GoodFortune
Rookie
Thank you so much for your reply it’s very kind of you. I hope to go down the UX researcher route or be a UX designer also called information architect, as I find graphic design difficult it just doesn’t catch my attention ,so no to user interface design and I’m a complete beginner to coding. Also funnily enough I just brought two courses from udemy on sale and booked a 1:1 with the uni course advisor, I also got my first A since high school. Things are looking up. I’ll defo follow your adviceNo need to worry, I still feel like a kid sometimes and I'm 28 lol. I don't think we ever shake that feeling off really. Just remember there is a first time for everything, everyone in the workforce had their first time. You'll adapt to a professional environment. They are just people. They can be as petty, mean or kind, helpful as people in school. Don't overthink it. Some work place are toxic leave when you don't feel fulfilled.
Regarding earning £80k, it depends on what you want to get into. I'm assuming you want to be a UI/UX designer? There are so many paths you can take with that. Focus on gaining experience and working diligently first, £80k is still a long way in your future. The one piece of advice I will give you. Don't be loyal to companies, leave after two years (max), start looking for new opportunities after 1yr, six months, with an aim of a 10% pay rise. If you really like the company, when you get a job offer elsewhere, let them know and see if they'll match it. If not, move on.
If you haven't already, make a portfolio. Always build things, push yourself, practice. There are lots of project ideas on YouTube with tutorials.
Get a GitHub account if you haven't already, put your projects on there. Look for opensource work on there as well and contribute to group projects so you can show off your skills to employers. Maybe give yourself a monthly goal to target different opensource projects.
Get on Udemy and buy one of their UX courses. They are usually £12, sometimes they go up to £100 but that's just temporary. Always buy courses when they are on sale, which is always lol. They usually have a few days of sales and then switch to their 'real' price for a day or two before switching back to the sale prices.
Google start ups in London(are you in London?) and email them for possible internships or junior roles. Angel.co is also great for start up jobs across the UK. Do this even after you get a job too, it's key to increasing your salary.
Go on MeetUp and join groups relating to getting into tech, UX groups, learning to code and other types. This is how you network, meet people working in tech and hear about jobs/internships that aren't advertised widely.
Remember
It may take you awhile to get a job, possibly months (as in close to a year). This is the reality for a lot of grads, don't beat yourself up about it. The rejection is not an indication of your worth, getting that first job can be hard for some. Just keep applying and learning, get a part time job in customer service or something else where you can work from home. It's best to keep yourself busy with other things and earning income while you job hunt. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.