Careers
Upcoming Events
Year 11 Students
2024 National Youth Science Forum (NYSF)
Love STEM? Want to engage in a life changing experience? You should consider applying for the NYSF. This is a two-week on-site and digital program where students are immersed in hands-on science activities, lab experiments, field trips and meet researchers who are leaders in their field. The program is for students who will be in Year 12 in 2025. There are two programs running:
Canberra: 6 to 14 January 2025
Brisbane: 15 to 23 January 2025.
Applications close Monday 15 July. For more information and to apply, go to www.nysf.edu.au
Years 10 to 12 Students
Careers for Young Women in Sports Forum
Victoria University is running an exciting program for female students in Years 10 to 12 who aspire to pursue a career in sports. The following is the itinerary for the event.
Keynote speaker: Bianca Chatfield – Media presenter, sports commentator, VU Head Coach Netball Academy and Former Australian Netballer.
Industry panel members – Susan Alberti AC, Kate Price, Elizabeth Azzopardi
There will be a series of masterclasses incorporating the following themes:
Stream 1 – Sport Performance & Rehabilitation
Sport Coaching
Injury and Rehabilitation
Data Analytics and Insights
Strength and Performance
Sport Facility Management
Membership and Public Relations
Sponsorship and Event Management
Sport and Community Participation and Engagement.
Date and time: Friday 21 June, 8.45am – 2pm
Venue: Victoria University, Footscray Park
Register: Click here.
Environment and Agriculture
Charles Sturt University is running an online information session on their amazing environmental science and agriculture courses. The session will be held on Tuesday 28 May between 6.00pm and 7.30pm. Register via this link.
Australian Defence Force
You can explore roles in the Defence Force through participating in free information sessions. There are sessions running at various locations across Victoria and NSW and online sessions. Check this page regularly for upcoming events.
UniMelb | Focus on Melbourne
From May 21 to June 6, 2024
Join us at our Parkville and Southbank campuses for dedicated in-person sessions tailored for students considering studying in Semester 2, 2024 or Semester 1, 2025. Learn more about our undergraduate study areas, how you can create a degree based on your passions and strengths and the many career possibilities that lie ahead.
- Focus on Music: Tues 21 May, 6–8pm, Southbank campus
- Focus on Agriculture: Wed 22 May, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Biomedicine: Tues 28 May, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on IT: Wed 29 May, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Commerce: Wed 29 May, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Arts: Thurs 30 May, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Law: Mon 3 June, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Engineering: Tues 4 June, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Education: Wed 5 June, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Design: Wed 5 June, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Science: Thurs 6 June, 6–8pm, Parkville campus
- Focus on Fine Arts: Thurs 6 June, 6.30–8.30pm, Southbank campus
AIE Open Day
May 25, 2024
Discover the courses designed to get you started in game development, 3D animation, film and visual effects at the AIE Open Day on Saturday 25 May 2024. This event will be held at AIE Campuses in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide from 10am to 3pm.
AIE’s Open Day is a great opportunity to meet our teachers, staff and students. The day will cover everything you need to know about the:
- careers in games and VFX that we train students for;
- studios and industries that we work with;
- courses we offer – from beginners to professional mastery, and;
- the software, skills and knowledge we teach.
AIE’s Open Day will also include presentations on entry requirements and how to apply. Find out how AIE can get you into a creative career.
Monash Information Evening Bendigo
May 27, 2024
We know that choosing a university is a big decision, especially if you don’t live in Melbourne. Monash Information Evenings are the perfect opportunity to have your questions answered on everything you wanted to know about undergraduate study at Monash.
You’ll hear about:
- our 10 diverse study and discipline areas
- undergraduate course types, such as our comprehensive and specialist courses, double degrees and pathway programs
- international opportunities including study abroad and overseas tours
- how to apply – everything you need to know about VTAC, key dates and deadlines
- scholarships and fees
- Special Entry Access Scheme (SEAS) and the Monash Guarantee
- accommodation options, both on and off campus.
Monash – Discover Radiation Sciences and Medical Imaging and Radiography
May 28, 2024
Discover what it’s like to study Radiation Sciences or Radiography and Medical Imaging at Monash. Join us for an informative session where we’ll discuss the course structure and career outcomes. Our current will be online to provide insights into their own experiences as well.
Monash – Discover Engineering
May 28, 2024
Discover all you need to know about studying Engineering at Australia’s # 1 Engineering Faculty. You’ll hear from academics, current students and alumni, and have the opportunity to ask lots of questions. Our engineering degrees offer not only a fantastic study experience, but also amazing opportunities to engage with the industry and get hands-on with our many teams and clubs.
STEM+ X Webinar Series: Maths and Data
May 29, 2024
Maths is the language of science and engineering. Whether you’re working on developing new technology, conducting research, or solving problems in any field, you’ll need a strong foundation in maths to be able to understand and work with complex concepts and solve problems.
Join this free webinar to explore how you can combine a study in Maths with your ‘X’, which is your passion, another area or a big goal.
Big Day In Melbourne
May 30, 2024
Join us at The Capitol – RMIT University on Thursday 30 May for BiG Day In Melbourne. Bring your Year 9-12 students to learn where a STEM career can take you. Hear from organisations such as Wisetech Global, Adobe, Australian Signals Directorate & more to come.
Study
Apprenticeships and Traineeships
Apprenticeships vs university – Finding what’s right for you
When it comes to planning your future career, there’s always more than one road to success. While university is usually the most popular route, an apprenticeship can be a practical and rewarding alternative. Let’s explore the advantages of starting an apprenticeship vs heading to university, and why it might be the right choice for you.
Apprenticeships and traineeships are the ultimate win-win. Not only will you get paid while learning and avoid the burden of student debt, but you will gain practical skills, on-the-job experience, and a portable qualification that can lead to a successful career.
Forget about the traditional classroom setting, apprenticeships and traineeships offer an exciting hands-on learning experience. Plus, they open doors to a range of industries and job opportunities, from trades and construction to healthcare and hospitality.
So, if you’re looking for a rewarding and dynamic career path, don’t hesitate to choose apprenticeships or traineeships as your ticket to success. Australian Apprenticeships is the ultimate website to access information on apprenticeships and traineeships.
Work
JOB SEEKING AND APPLICATION TIPS
Are you looking for casual or part time work? Check out the Student Central website for excellent tips on the job seeking process. You can learn about:
- How to find a job
- How to write a resume and cover letter
- How to apply for jobs
- Volunteering and work experience
- Job interviews
- Starting or finishing a job
- Your rights at work.
Visit www.youthcentral.vic.gov.au
CAREERS IN MATHS + BUSINESS
Careers in actuarial science
Actuaries evaluate risk and opportunity – applying mathematical, statistical, economic and financial analyses to a wide range of business problems. Actuaries work in insurance, superannuation, wealth management, investments, health financing, banking, data analytics, energy resources and the environment etc. Dive into the world of actuarial science via this link.
Have you considered a career in insurance?
As one of the biggest, most diverse industries in the world, insurance has more roles than you’d imagine – including ones that are perfect for you. Love numbers? You’re needed. Love people? Insurance has roles for you. Analytical? A big thinker? A problem solver? Whatever you are, insurance has a job with your name on it. To learn about where a career in insurance can take you, check out the website ‘Careers in Insurance’ at this link.
Careers with STEM: Economics
Economists perform economic research and analysis, develop and apply theories about production and distribution of goods and services and people’s spending and financial behaviour, and provide advice to governments and organisations on economic policy issues. Careers with STEM has just released their exciting new Careers in Economics e-mag. On the flipside of the magazine is a Careers with Maths and Data guide. The magazine is free to read online.
What’s the difference between a career, a job, and work?
What is a career?
‘Career’ is a word we use to describe the jobs and work we do throughout our lives. It comes from an old word for ‘chariot’, and can also be used to describe forward movement (as in, the car careered off the road).
In the past, the only people who had a career were those lucky people who had choice over what they did, such as men who worked in management. Back then, a career was seen as something that moved forward in a pretty predictable way – as long as you turned up and did your job, you could expect to be promoted in due course. Other people (like women, factory workers, minorities, and those with less money) were unlikely to have a ‘career’ – instead they would have ‘jobs’, which didn’t have clear paths for advancement.
Now, we know that those straight and shiny careers are actually the exception, not the norm, and that people could only have them because they relied on others in their lives to do everything else (like raise kids, clean the house, cook meals, and plan holidays).
Basically, your career is your journey through jobs and work over your lifetime. And it’s unlikely to look like a straight line – there will be times when you make great leaps forward, but there will also be times when you seem to stand still, or even go backwards. But this is all totally normal!
If you move into another field entirely then you may feel that you have ended one career and started another – we call this a ‘career change’.
What’s a job?
A job is a much more static than a career: it’s a set of tasks that you perform on a regular basis in return for a set benefit. To move forward in your career, you may be promoted from one job to another, or find a job somewhere else – the job itself is static, while you move around.
As an example, you may have a career in nursing, but your current job is a ward nurse in the respiratory unit of your local hospital. In future, you could move into a job as a nursing unit manager, or a job as a research nurse. Your career will still be in nursing (or another health related field), but your job will change.
So, what’s work then?
We use the word ‘work’ to refer to something that we need to do. This means it’s an activity that serves a purpose – it isn’t just something you want to do. You can also want to do it, but it must meet a need. Your job is a form of work – if you weren’t paid, then you wouldn’t turn up.
Most people think of work as something they do in return for money, but there are other things we do that count as work that won’t earn you a cent. It’s just easier to track and measure paid work, so that’s what most people (including the government) focus on.
Unpaid work includes caring for family members, cleaning and maintaining your living space and clothes, managing your professional networks, and even growing your own food. But just because something doesn’t have a monetary value doesn’t mean it’s valueless – all of these things are important in different ways, and in many cases are things we couldn’t survive without.
Why is this important?
How you see your work, job, and career can have a big impact on how successful you feel. For example, parents who have to spend time out of the work force to care for their children may feel less successful than their peers who can work full-time without distractions, but they only feel this way because they don’t count all their unpaid caring work as ‘work’.
We know that earning lots of money or climbing the corporate ladder doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness, so re-framing what you think of as ‘success’ could be a good idea.
The world of work is changing, and those shiny, linear careers we spoke about earlier have largely disappeared, so if you can reset your thinking before you’ve even begun your journey, you’ll be more prepared for the ups and downs when they appear.
Find out more
Looking for more resources on careers, jobs, and work? You can read heaps of other blogs and find inspiration on our website here.
Skills for Work
What’s the difference between a reference and a referee?
If you’re hunting for work, you’ve probably put together a resume to hand out to potential employers. One of the most important parts of the hiring process is the employer looking for information about you from other people. This is usually done through references and referees. But what are references and referees, and what’s the difference? Read on to find out.
Reference vs referee – the difference
A referee refers to an actual person – someone you’ll put down on your resume who can vouch for your skills and effectiveness.
A reference is a written document or statement from a person you’ve worked for. It usually includes information about the kind of work you undertook and your skills and abilities.
So someone may be willing to write up a reference for you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you also need to include them as a referee on your resume.
The purpose of references and referees is so employers can cross-check any information you’ve put on your resume to ensure you’re not making anything up.
The benefit of references is that once you have one, you can use it over and over again without needing to worry about it changing. On the other hand, the benefit of referees is that they can potentially provide more relevant and up-to-date information.
Who can be a referee?
Your referees need to be people who know about your work experience and skills and are willing to vouch for you in a positive way.
Keep in mind you should never put your parents or friends down as references – employers will usually consider them as biased and unreliable. The best referees are people you know in a professional capacity, such as an employer or coworker. If you’ve never had a job before, you can include people like teachers, mentors, or coaches instead.
If you’re going to add someone as a referee to your resume, make sure you let them know in advance. Not only is it the polite thing to do, it also means they can be prepared in case a potential employer calls them for information.
Ensure your referee details are always kept up to date – if an employer can’t get in touch with your referees, this might affect your application.
Who can I get a reference from?
If you’d like to add some references to your resume, they don’t just need to come from people you’ve been employed by.
If you’re undertaking work experience, it’s a good idea to ask if you can get a reference at the end of your placement. Or if you do any sort of volunteer work, this is great to get a reference for too.
If you have no work experience (either paid or unpaid), you can also ask for what’s known as a character reference. Obviously, this won’t include any details of your work, but can tell a potential employer more about the type of person you are. These might come from people like teachers or coaches.
References are most credible if they’re written or typed on a company letterhead, and also signed by the person who wrote the reference. Keep in mind that employers might contact the business or person you’ve received a reference from to make sure it’s legit.
Laura Lunardi
Careers Coordinator