January 10, 2017, by Bethany Ramshaw

What to Expect From a Spotlight On

by Bethany Ramshaw, second-year, studying biosciences

There are a lot of degrees that naturally lead onto a specific career. Lots of students who study medicine go on to be doctors; a common path for law students is to go on to be solicitor. The clue is very often in the title of the course – but not always.

What to do when you don’t know what to do

When I sat down at Spotlight On: Animal Science Careers, I was unsure what to expect. I only have a vague idea of what I want to do after I graduate; I’ve thought about a masters, PhD or a veterinary medicine degree, but I’ve also considered going into research, being a technician, or even a zookeeper. I was excited to hear from real people, about what they did after graduating from the University’s animal science course.

I had done a little bit of research about what kind of careers my degree can lead to. If you haven’t yet, take a look at choosing your career on the Careers website. There’s a wealth of information about what you can go on to do and where you can go on to do it. What I wanted to do now was ask my questions to someone who had done it.

Real people, real stories

Whether it’s a universal thing or just me, I found that listening to real people chat about their job and career aspirations a lot more engaging than trawling through hundreds of webpages. I was quickly being shown that there’s a broad range of careers that graduates like me can go into, and I didn’t have to put very much work in to find out about them.

That’s the great thing about these sessions – you can interact with the speakers sitting in front of you, and in fact, you’re actively encouraged to. After the speakers had been introduced, there was a chance for questions from the audience, which was helpful. Hearing other people’s questions often highlights something you hadn’t thought about, but is actually useful to know.

My questions answered

If, like me, you’re a little bit frightened of putting your hand up, there was plenty of time given at the end of the session to mingle with the speakers, and ask them as many questions you could think of. I was drawn to the girl who had completed her degree, worked abroad for a year or two, and then come back to the University to study Veterinary Medicine.

Although the entire session was enlightening, it was the last half hour I particularly enjoyed, and really benefited from. Being able to interact with the speakers who had once been in my shoes was an invaluable use of my time, and one I would recommend to any student.

Looking for an insider’s perspective into different sectors? Spotlight On and our jobs and sector events are for you. Hear from professional people, find out how to successfully navigate the recruitment process, and ask the questions that matter to you. This term’s programme kicks off on Thursday 8 February 2018. 

Editors note: this post was originally published in 2017, but has been updated for accuracy in 2018. 

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