When Sophie Elsey proudly put on her cap and gown to pick up her degree in Educational Studies, she was not only marking the end of her university days but planning to bid farewell to her home town as well.
Unlike many graduates who will leave university with no jobs to go to, 22-year-old Sophie plans to spend the next 11 months teaching English in China.
The opportunity came about after she attended a talk at Swansea Metropolitan University, where she was studying.
Sophie, of Home Farm Way, Penllergaer, says she had always wanted to travel after she graduated and was won over by the exciting opportunities she heard about in China.
"The talk was very upbeat and positive and it sounded fantastic," she says."
"I had considered moving away after my degree and working on a cruise ship. But having the opportunity to teach English in a school in China gives me a better chance to learn about the country and the culture.
"It will also be great to put down on my CV, and hopefully it will open more doors for me when I return.
"As I lived at home during my degree, moving away will give me a lot more independence and give me experience living and working outside my comfort zone.
"This will be my first time away from home, so I am a little nervous, but at the same time I am excited about embracing a new challenge."
Sophie is one of thousands from the class of 2012 now striking out for themselves.
Figures out this week show final-year undergraduates at 30 leading universities have made 360,000 job applications by March — 80 per cent more than their counterparts in 2004. More and more are deciding against taking time out to travel, driving down the numbers opting for gap years to their lowest since surveys began 17 years ago.
More than a third of students started researching jobs in their first-year, while 42 per cent made applications almost a year before they are due to start work.
Analysts who conducted the research highlighted a ''new realism'' among students, who are ''fighting hard'' to land prized vacancies.
Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, said: ''Our latest research shows just how hard today's university students are working to get a graduate job at the end of their degree.
"While the Class of 2012 may not be any more optimistic about the graduate employment market than their predecessors, those leaving university this summer have taken an especially pro-active approach to the challenges of finding a graduate job.''
The survey shows that just 12 per cent are intending to take a gap year after university — down from 20 per cent a decade ago.
A record 42 per cent of finalists made job applications to graduate employers almost a year before they were due to start work, applying for graduate vacancies in September or October at the very beginning of their final year at university.
That compares with 37 per cent who applied early in 2011, 31 per cent in 2009, 28 per cent in 2006 and 25 per cent in 2001.
The average number of graduate job applications made by finalists also increased, from 5.7 per student in 2010 and 6.8 in 2011, to a record 6.9 applications per student this year.
It means the overall volume of graduate job applications by final-years at the 30 universities has soared from 200,000 in 2004 to 360,000.
Marketing emerged as the most popular profession for graduates, while investment banking also saw a surge in applications.
Expected graduate starting salaries have stalled at an average of £22,600 — the same level recorded in the 2011 survey.
But students expect to be earning an average of £39,900 after five years in work — and a sixth of this year's university leavers believe their salary will have reached £100,000 or more by the age of 30.
Sophie received a class 2:2 in her degree and had to spend 60 hours online learning how to teach before sitting an exam. She will finish her training in Beijing when she flies out on August 9 and then she will be placed in a school in the Hunan province.
"We get paid a monthly salary and have our accommodation paid for us," she says.
"I will be teaching children aged 12 to 15 years, so hopefully they will know a little bit of English.
"China is an opportunity too good to miss and it hopefully will enhance my career opportunities when I get back. I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to my friends and family, especially as I have recently had a niece, so I will miss seeing her grow up."
Sophie was fortunate to have her parents help financially throughout university, and she worked as a waitress at the Porterhouse in Loughor to supplement her studies.
Sophie admits that when she went to university she didn't know what she wanted to do at the end of her studies.
"I always thought about working with children but I didn't have anything in particular that I wanted to do," the former Gorseinon College student says.
"After college it seemed to be a natural progression to go to university.
"I think working out in China will give me more time to decide what I really want to do rather than make any hasty decisions.
"By going to China I will be doing something worthwhile and at the same time I will gain independence.
"There is a lot of pressure on students to finish their degrees and go straight into their chosen career. I want to take a bit of time out, explore the world a little bit and perhaps look into studying a PGC when I get back from China."
Rebecca Morton, 23, from Gorseinon who has just graduated from Exeter with a 2.1 in German and French says that while she had been considering a gap year, that is no longer the case.
She adds: " I know that if I don't get a job in my chosen career as a business consultant quickly, there will be a whole new batch of students coming up behind me very quickly.
" Where once you could afford to take time out, that is no longer the case.
"Now, it is much more about graduating and getting your first foot on the ladder as quickly as possible.''
Source: Thisissouthwales.co.uk, Friday 27th July 2012
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