Did you make it to Social Sciences and Law Careers Week 2020?
From 10 – 14 February this year professionals working in a range of career paths popular with Social Sciences and Law graduates came to share their career advice and experience. We heard panel discussions on careers in ‘Government and Policy’, ‘Academia and Research’, ‘Marketing and Communications’, as well as ‘Using Your Degree to Make a Difference’.
If you missed out on any of the talks, don’t sweat! We’ve pulled together information on the speakers’ career paths and their headline hints and tips from each event in a handy Careers Week Resource.
To start you off, here are our five key takeaways from the week:
1. Your wide range of career options
A common theme was the huge variety of roles and positions available to students studying Social Sciences and Law – good news! Many of our speakers have ended up working in an area not directly linked to their degree, or in a role they had never realised existed while at University.
Explore your options and think flexibly about your career, without feeling limited by your degree subject. Take a look at our range of sector guides to help you do this.
2. The value of work experience
Getting as much work experience as you can was frequently recommended by our speakers. Volunteering or working part-time is just as valuable as a paid internship, particularly in the charity or not-for-profit sector.
Make the most of the opportunities available to you now. For tips on finding paid work opportunities and volunteering roles, or ways to develop skills from home, see page 11 of the Careers Week Resource.
3. The importance of self-reflection
Our speakers emphasised how reflecting on their strengths, values and interests had allowed them to find career fulfilment. Thinking about who you are and what motivates you is important for finding a good job fit.
Use your time at University to test out your career ideas. For more advice on how to do this, see page 12 of the Careers Week Resource.
4. It’s ok not to know what you want to do
Exploring careers of interest is a great first step – but if you still don’t know what you want to do, then that’s ok! It can be hard to know whether a job is right for you until you’re actually doing it – and career aspirations often change along the way. Sometimes just diving in and trying something is the best initial step.
For more advice and resources to help if you’re feeling career confused, go to the final page of the Careers Week Resource.
5. Perseverance and resilience are key
Getting to where you want to be in your career is rarely plain sailing. Many of our speakers had faced challenges along the way, including a lower than expected degree classification or sending out numerous applications before having any success. However, the key message was – don’t give up on your goal! With determination and perseverance our speakers had all found their way to fulfilling career paths. And you can too.
Take a look at our recent blog post on resilience for more advice on this.