What kinds of skills do students develop during their university degree?
In general, you can think about the career-related skills you're developing as falling into one of two categories: transferable skills and self management skills.
Transferable skills typically refer to things that we expect undergraduates to be able to do. Some of these skills are very basic (e.g., basic reading and math), while others are more complex (e.g., leadership, communication, problem solving). Depending on the career path that you're interested in, there may also be a number of career-specific transferable skills that you'd want to cultivate. For example, if you were interested in becoming an accountant you might also likely need some technical skills, given that accountants have to be comfortable working with a variety of software packages.
In our research, though, we have emphasized three transferable skills that we believe every undergraduate should be developing, because they are broadly applicable to a wide range of jobs. We sometimes refer to them as "the 3Cs": communication, critical thinking, and collaboration (Martini, Judges, & Belicki, in press; Martini, Rail, & Norton, in press).
Self-management skills are related to “an individual’s perception and appraisal of themselves in terms of values, abilities, interests, and goals” (Bridgstock, 2009; p. 37). In other words, self-management skills are often connected to the way that you do things. Desired attributes in this category include such things as being adaptable in the face of rapid change, demonstrating integrity, and being comfortable with uncertainty.
Transferable skills typically refer to things that we expect undergraduates to be able to do. Some of these skills are very basic (e.g., basic reading and math), while others are more complex (e.g., leadership, communication, problem solving). Depending on the career path that you're interested in, there may also be a number of career-specific transferable skills that you'd want to cultivate. For example, if you were interested in becoming an accountant you might also likely need some technical skills, given that accountants have to be comfortable working with a variety of software packages.
In our research, though, we have emphasized three transferable skills that we believe every undergraduate should be developing, because they are broadly applicable to a wide range of jobs. We sometimes refer to them as "the 3Cs": communication, critical thinking, and collaboration (Martini, Judges, & Belicki, in press; Martini, Rail, & Norton, in press).
Self-management skills are related to “an individual’s perception and appraisal of themselves in terms of values, abilities, interests, and goals” (Bridgstock, 2009; p. 37). In other words, self-management skills are often connected to the way that you do things. Desired attributes in this category include such things as being adaptable in the face of rapid change, demonstrating integrity, and being comfortable with uncertainty.
