Guest blogger Becky Fowell is a BSc (Hons) Geography graduate who has gone from BU student to Assistant Meteorologist. Take a read of her blog to see how being a student here continues to help with her career path – even after graduation!

For me, university seemed like the next step for someone who enjoyed learning and wanted to get a career in the science/research field. Having previously attended a Geography course at another university, I was attracted to the course at Bournemouth because of the weekly fieldwork and small size of the class (around 35 people). These aspects gave hands-on, practical experience as well as a close-knit and personal feel.

Both staff and students were always happy to help – open office hours meant that staff were available most of the time – and Peer-Assisted Learning sessions in first year really helped introduce you to both the course and life at uni. from a student who had gone through it all previously. My tutor also helped me massively throughout the course! Not only did she give lots of advice when starting to prep my dissertation, but she also gave me the opportunity to carry out a work placement in Portugal in a research sector I am interested in moving into. The fact you have to carry out a 10-week work placement was initially very scary, but in hindsight was extremely useful as it gives you that industry experience that employers are looking for!

But uni isn’t just about the course you take. The friends I made throughout uni are definitely going to be with me for life. You experience the stress of deadlines together and are always there to celebrate when everything’s handed in. With that, I would 100% recommend joining a society! I was part of the Dance Society and it helped make my uni experience that extra special. It allowed me to carry on with a hobby I enjoyed before uni and gave me that chance to improve my CV and become Treasurer of the society. However, if there’s no current society that suits you, there is nothing stopping you from making a new one!

When starting BU, I aimed to go into the research field in natural hazards, primarily volcanology, but throughout the course my interests changed and now, although still intending to go into the research field, I would like to go into the marine renewable energy sector. Annoyingly, I didn’t realise that I wanted to go into this field for certain until April of my final year, so applying for a Masters course seemed like a bit of a rush at the time. Therefore, I applied for a job that was brought to my attention by our placement coordinator and just so happened to be lucky enough to get it!

As an Assistant Meteorologist, I relay weather data to insurance companies to help them decide whether to pay out a weather-related claim. I am also currently working on redesigning the company website and applications, which I’m really enjoying! I am constantly learning throughout my job and I am using knowledge I gained throughout my degree to help improve the company and establish the best way to collect and develop the data we collate.

Even after graduating from BU, the uni. has been extremely helpful career-wise. I do still intend to complete a Masters course in September 2020 and the careers advisors have been lovely in helping with that! I would say the earlier you know what you want to do, the better, but I attended a careers fair in my home town in February of my final year and all I took from that was that I missed the boat in regards to graduate programmes etc. This got me extremely worried and stressed which, in hindsight, was not necessary. Take as long as you want to decide what you want to do after uni. because you do really have to enjoy what you’re doing! Just don’t give up and always ask around as you never know who knows who!

There’s definitely something special about BU. The uni always has a certain buzz about it, even at the weekends, and the stunning beach [and the variety of nightlife opportunities] is brilliant to have on your doorstep!