Being open-minded in all facets of life can only help you

How was your time at the university?

I had a great time at the University of Sheffield! From the positive experience at the open day, I knew it had potential to be the city I wanted to study in. I liked how green it was. My hometown is very hilly so I really liked the topography of Sheffield. I also wasn’t really looking for a big metropolis, it all seemed busy yet manageable. 

I really enjoyed the course; the curriculum was well designed as the first year was very broad so you could cover a lot of areas. Modules then got more granular and deeper each year. Getting to study topics like the sociology of evil and masculinity and gender studies still stick out to me today. 

I think a large part of my enjoyment throughout the degree was due to the bonds I made with other students and the faculty itself. The staff really made an effort to connect with the student body, and even maintain those relationships after graduation. Many of the academic staff were really approachable and welcomed questions outside of lectures and seminars.

Why did you decide to choose sociology?

Originally, I wanted to study psychology at A-Level but it was only a one year course and wouldn’t have resulted in a full qualification. So, I studied sociology instead. This seemed to be one of those blessings in disguise because I found the subject fascinating. When it came to thinking about what to study at university I knew it was what I wanted to do (even though it wasn’t my best grade!). 

How has your degree influenced your career?

Choosing to study sociology wasn’t a career choice for me. I know not everyone can afford to be experimental with what they do with their degree but I was lucky enough to be able to study something that I found academically engaging. The subject definitely expands your worldview and I think being open-minded in all facets of life can only help you. 

As I approached graduation, all I knew was that I wanted to stay in Sheffield. I found myself a temp job at FindAUniversity through the university’s career services and now I’m still here eight years later running the Client Services team. 

What’s your favourite part of being Head of Client Services?

The people have always been great, and that’s still my favourite part of the job. Working in client services, you’re kind of a jack-of-all-trades. There’s a large variety of work which both the team and I enjoy. At the moment, we're looking at exploring more customer success elements to introduce into the Client Services team to help improve our clients' experience

What advice would you give current and prospective students?

It’s a terrible cliche and will probably fall on deaf ears (as I’m sure it did with me at the time) but the thing I would say is you will never have this much free time ever again. Join societies, do a show on Forge radio, join your student committee and use your summers to work and gain experience. Just have fun with the time you have and try new things!

But for some more practical advice, these would be my top ten tips:

1. Set aside a chunk of time everyday to work on assignments and you’ll be fine.
2. Create a bibliography as you write your essays, it’s much easier than doing it at the end.
3. Find academics whose thinking is congenial to yours and build bonds with your faculty.
4. Pick modules that you like the sound of, regardless of who else is studying it
5. Your first and second year living scenarios are complete lotteries, so focus on making your third year house the best one.
6. Don’t live off meal deals or Subway. If you actually meal plan you’ll save money and generally feel better. Instagram and TikTok have loads of recipe accounts for inspiration.
7. Call and thank your parents often. University bubbles everyone and it’s easy to become self-absorbed quickly, so just call them.
8. If you’ve come out of university having one or two friends for life, you’ve succeeded.
9. Don’t forget when bin day is. Take your bins out!
10. Location, location, location. The place I lived on Parkers Road had terrible damp in the downstairs bedroom and the shower was underneath the stairs, but it did have an alley connected to a Tesco which was really convenient.