The Careers Service can help you plan for your next steps after Imperial, whether you are interested in getting a job or applying for a PhD. This page gives a quick overview of our support for master’s students and our page on the Master’s career journey has more detailed information.

Timescales

The timescales can be tight for master’s students, as many Master’s are one-year courses. In the UK many jobs are advertised to final year (undergraduate or postgraduate) students with deadlines as early as October, to start the job a year later after the student has graduated. So, some students may be applying for their next step as early as the autumn (October, November, December), when they have only just started their master’s course. If this is a job market you are interested in, access our JobsLive system as soon as you start your course to make the most of the opportunities available.

Many master’s students will be considering a PhD as their next step. Applying in the autumn can maximise your chances of getting funding for a PhD, so some master’s students will be applying for a PhD at the start of their course. For other students, they may not be ready to commit to a specific PhD programme at that stage. To learn more about applying for PhDs, see our further study pages.

Many students may need more thinking time and may wish to use the Careers Service later in the academic year or even after they graduate. We support all alumni for three years after they graduate, so get in touch with us whenever is the right time for you to get support for your career. 

What’s on

From your first day at Imperial you can access our JobsLive system where you will find details of our busy programme of events for the autumn term, including the leading companies attending our careers fairs. While you are setting up your profile on JobsLive, make sure you sign up to receive our weekly newsletter on so that you don’t miss out.

JobsLive also gives you access to:

  • Internships and jobs advertised specifically to Imperial students
  • Access to the many talks and presentations from employers happening every week year round
  • Workshops in our Career Essentials and Labs programme which teach career-related skills such as making applications, interviewing and career planning

Attributes & Aspirations

Attributes & Aspirations is an interactive online short course that supports you plan your future and build skills that will make you a better student. AA will be available from early September and throughout your course for all Master's students in the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Natural Sciences.

Don’t miss

The Imperial Careers Service publication, CVs, Cover Letters, and Personal Statements - including examples you can use to produce your own effective, professional job or further study application documents.

Our ‘PhD or not?’ workshop, to help you think about whether a PhD would suit you and what your next steps should be to find the right PhD opportunity for you. This workshop is repeated throughout the year and is part of our programme of Career Labs. See JobsLive to book.

The Graduate School

We work in partnership with the Graduate School to deliver workshops specifically for Master’s students including:

  • CVs, Cover Letters and Application Forms
  • Developing Your Career Through Networking
  • Interview Skills
  • Stepping Up: Masters to PhD

Find out the times/dates and sign up at Graduate School: Moving Forward

International students

If you are an international student it is important to know about the visas available if you want to work in the UK after graduation. Find out more from the international students section of our website, and the Imperial International Student Team.