If you check the many blogs about study abroad that are out there on the internet, you’ll soon see that most of the reasons given for studying abroad revolve around travelling, making new friends and having a generally great time while you’re still young. Of course, these are all perfectly good reasons, but they do study abroad a disservice.
The one great reason for studying abroad is that it can make a huge difference in your future! Recently, there have been many reports of major Japanese companies becoming disenchanted with the typical graduates being produced by Japanese universities, graduates that are often described as insular and inward-looking and who are not seen as capable of working overseas or even for the many global corporations based in Japan.
One way of getting a competitive edge in the job market is to become more global in outlook, and there is no better way to do this than to study abroad. I was very lucky to be able to study abroad in the UK as a post-graduate student. Of course, I made new friends and got to travel around the UK and Europe, generally having a great time. However, the greatest benefit was how it changed my outlook.
Attending a university in a country with a very different attitude to teaching and learning, while sharing ideas and opinions with students from quite different backgrounds, gave me a great advantage when job-hunting after graduation. I haven’t always made the most of opportunities studying abroad has given me. However, I still appreciate the fact that study abroad gave me much more than good memories: it gave me a chance to become globally oriented, and this continues to benefit me even today.
For more information about studying abroad in the UK click here.