16. A University Diploma

You would expect people who studied maths at university to become accountants. Similarly, students of English literature are likely candidates for the publishing industry, while those with an aptitude for foreign languages would be ideal translators. Although it's logical to assume that someone's qualifications dictate the way they earn their living, it's not necessarily the way it works out.

Ask around any organisation and you'll find qualified teachers working in personnel, chemistry graduates in the finance department and secretaries with degrees in modem history. With increasing numbers of people spending time, money and effort on higher education, why do so many end up working in something totally unrelated to their studies? Some, like Robert Cowley, have trouble getting a foot in the door of their chosen profession. Although he works part-time as a driving instructor, Cowley is a qualified lawyer who would much rather spend his time in court than teaching people how to do three-point turns. Cowley originally graduated in the 80s with a degree in politics. Following that, he went straight into the family car-hire business. The decision to study law came in his mid-30s when he wanted a career change. Despite studying for two years and achieving good grades, three years later, he has been unable to secure himself the pupilage (necessary time hours at the bar) he needs to complete his studies and practise law full-time.

Consequently he pays the bills with driving lessons and occasional freelance legal work. "My pupils are usually surprised when they find out I'm a lawyer," he says. "I tell them I give driving lessons because I enjoy it! Becoming a lawyer is about who you know rather than how good you are. My age is also against me along with the fact that I don't have an Oxbridge background," he continues. "If I had known how hard it was going to be, I would definitely have thought about doing something else. The only thing that stops me from becoming despondent is knowing that there are people more able than me in the same position."

Although people with vocational qualifications in fields such as medicine, law or engineering are more likely to find work directly related to their degree, they can also find it more difficult if their industry sector is not doing well, says Carl Gilleard, director of the Association of Graduate Recruiters. Other graduates, like Charles Dean, find themselves on unexpected career paths because they weren't sure what they wanted to do in the first place. "I studied geography at university because it's what I was best at A level," Dean explains. "It was a non-vocational degree but all the things I could have gone into, such as teaching or town planning, didn't appeal."

Instead, he took the first job he came across after graduating, a temporary clerical job at the British Council. When the contract ended, he was kept on permanently. "My role involved dealing with foreign students so I suppose my degree was relevant in that I was aware of political and social issues in other parts of the world," Dean comments, "and my in-depth knowledge of maps meant I could find my way to the fax machine!"

"But on the whole it didn't matter what you'd done at university, you just needed some kind of higher qualification to progress." That job led to another administrative role in an adult education centre and then to a series of similar jobs while he studied part-time for a marketing diploma. When a colleague in the public relations department of one college went on maternity leave, Dean stepped in to cover. That experience allowed him to move into his current position as a press officer with a local authority. "Up to the age of 21 or 22, you're not proving yourself in any way except passing exams," he says. "A degree is all very well but my working life had shown me that I had good communication skills."

Dean is an example of what Gilleard calls "career opportunists", people who are quick to recognise and develop their own strengths in the workplace, whatever job they take. This allows them to glide gracefully into other fields and is, he stresses, just as important as academic qualifications. "A lot of graduates think their degree and the classification they got is the be-all and end-all in a job," he says, "but a year later everyone's forgotten what you did at university." Ultimately, because most degrees require students to cover a broad range of topics, someone's qualifications may not, after all, be as unrelated to their career as they first appear, says Gilleard. "There is a move to more specific degrees," he says, "but even someone who's taken a degree in something like golf management may have studied subjects like budgeting and facilities management which can be applied to other areas."

Whatever you study at university, it's the ability to persuade potential employers of what you can do, he stresses, which bring career success. "You've got to market yourself and look at what added value you can offer," he says. "It applies to any degree discipline." Mike Hill, chief executive of the Careers Service Unit, agrees.

"A degree is simply a passport into a job," he says. "Our research shows that within seven years of leaving university, 90% of graduates consider themselves to be in graduate-type jobs whether or not that relates exactly to what they studied. There's no such thing as a useless degree."