Help with career decisions

Studying at AUT leads you along a career path of opportunities, adventures, challenges and surprises. But how do you know you’re on the right career path? If you're not sure – and lots of people are not – then our career specialists can help you consider what to do next.

Making an appointment to see a specialist

To meet with a career specialist , simply book an appointment through Elab Online. It’s easy to log in – just choose ‘Current student’ and enter your Student ID and password.

Log into Elab Online

The 'right' programme choice

If you're struggling to understand a particular topic or have received a low grade for a paper, it is easy to start wondering whether you've made the right programme choice.

Many factors can impact on your ability to do well, including personal and academic challenges. We can help you identify these and find a way to through your challenges, including reassessing your programme choices – just make an appointment with a career specialist by logging into Elab Online.

Download 'Am I in the right programme?'

Considering postgraduate study

Postgraduate study can be a great way to deepen your knowledge and skills to open up better career opportunities. But it's not a way to avoid the workplace!

Some industries and professions require a postgraduate qualification for entry level professional roles – others prefer someone to get workplace experience, then to do postgraduate study.

Before enrolling for postgraduate study, ask yourself:

• Am I interested enough in the subject to want to proceed into more in-depth study?
• Would postgraduate study improve my employment opportunities?
• What thesis/dissertation topic would I enjoy undertaking that would also enhance my career prospects?
• What skills and other attributes will I gain through postgraduate study that will be valuable to employers – and to me?
• Do I have much work experience? If not, how will I fill the experience gap to complement my postgraduate studies?

Download 'Should I do postgraduate studies?'

AUT's postgraduate programmes

Use our resources to build on your knowledge

Learning more about careers and organisations is a good way to find out more about roles and work opportunities that will help you with your career decisions.

Read our career sheets

Find out about the career options associated with AUT degrees. Read career sheets that sound interesting to you or talk about subjects and topics you’re interested in. Build your knowledge of industry trends and job descriptions. Discover what employers may be looking for and what skills are required for careers in each field.

Future Career​ Sheets

Join events and workshops

Employer events and workshops, including career fairs and speaker series, are run during the year to help develop your knowledge of the workplace. Look at Elab Online for workshops and events.

Log into Elab Online to browse and book events and workshops

Develop employability and leadership skills

Sign up for the AUT Edge Award or (for postgraduate students) Beyond AUT Award and you will develop employability and leadership skills, while also improving your networks and gaining NZ work experience. The award is run by the Employability and Careers team.

AUT awards to develop employability and leadership skills

Use our online career resources

Explore information about career decision making and job search through our career resources on Elab Online.

Log into Elab Online to browse career resources

General online resources

There are lots of other online resources, including interest groups on social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Career New Zealand has extensive interactive tools that are free to download and use.

Personal resources

Your family, friends, sports teams, church members, neighbours and teachers are also excellent sources of information, work experience and networking opportunities.

Employability and career appointments

Our team offers individual career counselling to help you explore your career options and support your career decision making.​