Transitioning from Academia to Professional Services

As my time in the Research Office at York St John was coming steadily to a close, I was asked to write a small post about my experience transitioning from student life to becoming a Postgraduate Researcher Co-Ordinator, and a few additional titbits on my experience of life over the last seven months living and working in York. My story is just one of many thousands about young people trying to figure out employment, life, study, and ‘adulting’ in one of the most volatile periods of modern British history and, to provide proof to point, I am currently writing this amidst the resignation of the Prime Minister - a poignant example of the volatility of the times. However, I am not writing this to be yet another article to be thrown upon the doom and gloom pile, or even something to doom-scroll through on your phone on a melancholic Sunday evening. Instead, I’m hoping that my experience may be helpful or relatable in some way for anyone who experiences any anxieties about post-academic life - or life in general. If there is anything the last couple of years have taught me, it's that sometimes life simply isn’t something you can plan for. My former A-Level history teacher would always advise us to ‘embrace the chaos’ and ‘prepare for the worst but hope for the best.’ This advice has stuck with me ever since, and continues to be my best advice for anyone embracing change, whether it be a new job opportunity, or advancing to new academic horizons. I had no idea what I wanted coming out of university, even at postgraduate level, but I knew that with hard work and the support of my family and friends, I could ‘embrace the chaos’ and find something that I could enjoy while helping others in any capacity I could. I feel so lucky to have found myself where I am now for these reasons. To have been provided the opportunity to work with and among an inspiring group of postgraduates and colleagues has been so rewarding, and I feel so fortunate to have been able to use my role to benefit others.  

And so, with a subtle blend of overconfidence, fear, and reckless abandon, I found myself diving headfirst into the wide world of work, come what may.

For many of us, this year has marked the beginnings of the slow recovery of our social lives in the wake of the trials of the last two years. Looking back, it seems like so much has changed even in the last seven months, not just for myself but for everyone across the globe. It's safe to say that when I finalised my postgraduate degree in late September 2021, I underestimated the difficulty I would face finding a job, but at the time I was still riding the high of my MA results; knowing that all my efforts during 2021 had come to fruition had, in the words of lyricist Damon Albarn, ‘given me a sense of enormous wellbeing (parklife).’ Academia was all I knew, but I felt unprepared to advance to a PhD level. As much as I worried about embracing life beyond academia, I knew work would provide me with the skills and the confidence I so desperately needed for my own future career progression. And so, with a subtle blend of overconfidence, fear, and reckless abandon, I found myself diving headfirst into the wide world of work, come what may. Gone was my cosy academic safety blanket! It had been replaced with the hard floor of the monotonous job-hunting cycle: application submission; resubmitting information already on my CV; rejection on account of my lack of experience; rinse and repeat. While it all sounds doom and gloom living in post-academic purgatory, I was happy to be living without the concern of impending deadlines, and I began to dedicate much of my time between September and December 2021 redeveloping my love of reading fiction, which I had been forced to put down while studying. With this in mind, I began to focus more on applying for roles that shared my love for books as well as my enjoyment in the pursuit of knowledge. While I was unfit for any professional academic roles, I strove to find anything that could give me the opportunity to provide support to others who were embarking on their own individual academic journeys. Lucky for me, it was in November 2021 that I stumbled upon an advertisement for a role in the YSJ Research Office that suited my ideals perfectly. I submitted my application and waited for the interview, embracing the chaos as I went. 

Being interviewed is scary. Being interviewed by four people at once? Total nightmare! This was the first interview I had attended since late 2019 and, as much as the role of PGR Co-Ordinator sounded right up my street, I was, to put it bluntly, not expecting to succeed (imposter syndrome was and remains a continuous battle!). What I did see was a means to improve my interview technique and discuss the role with other seasoned HE administrative staff, who I found to be immediately approachable and friendly. In any case, my interviewers, who I have since become close friends with within the Research Office, were very good in treating the interview as a mutual discussion of needs rather than an interrogation of demands. Nerve racking? Absolutely! The relief of it being over was equivalent to submitting my thesis! Nevertheless, I prepared myself for the long three day wait to hear the result of my interview.  

Being interviewed is scary. Being interviewed by four people at once? Total nightmare!

Three days would be cut down to just four hours however, when I received an unexpected call saying I had been accepted for the position by late afternoon of the same day (Take that imposter syndrome!). By early December I had called in a housing favour from a friend in Leeds while I arranged housing in York, however with the growing threat of the Omicron variant spreading across the country there was no certainty that I would ever find myself stepping foot on York St John campus. I envisioned myself remaining stuck working from the remoteness of my friend's sofa – which was also coincidentally my bed at the time. But I felt excited, though anxious, about the tasks I was to be assigned for the Research Office, as well as meeting the rest of the team. Despite Omicron, by late January I had managed to wrangle myself a house with a former housemate and had begun settling into my new home in York; I felt firmly embedded into the social strata of York life – although furnishing my home remains a continuing effort (but it certainly beats living on my friend's sofa!).

As a result, being given the opportunity to help improve campus study spaces at YSJ feels like I am paying this gratitude forward, and I hope it comes to benefit the work of present and future PGRs for a long time to come. 

Over the coming months I developed my own administrative abilities as well as developing my own social skills interacting with colleagues and PGR’s in organising and developing Postgraduate-related events. Most of the events I assisted with were a success, such as the PGR Stress Management Workshop led by Hanna Glandorf, or the PGR Career Development Funding Applications. There were, of course, events that didn’t fully go to plan, such as the Wellbeing Café, which we have learned and hope to improve upon in future. As Bob Ross would say, ‘There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.’ My greatest challenge has been rejuvenating the Graduate Centre space, which was brought to my attention as early as February by the PGR Representatives, which has tested my skills as a novice in cross-departmental communication and coordination. While I may not be around to see the final refurbishment of the space later this year, I am hoping it will be a space that will inspire a new range of postgraduate work – whether it be collaborative or independent – and serve to promote the PGR experience at the University. As a former University of York student working throughout the lockdowns and restrictions of 2021, I learned the hard way that where we work is so important to how we work. Much like the experience of many other students across the country, much of my daily routine during this time took place within a 3x3 metre accommodation room where I slept, researched, attended seminars, slept, ate, wrote, and slept, leaving no room (literally and metaphorically) for my mental health. I didn’t know it at the time, but I realise now how lucky I was to have near constant access to study spaces on campus, which became a second home where I could stretch my legs and my mind – feeding greedy geese naturally became a cathartic routine because of this. As a result, being given the opportunity to help improve campus study spaces at YSJ feels like I am paying this gratitude forward, and I hope it comes to benefit the work of present and future PGRs for a long time to come. 

As I said before, this is just a small summary of a small chapter of my life. And yet, it has been one of the most transformative periods of my life. Sure, I have made my share of mistakes, but through those mistakes I have developed my abilities which continue to serve me going forward. I have revelled in using my skills practically for the benefit of a larger group and community, which I am glad I got to share even for a moment. It has been a great adventure, and I am looking forward to many more in future.

It has been a great adventure, and I am looking forward to many more in future.