Aber 12.1%, nationally 17.1%; (Aber 5% fewer)
  • 45.5% of Aberystwyth Computer Science graduates who entered employment six months after graduation went to work in the 'Information and Communication Activities' sector this year; 25.9% nationally
  • As in the previous year, more Aberystwyth Computer Science graduates entering some form of work/further study six months after graduation than Computer Science graduates nationally; Aber 83.1%, nationally 80.9%; (Aber 2.2% more)

Find out more about our recent student successes here.