Career & Financial Advice

Are you wondering if a career in the trades is right for you? Working with your hands, tools and big machines can pay off in a big way and starting your career in the trades can sometimes take less than a year of post-secondary training.

Nearly half of all the almost 71,000 job openings predicted for British Columbia over the next decade will be in the trades and technology fields. As technology advances, most of those careers in trades will require training by a certified institution such as Vancouver Island University.

You’re going to spend the next few years with your nose buried in textbooks, cramming for exams and befriending your local barista. But what is life like on the other side? Will you just fall into a job? How will you find your dream career? Four VIU grads share their path from university student to working adult.

There is so much going on at college or university that finding time to study, participate in extracurricular activities, work and socialize can seem like an impossible schedule to keep up with.  Four Vancouver Island University students shared their tips for balancing school, work and fun.

It’s that time of year again. Another group of Vancouver Island University graduates are getting ready to cross the stage and head off into the real world – or into graduate programs.

What’s the secret to success in your university studies and beyond? How do you avoid burnout? Why should you try a different type of class? How do you figure out what’s next? Here’s some advice from recent graduates and alumni.

Tuition and textbooks, rent and parking passes – oh my!

It can feel a little daunting being a post-secondary student when considering the bills. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources and approaches that can help you get through school without breaking the bank. Of course, it can be easy to miss out on opportunities if you don’t know where to look. Check out these tips to help you get the best bang out of your student bucks.

We start thinking about what we want to be when we grow up long before we have even taken our first step inside of a school. Perhaps we are influenced by what our parents or Uncle Bob does, or we are genetically predisposed to be better at certain things. However, as we cross the path from child to young adult, the route isn’t always as clear anymore.

At Vancouver Island University, education is a much richer experience than simply sitting in a lecture hall, taking notes and hitting the books in the library.

School is almost finished and you’re ready to go out and find the perfect summer job. Want to ensure you get the most out of the experience? VIU’s former Lead Student Ambassador, Caitlin Mangiacasale, shares some tips to take your summer job from mediocre to marvellous.

So you want to attend university, but you’re not sure how you’re going to pay for it? The good news is most students don’t realize how much is potentially available to them. Here are several tips from VIU’s Financial Aid & Awards office to ensure a smooth monetary start to your post-secondary journey.