Study in Sweden – What next?

Your time in Sweden will go by faster than you think, and along with one thing ending always comes the questions of what to do next. I am writing this post a couple of days after I have handed in my master thesis, which also means that I am (unofficially) done with my master’s degree. Having studied abroad, and especially in Sweden, is a huge plus. Personally, culturally, academically, and professionally this will make you a very interesting candidate, and the experience of mastering to live abroad all of a sudden opens new options that you would have never considered for your life. In this post I want to illustrate some of these options and remind you to start thinking about your future while you study in Sweden, and not just a couple of weeks before you are done.

Option 1: Study more

Whether you just finished your Bachelor’s degree, or even your Master’s, there is always the option to get another degree. If you enjoy studying, improving your education can be one meaningful way to spend the next couple of years. Maybe you loved Sweden so much that you want to stay longer and study more here? But maybe you also just started getting excited about living abroad and want to get a taste of another country? The options are (almost) endless.

If you are not interested in (another) Master’s degree, there is also the option of pursuing a PhD. A PhD is something between a job and studying, it is usually a four-year program during which you do research at a University, within the field of your previous degree and finish with writing your dissertation. If everything goes well you will be awarded the PhD degree, the next highest academic qualification after your Master’s degree. Sweden also offers a lot of PhD programs in English, which you can find out more about here.

Option 2: Doing an internship

Internships are a good way to gain practical experience on top of your academic training. Sometimes you can do an internship as part of your degree and earn credit points for it, but often you just have to show initiative yourself and do an internship in the summer break or before/after your degree. Internships are also a perfect opportunity to check out certain jobs and see if this is something you could imagine doing after you graduated. They might also help you make a more informed decision on what to study, or to find out what might actually not appeal to you so much. Nowadays you can of course also use an internship for spending time abroad, in Sweden or elsewhere. By the way, you might want to apply early! For a longer internship (3-6 month), applications often start up to a year before!

Option 3: Working

Sooner or later we do however all have to start working! So for some of you it might be time to start doing that after studying in Sweden. Having an education from one of the countries with the world’s best education will definitely make an impression on your future employer. But of course education is not everything. Having done internships or voluntary work always look good on your resume too, and speaking the local language is almost a must if you want to work abroad. And here again: Be early! Do your research, collect your documents, and apply as soon as possible. You can of course also try to find a permanent job in Sweden, for more information click here.

I hope this post will help you sort your thoughts a bit on what to do after studying in Sweden and motivate you to start thinking about this as early as possible.

I personally love studying and decided that a one year Master’s degree does not satisfy me yet (you can read about my experiences with my Master’s in Applied Ethics here). Unfortunately I did not get into the programs I liked in Sweden, but I am staying in the cold North and moving to Finland after the summer to start a 2-year Master’s in Global Sociology. Let’s see what happens after that 🙂

Good luck with whatever you plan to do!

Stay tuned.

/Justine

Credits featured image: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

Justine

Written by Justine

06 Jun 2017