After being at university for five years studying my third degree on International Relations, my jobs have included interning at an online feminist magazine, a public relations assistant at a Japanese pop culture convention, freelancing at a cool online student magazine (psst… Uni Junkee) and now working in a factory.

From these widely different jobs, I’ve learned loads of things that I wouldn’t be able to learn in the classroom and gained skills that I wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere. In the current job market, you need to be a jack-of-all-trades.

Scoring a job that doesn’t relate to your major can actually look great on your resume.

Your Future Career May Not Exist Yet

William Vanderburgh, a higher education executive and consultant, wrote about the future of the workforce for LinkedIn, “In 1990, no one could have predicted the existence of, let alone the huge importance of, companies such as Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter in the 2000s. So we should expect that the hot jobs 20 years from now won’t be in fields we can even imagine today.”

More likely than not, you’ll have a career that doesn’t even exist yet and your time at uni hasn’t even prepared you for that particular career.

Professor Johanna Wynn from the University of Melbourne’s Youth Research Centre backs this up by saying, “The Life Patterns longitudinal study shows that many people get jobs in areas that are surprising – a ‘major’ doesn’t necessarily mean one is destined to work directly in that field. It’s probably a mistake to think of there being a solid relationship between area of study and specific jobs in the labour market.”

More likely than not, you’ll have a career that doesn’t even exist yet.

Imagine studying computer science in the 90s and watching your whole profession grow and expand the way it has. Consider that careers in social media, robotics and digital publishing exist now. We never know what’s coming.

It’ll Make You More Versatile 

Not only is your career yet to be determined, all of your jobs will teach you different skills.

For me, I learned how to write press releases, use accounting software, and figure out how to tackle hard topics with co-workers. While unpaid internships might look sweet and help you get a job in your field, getting actually paid while having life skills is better.

You Can Create A Network

Networking at different functions can be so beneficial, even if you don’t think it’s directly related to your career interests. These new networks you’re making might have connections with other organisations that’ll become beneficial for you down the line.

Build Up Your Confidence 

Not everyone has strong confidence in their capabilities. Working in different jobs can build up your skillset and make you feel ready to tackle any job that comes your way.

Surprise Yourself

You could be just as happy, or happier if you challenge yourself and try different things. You’ll never know unless you give it a go!

Sinead Simpkins studies Master of Arts at University of New England. When she’s not studying, she’s still waiting for her Hogwarts letter.

(Lead image: Fried/BBC)