Progress to Postgrad: Jaimie

Posted on: 28 November 2023 by Richard Finch in Graduate stories

Jaimie Smithson is a Class of 2022 BSc Marine Biology graduate is now studying on the MRes Advanced Biological Science programme.

The University of Liverpool has a great passion for Marine Welfare and choosing to continue my studies was a key step in increasing my knowledge and developoing my career. When I complete my course I’ll be more qualified for future research which will have global positive repercussions on countless marine animals.

I completed my undergraduate course in Marine Biology at the University of Liverpool and after this, I began an MA in Wildlife Documentary Production, which I quickly realised was not hands on enough for me.

As a result I subsequently dropped out and worked in Costa Rica for three months as a Research Assistant at Pacuare Reserve, teaching people about Leatherback turtles and how to conserve them.

This rekindled by passion for wildlife conservation and got me excited to start applying for postgraduate opportunities. I was accepted at Liverpool and couldn’t be happier!

I would say my favourite experience after graduating was living in Costa Rica for 3 months. I spent every night with university students, teachers and professors, teaching them about turtle conservation, all whilst working on and collecting data from around 7 turtles every night.

After I left my initial MA course I was extremely lost and felt like I was falling behind my peers. It took a lot of ereslience to overcome this self-doubt and understand that everyone has their own journey.

My advice to current students and recent graduates:

1. Understand that things do not come as quickly as you think. It took me withdrawing from an MA and a whole year after graduation to realise what my passion was.

2. Grades do matter, but they’re not everything. My main asset was my ability to connect with people and sell myself. The lectures and seminars talking about this are very important and you should use them to your advantage.

3. Do not see it as a failure if you don’t get a job associated with your degree right away. A lot of people don’t. Use that time to connect with people who inspire you and create a plan for what you need to do in the future to better your chances of getting your dream job.