It’s Michaelmas term of my final year. The days are short, my patience even shorter, and every conversation seems to circle back to the same dreaded question: “What are you doing next year?”
Michaelmas is when all those lofty intentions to apply for grad schemes meet the sobering reality of fast-approaching deadlines. Applying to jobs is stressful enough, without the Oxford degree looming – just try taking your third psychometric test of the week while your half-finished essay languishes in another tab. It sure isn’t fun.
But worse than the stress of applying is the incessant yapping about it. Grad schemes have become the be-all and end-all of the Oxford bubble. They’re sold to us as a one-way ticket out of whatever nondescript town we come from; financial stability is a bonus. For those of us who live outside London, they promise salvation from spending next year stranded in District 12, working the same part-time job we had when we were sixteen. The endless scrolling on LinkedIn is now tinged with urgency, jealousy, and the faint drone of parental reproach.
When you’re in your fourth year, this stress is compounded by the unsettling reality that most of your friends have already secured their degrees – and probably a place at one of the Big Four, despite having never declared any particular affinity for accountancy. Others have succumbed to what they admit is ‘panic Masters’, buying themselves an extra year of borrowed time.
In just the last week, I’ve seen friends flip-flop from applying to the first posting they found when they searched “well-paid grad scheme” online to announcing that they intend to spend a gap year in the Amazon rainforest, learning Portuguese to “boost employability”. It’s starting to wear me down.
But here’s the thing: Oxford is just one giant bubble. There’s always been this constant pressure to secure the perfect next step – be it a micro-internship or a summer analyst position. Out in the real world, people take winding and unexpected paths. Careers aren’t made or broken by the end of November.
So, can we please stop obsessing over grad schemes? Getting the degree should be priority number one. And besides, we found other things to talk about before all this job chat came up. Let’s try and make the most of the time we have left in Oxford. In any case, no more talk of Brazil!
