One of the best things about studying for a degree is that your course will not only give you the specific skills and knowledge to take on a career in your area of study, but also teaches you transferable skills that can be used in many careers across the job spectrum.

There are many employers who are not specific about what your degree is in, just that you have shown that you can work to a degree level and have the skills associated with that. This means that as you graduate, the world really is your oyster.

It means that you can work in something that you are really passionate about or do jobs which really interest and suit you. With this in mind, here is a selection of jobs which are slightly out of the ordinary but could be ideal for you:

Renewable Energy
Enabling the country to use more and better renewable energy is ideal for some people – especially those with a passion for all things ‘eco’. The renewable energy sector is relatively new, but definitely here to stay and growing, and there are numerous jobs available in this area.

Wind turbine and solar panel installation, maintenance and design, for example, would be perfectly suited to engineers; marketing, running the business day-to-day, HR or health and safety are all jobs that need to be filled and ideal for different graduates.

Working in the renewable energy field allows you to work in something that is making a difference to the world, in your own way.

Head-hunter or Recruiter
Recruiting the correct people is essential for all businesses and they place a lot of power into the hands of head-hunters and recruiters. As a head-hunter or recruiter, you are responsible for finding not only the ideal candidates for a business but also the right job for a candidate.

You will work closely with businesses to be able to understand exactly what they are looking for, build rapports with candidates, need to be a great judge of character and communicator and a good understanding of businesses, how they work and what they want,

Payment is usually part salary and part commission and there is a lot of opportunity to earn good money if you are good at what you do.

Professional Bridesmaid
People who hire a professional bridesmaid aren’t usually trying to hire friends. What they actually are looking for is someone who can help to take some of the stress away from the bridal party – usually in the planning of the wedding.

Your duties as a professional bridesmaid usually include a lot of planning and its execution. These tasks might include helping with wedding dress shopping, organising hen nights, dealing with invitations and save the date cards, organising contractors like caterers, photographer, band, helping the bride on the day with hair and make-up and dealing with unexpected events.

Working as a professional bridesmaid you need to be someone who is sensitive and compassionate, has great attention to detail, a good project manager and someone who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

Funeral Services Manager
The idea of working in funerals might seem off-putting, but actually, helping someone to get a good send-off is one of the most important and honourable things that you can do for people (and their families).

A funeral services manager will manage the running of a funeral parlour, helping families to plan the funeral of their deceased loved ones. You need to be well-organised, a good people person and sensitive and empathetic. Some people also help with the submission of documents to make the whole process quicker and easier for the families.

Ethical Hacker
The IT world faces the threat of hacking every day and it is often a race to see who can beat the systems quickest which decides on whether hackers are successful or not. An ethical hacker works on behalf of a business or the government (nationally and internationally) to help to prevent unethical hackers to get in and cause havoc.

As an ethical hacker, you need to have the IT skills as well as a brain that thinks in a similar way to those criminals. You look for weaknesses in IT systems as well as give advice about how to strengthen these weaknesses.

There are hundreds of jobs that are a little out of the ordinary but can offer you a great career, which uses some of the transferable skills that you have learned at university. And the best thing about these jobs is that they can give you the opportunity to work in something that you really care about and will give you a long and happy career.