Top three tips for University:
- My first piece of advice would be to join at least one society. Not only is it a great way to meet new people, but it's also a chance to bolster your CV with potential committee positions available in your second and third years which can be really useful to give you important experience in teamwork and communication!
- Secondly, it's very easy to fall behind on your studies in the first semester, after all, there's loads going on and university work sometimes tends to take a backseat, my advice is to make sure you stay on top of your work whilst maintaining a good social life
- Lastly, I would advise learning to cook before arriving at university, rather than after! I have made this mistake myself and consumed too many frozen pizzas in my first few weeks
Why did you choose your course?
It's really quite normal for people to not know what they want to do with their life so early, so I chose Economics with a Year in Industry as I thought would develop a variety of different skills and not close any doors for the future.
Economics is a programme which would allow me to pursue whatever I wanted: Economics is perfect for this! It's a good blend of maths (which I enjoy!) and business experience which I can use later in life.
What skills have you developed?
One of the best traits to come out of university with is employability; to enhance this, modules in the Economics course are geared towards supplying students with real-world experience.
This includes soft skills like presenting and teamwork, as well as technical skills like Excel and the use of a Bloomberg terminal. Furthermore, depending on your preferences, you are quickly able to tailor your course to suit what you want through optional modules.
Personally, I enjoy finance so I chose to select modules geared towards that.
Why did you choose to become a student ambassador?
I love the course, I love the university and I love the city, so deciding to apply to be a student ambassador seemed like an easy way to improve my communication and public speaking skills whilst also informing prospective students of what to expect at Liverpool.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of taking a Year in Industry?
Even if you are not considering taking a Year in Industry, it is still worth putting in a few applications because you never know what you might get back!
If you're sure that a year in industry is for you, make the most of the employment preparation module in semester two, because it really does teach essential skills for when you are applying to jobs/placements.
My best piece of advice is to start early, It may seem like a hassle, but the summer between years 1 and 2 is the best time to start your search for a placement as some of the best companies will hire early, so don't miss out!
What have you enjoyed about living in Liverpool?
There's so much to do in Liverpool and living on campus puts you right at the heart of all the action.
Liverpool is a city where everything feels close together as the campus is only a five-minute walk to the town centre and all of the shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and clubs are really close together when you get there!
What have you enjoyed most about your student experience?
I really enjoyed being involved and having a sense of responsibility when I came to university I quickly joined the badminton society and played in the first team in my first year and in the second year, I became part of the committee where I could play an active role in the organisation of the society.
I've enjoyed having an active role in my course; as well as the student ambassador role, I was also the student representative for my course in my second year, which allowed me to voice my opinions and relay the thoughts of my peers.
Aside from this, I have really enjoyed my social life whilst here, making new friends and making the most of my time with them at university has been a highlight of my experience so far.
What are your future career goals?
I am currently doing my own year in industry at Centrica which I am really enjoying so far.
There are so many things that I could do in the future, but a short-term goal would be for me to get accepted into the Centrica finance grad scheme to pursue my interests in finance and see where that takes me!