We spoke with Holly, a graduate of Nursing Science about her experience of leaving education behind. And whilst most graduates make the move from England to Australia, Holly did the opposite, moving over to not so sunny England earlier in this year. We asked her some questions about preparing for graduation, making the transition, and moving across the world and working in her desired career!
What degree did you do and when did you graduate?
Bachelor of Nursing Science, graduating end of 2016. I was rather stoked it was just a three-year course!
What was it like coming up to graduating, what was on your mind?
The excitement of graduating and stepping out of being a poor uni student but then also utter panic at not getting a job or getting stuck in a job I hated.
How were you preparing to graduate - did you have a plan for your next steps?
I did a few things. Firstly, I had my main dream of where I wanted to work. I did a placement at this hospital and on my last day baked an extravagant chocolate cake to try to win them over. I may as well have written in white chocolate icing "hire me!!!" Secondly, I had numerous other jobs I applied for as backups. Lastly, in the fear of not getting a job, I tried to give myself a backup option of perhaps being an au pair for 6 months before trying my luck again in getting a job.
What has been the most exciting part of leaving university and education behind?
In all honestly: $$$$$$ haha. In uni whenever I'd go out for a meal I would always look at what was the cheapest option on the menu. I had this nice realisation after starting work that I didn't HAVE to always get the cheapest option but I could get whatever I was craving! Also, another exciting part was no longer having the uni guilts of where you would constantly feel guilty for doing anything other than study. Those were the worst!
What has been the least exciting/challenging part of being outside of education?
Probably realising this was the start of the next 40+ years of working. It was no longer the relaxed working part-time, studying, hanging out with friends, chilled lifestyle but the beginning of full-time work. Something about it made me feel quite trapped!
What was it like moving country after leaving university?
Quite challenging! I had worked for two years in Australia as an operating theatre nurse but always knew I had wanted to move to the UK to make use of having British citizenship (thanks Dad you Sussex boy!) Unfortunately, some degrees are not easily transferable so I had to really jump through hoops to get here. It was all worth it though as I am loving working here so far.
Is there anything about the 'real' world you didn't expect, weren't prepared for?
Just how different what you actually do is from what you studied. In university you're in this bubble where you assume what you're studying will be directly transferable to your new job but I felt like I had to start fresh. Each workplace has its own way of how they do things so you end up spending a lot of time learning their way of doing things. All my friends have felt the same ranging from degrees such as occupational therapy, law, and business.
Is there anything you wish you would have been told about leaving university?
Just how time-consuming and mentally exhausting it is applying for jobs. You realise you're graduating with a rather large cohort and you'll be competing for the same jobs. I wish I had known this as I would have been able to handle things better and not have as many stressy breakdowns (many tears were shed, along the lines of "but what if no one hires me?!")
Three words to describe your transition from university?
Daunting. Exciting. Freedom.
What is your top-tip to offer to someone who is going to be graduating soon?
Show your passion! I can't stress this enough. When I was applying for jobs the thing I remembered most was the quote "they may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel". So when I went for jobs I tried to show how passionate I was about not only what I studied for the job I was going for. I didn't have the highest grades compared to other people but I had a passion which made me get my dream job.
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