Careers helped me to get clear on my path

George Robinson, a Law with Criminology LLB(Hons) student, received invaluable support from the Careers Service. Here they talk about the experience and their time at the University of Brighton.

Careers helped me to get clear on my path…
I was a little bit lost and didn’t really know what I wanted to do after uni, so I booked a meeting with Careers. We talked about my interests and future goals, where I want to live, different graduate jobs and an upcoming careers fair. They helped me figure out that I’m really interested in policy making, in using the statistics of crimes to put through laws, scrutinising bills before they get passed through Parliament and questioning the MPs as to why they want it. I can help so many more people by going down this route, rather than being a barrister.

But first, my Masters…
After considering graduate opportunities in the sector, I also realised that I want to stay on at Brighton and do the Masters in Globalisation: Politics, Conflict and Human Rights, which will help me to get the job I want.

Brighton ticked all the boxes for me…
Brighton might not be a Russell Group but it’s still a very well-respected degree. Plus, Brighton’s Law School is also the only one in the country where the first year is the same for everyone then you can branch off into an area of specific interest such as Law and Business, Law and Criminology or straight Law.

When I viewed the uni, everyone was really inviting. All the staff I spoke to were really positive and it just felt… it felt right, whereas I’d been to other unis where some parts of it were great but then other parts of it just seemed a bit rubbish. Here, the Accommodation team, the Finance team, the Dyslexia and Disability team, all seemed nice and I felt that I would be well supported here.

The city itself is also very vibrant and is a really good place to work out who you are and what you want from life.

My course has helped with my employability…
We do a module dedicated to employability skills. You get taught the academic stuff, but you also write a CV and get to participate in lots of extracurriculars to help you become more appealing to employers. There are also a lot of networking opportunities. Plus, if you ask the head of the course, he’ll try and find someone in the area you want to go into so you can talk to them. They’re very focused on helping us achieve what we want to achieve in life.

Being involved in other aspects of university life helps too…
I’m a Student Residential Adviser in the halls, so I work very closely with the Accommodation Team. I’ve gotten along really well with those guys – they’re amazing and it’s been a great life experience. I’m also the president of the Amnesty Society, which involves working in partnership with Amnesty International. I organise things and set up events so our students know more about what’s going on in the world. I’m also chair of the Societies’ Association committee, which involves making sure all the Students’ Union (SU) societies are running well and students are happy with them. At the moment we’re doing quite a lot of policy writing for the SU, which is also great experience for my future career.