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Graduate case studies

Graduate case studies
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Christopher - 
Business owner

Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

About the job

Main responsibilities

Estimating jobs, scheduling, invoicing, accounting, painting, hiring and hr

Typical day

Estimating jobs, office administration, painting, hearding cats

What do I enjoy about my job?

It's satisfying to complete a job, have it look great and make customers happy.
Not having a boss and getting to choose what clients you work for is also nice.

Challenging aspects

Employee training and job scheduling

Why did this area of work appeal to me?

It allowed me to live and work in my home town and make a better living than the conventional corporate path

Skills/qualifications I use in my job?

From the Msc Management I use accounting, marketing, hr and operations management


Career information

Brief history since leaving University

Trader at Muwon San Francisco Inc. 2/2012-6/2013
Painter at Frohlich Painting and Wallpaper 6/2013-12/2014
Owner of Frohlich Painting and Wallpaper 1/2015-present

Where do I see myself in the future?

I do not plan to study further.
I would like to invest in income producing property to generate passive income and eventually rely less on the painting business for income.


Advice to students

My piece of advice to students

An msc Management is a great personal achievement but it may not get you very far in terms of landing a job. The gap in my CV took me out of the loop in the industry I was in making it difficult to find a job in the same industry after graduation. If you have a good job you might want to hold onto it instead of doing a masters. Then you can save your money and not have to rebuild your savings from zero. Just sayin'....
In terms of a career, buying an existing business with a good reputation and customer base is a good way to go if you want to be self employed


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Last updated: 09 Jul 2017