It showed me my degree actually works in the real world

Posted on: 17 June 2026 in Student experiences

When Jacob first came across the Liverpool Enterprise Experience Programme on Handshake, he wasn’t looking too seriously. He was scrolling, saw a few opportunities, and one stood out straight away: working with the Young Entrepreneurs Club.

The Young Entrepreneurs Club is a business support hub for 18–35-year-old entrepreneurs, built around networking, events, community and making entrepreneurship feel less isolating for young people.

For Jacob, a Business Management student from Brighton, the experience has been more than just another placement. It has given him a chance to see the skills from his degree being used in a real start-up environment, and to realise that the subject he has spent years studying can genuinely take him somewhere.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and what life looks like at the moment.

I’m from Brighton. I went through school and sixth form there and originally I didn’t really want to do a degree. I wanted to do an apprenticeship.

I actually submitted my UCAS form on the night it was due and ended up coming here to study Business Management.

At the moment, life is mostly revising because of exams. I spend most of the day revising, have a little break, then I do the work for the project. It’s not too exciting right now, but normally my life is quite enjoyable and fun. I live with my friends and my girlfriend, so we always have a good time.

And I do like Liverpool. My mum’s from Liverpool, so I couldn’t really say I don’t like it.

How did you first come across the Liverpool Enterprise Experience Programme?

I was just on Handshake. I wasn’t even really looking for anything, I was just scrolling.

A few opportunities came up and I thought the Young Entrepreneurs Club one was definitely the best one for me. So it was just browsing really, but then it felt like something I should go for.

So you applied through Handshake, and then what happened?

I applied and then realised I’d accidentally sent my hospitality CV instead of my university one. So I completely wrote it off. I thought there was no way I’d even get an interview now.

But then I did get an interview and I prepared the night before.

Katie warned me beforehand that it was going to be intense because she asks quick-fire questions to get as much information as possible in a short amount of time. She asked loads and loads of questions. I answered the best I could and then a few days later I got the call saying I’d got the role.

I never got to send the university CV in the end. I’d meant to, but I’d already sent the wrong one. Clearly she still gave me a chance.

What has it been like working with Katie, especially as someone who was recently a student herself?

It’s been a great experience because we’re doing the same course.

It’s a relief to see how the skills from our degree can actually be applied to the real world. If you don’t do internships or work experience during university - which is quite normal because they’re hard to get, then you never really see how your degree is useful until you potentially get a real job.

So it’s good to see that I can do well in the role because of the skills I’ve learned from my degree, and she’s doing well with her business because of her degree as well.

It’s definitely a different relationship because we studied the same thing. It’s more friendly. She’s only a few years older than me too, so it’s not intimidating. It feels more like a chat between two students.

What kind of work have you actually been doing?

Normally, the work week starts with me meeting Katie early in the week. She’ll tell me roughly what she wants and say, “Do it however you want, just present it back to me when you’re ready.”

The first week was speaker research. The second week was venues, like speaking venues and wellbeing venues. Then sponsors. Then investors.

It’s kind of the same format every week, but I’ve got a lot of freedom with how I do the research.

I met Katie in person first, and I was nervous going in. But then I realised she was really approachable. It honestly just felt like talking to a friend.

Is there something you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?

Definitely the speaker research, because it was the first task I had and I honestly had no idea where to start. I didn’t know how to find speakers or what made a good speaker.

But after an hour or two, you kind of get into a rhythm.

I watched clips from Katie’s events as well to understand what entrepreneurs wanted from the club and what kind of people connected with students.

I was also proud of how I presented the research because I used software I’d never used before - Notion. It can be used to make databases and dashboards and things like that.

And researching speakers and successful founders became a personal takeaway too. Listening to successful founders is really valuable as a student because they give a lot of advice about careers and the world. Even if I was just attending the events as a member, it would still be useful because you hear all these success stories and get to network with people.

Have you noticed this experience helping with your university work as well?

Yeah, definitely. Especially presentations and group projects.

No one likes group projects, but presenting in front of people and talking professionally has definitely helped my confidence.

You’ve almost had this balance of theory in the morning and practice later in the day. Do you see a connection between the two?

I’m good at maths exams and I’ve got an accounting exam next week, but the work I’m doing with Katie doesn’t really involve maths. It’s much more practical and I actually like that balance.

I think I’d get bored if my degree and work were exactly the same thing all the time. Even if I studied HR and worked in HR every day, I think I’d get bored of it.

Theory feels very static. I don’t think you consciously think, “I’m using theory right now,” but later you realise you probably were using things you learned without noticing.

What does a typical day or week look like for you at the moment?

At the moment I wake up and go straight to revision for a few hours. Then I go to the gym to clear my head, then I come back and do my work for Katie, then spend time with friends.

If exams are close, I’ll revise again afterwards.

Has anything been particularly challenging?

The biggest challenge so far has definitely been finding investors for the entrepreneurial club.

It’s the only task where I genuinely thought, “I don’t actually know what I’m looking for.”

Katie wanted me to find people who had invested in similar things before - like future entrepreneurs, female entrepreneurs and things like that.

I found a couple, but after that it became very financial and they all had different requirements. I didn’t really know much about that side of things yet.

But it’s also an amazing experience because normally in a corporate environment you’d probably wait years before being exposed to something like that.

What has been the biggest shift in your confidence?

I think after the first few weeks I realised I actually can do this kind of work.

I did Business at A-Level as well, so it made me realise I haven’t spent four years studying something that’s going to be completely useless when I get a job.

Business Management sometimes has a stereotype around it of not being as useful as STEM subjects, so it’s been really validating.

When you were younger and thinking about your future, what did you imagine?

Honestly, I originally wanted to work in criminology. Then when I was about 16 or 17, I realised you don’t really get very far in that career for a long time.

So I panicked a bit and thought I needed a degree apprenticeship so I could get work experience and a degree at the same time.

Then I ended up going to university and I’m really glad I did.

If I was speaking to my younger self now, I’d probably just say that it’s all going to work out.

Have you always worked alongside studying?

Yeah, I’ve worked since I was about 14 or 15.

Back near Brighton I worked in a restaurant for years. Then I came up here and worked in a few different places.

Eventually I realised maybe it wasn’t the workplaces that were the problem - maybe I just didn’t enjoy working in bars and restaurants anymore.

So once I realised that, I knew I needed to make something else work, and I became a tutor.

I still tutor an autistic girl for about ten hours a week. It honestly doesn’t feel like a job. She’s really nice and because she’s autistic it’s not just about sitting there answering questions. You have to make things interactive, so we do maths games and things like that. It’s actually really fun.

What are you hoping to get out of the rest of your time on the programme?

Mainly just more experience around a start-up environment.

I’ve found the events really useful as well, so I want to make the most of that and learn from the founders around me.

I hope I can keep working with Katie in some way. Maybe over the summer, although I’ve got my year in industry. I’m hoping that when I come back from that she’ll welcome me back in.

Would you recommend this kind of experience to another student?

Definitely. There’s nothing really negative about it.

Mine is really flexible. Katie’s not saying, “You must do this at this exact time.” If there’s a meeting or something important, she’ll suggest it, but otherwise I can work in my own time.

There’s really no downside because it’s only giving you experience. It doesn’t have to take over your whole life if you don’t want it to.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say it’s been really insightful and validating for my degree.