What Do You Actually Do?

Pretty much any student at York can do a placement year or year in industry! And right now second/middle year students can register for the programme. With that in mind, we thought it would make sense to speak to a York student just back from a year out in the world of work. Toby studies History and spent his placement year working in recruitment for Reed. It sounded like a lot of fun. In this epi...

Cass is a freelance climate communications consultant in Belgium, working with NGOs, charities and ethical organisations to help them improve their communications and translate the good work they are doing into words the public and policymakers understand. This is a fascinating conversation for anyone interested in: freelancing, working in comms and making a career in climate activism. Cass has so...

Lots of people want to work in the rail industry and York graduate Laura has made it happen. She is Technical Head of System Safety at Network Rail, which means it's her job to make sure the railways are safe. Get an insight into what's going on in the sector and what this kind of work is actually like. Laura's bio: I gained a Masters of Engineering at the University of York before sta...

For grads interested in heritage, Rebecca Thompson might just have the dream job (she describes it as 'one of the best jobs in the world'): Senior Estate Manager at English Heritage, where she cares for over 400 buildings and monuments in England. She has lots of info to help people wanting to get into the sector, including how to network, skills shortages and the impact of climate change....

What does an investigative journalist actually do?? Sam Bright studied History at York while running a politics blog in his spare time. He's now the UK Deputy Editor at DeSmog and has written two books. Sam tells Kate what his day looks like and shares his tips for students interested in this kind of work. Sam's bio: Sam Bright is a journalist and author who has written two books: Fortress...

We get a lot of questions about Speech and Language Therapy careers. It's a hugely rewarding area of work where you support and care for people of all ages who have difficulties with speech, language, communication, eating, drinking and swallowing. York graduate Jess is a Speech and Language Therapist working with adults with learning disabilities. Find out about what she does each day and how she...

Want to work in the television industry? Tim Dean knows how to make it happen! He graduated from York with a degree in Social Policy and now has 20 years' experience in TV. Tim and Kate talk about how he got into the industry, why you don't need a media degree and what it's actually like producing TV every day. Transcript and useful links on the blog . Tim's bio: BAFTA and RTS award winning E...

Kate talks to York graduate Jack about training to be a barrister. Jack studied History and decided to train as a barrister after completing the Teach First Programme. Jack explains what skills you need, what he does each day and how you shouldn't be put off by thinking it isn't a career for you. Full transcript and useful links on the blog . Jack's bio: Hi, I'm Jack, a graduate of the University...

Something a bit different in this episode - Kate speaks to two Uni of York colleagues about imposter syndrome . What is it? Why does it happen? How can you deal with it? What support is out there for you? In Careers we hear a lot of students mentioning impostor syndrome in relation to their studies and career planning. We also hear it from graduates - and it's come up on the podcast a lot! - so we...

Bethany is a York graduate and director of Experience Heritage , where she uses her expertise in archaeology and interest in digital storytelling to bring history to live in innovative ways. That could mean augmented reality experiences, interactive heritage apps and digital animation. Bethany tells us how she started her own company after realising there was a gap in the market where she could co...

Interested in startups or working for yourself? That's what this episode is all about. Toby Cannon graduated from York in 2019 with a degree in Computer Science. He now runs Myles , a startup that began as an app allowing people to complete virtual challenges by tracking their fitness activity. He explains what his day looks like, what it takes to work in a startup and what students can do to foll...

Vinusha is a York History student who completed a placement year in the NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group as a Quality and Safeguarding Support Officer. Vinusha explains what she got out of her placement and has tips for current students starting their placement or work experience search. Full transcript and useful links on our blog. Vinusha's bio: I am currently a History undergraduate st...

Want a job in research? Or interested in working in the media? This episode is for you. Today Kate talks to Lucy, York grad and current Journalism Researcher at BBC News, about what her job is actually like. There's a full transcript and useful links on our blog. Lucy's Bio: Lucy is a Journalism Researcher at BBC News, specialising in home and social affairs. Before joining the BBC, she worked as...

Think you want to be a CEO? Interested in marketing, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) or the world of ethical business? This episode is for you. John Steel is the CEO of Cafédirect and has worked his way up through a number of FMCG businesses after beginning his career in a marketing grad scheme. Even if you're not interested in this area of work, it's worth listening for John's insights into fin...

Ben graduated from York with a degree in Philosophy and after a few years found himself working in the financial services sector for Deloitte. It wasn't something he planned. In the episode Ben explains how his first impressions of the sector were wrong, how you don't need a 'big summer internship' to get into finance and how he's found a job that's a perfect fit for his strengths and skills. His...

This episode is for anyone interested in international development or the humanitarian sector. Rob Simmons works in Somalia for Committed to Good and was speaking to Kate from a shipping container at the airport in Mogadishu. Rob tells us what you need to get into this kind of work, the best bits and the worst bits. He also shares his advice on how students can approach people working in the secto...

Did you know that each summer loads of York students do an internship through the Student Internship Bureau (SIB)? SIB advertises paid, project-based internships in and around York that are exclusively for York students. In this episode Kate talks to Ashley, an Interactive Media student who recently completed an internship as a graphic designer at Experience Heritage . She talks about what it's li...

The worst of the pandemic might (hopefully) be behind us but the world of work has permanently changed because of Covid-19. Remote working is here to stay for many people and some sectors hit hard by the pandemic are still to properly recover. For our students, you may have had fewer chances to build up work experience. What does all this mean for your graduate job search? In this episode we hear...

Kadi is an environmental consultant who coordinates and project manages the environmental inputs for big infrastructure projects. She's also a York Environmental Science graduate. In this episode Kadi and Kate talk about what she does each day, the parts of the job she likes the most, and what York students interested in environmental consulting can do right now to prepare for their future careers...

Interested in a non-academic job in higher education? In this episode Kate talks to Victoria Brooks about her job as Widening Participation and Outreach Project Officer at the University of Liverpool. This is a really interesting area of higher education work. Read the blog for a transcript and some useful links . Victoria's bio: Victoria is currently working at a Russell Group University in Widen...

Neil studied Physics with Philosophy at York and has been working at the European Space Agency since 2002. His full job title is Parabolic Flight and Drop Tower Coordinator and Payload Systems Engineer. Listen to the episode to find out more about exactly what he does, how he managed to get the job and his advice for students wanting a similar career. The transcript and useful links are on our blo...

In this episode Kate talks to Dan, a York graduate working as a prison officer on the Unlocked grad scheme. Find related links and a transcript of this episode on our blog. Dan's bio: Dan is a 2019 graduate from the University of York and currently a band three prison officer in a category B local remand men’s prison. He was placed and supported by Unlocked Graduates , a graduate leadership develo...

Thanks for listening this autumn. Here's a preview of what's coming up in Spring Term. If you haven't already, follow us on your chosen podcast platform so you don't miss them.  In the meantime, enjoy your vacation. If you're planning to do some career research or job hunting during the break, don't forget that the podcast is one of many resources you can access as a University of York Studen...

Management consultancy is always a popular job area with our students, but do you actually know what the job is like? Today Kate chats to Jo Auger about what she does all day, the skills she uses, and the best and worst bits. Jo has been a Management Consultant since graduating in 2006.  She started her career on Capgemini's graduate scheme, moved to EY in 2015 and has been at Gate One since...

Attention music students! In this episode Benji Merrison explains how he created a career for himself as a composer for film and television after graduating from York. He takes us through what his job is like day-to-day and how he got there.  Benji Merrison is an award winning composer providing bespoke music for Film and Television. He has devoted his life to music.  He was recognised a...