What Does the Future Hold?
At the beginning of my second year at university, I was concerned about my lack of work experience within the education system. Although I knew it was career route I was interested in, I felt that it was important I experienced a role within the sector first hand for myself, in order to help me make my decisions for the future.
After completing my placement working with nursery children and learning more about child development through some university modules, it had been made clear to me that working within education is something I do want to explore further, particularly in terms of teaching children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Having this refined focus for my future career prospects has not only given me more clarity about my future after graduation, but has also inspired the route I will take in the third and final year of my degree. When I begin to consider my options for university modules, I am hopeful that I will be able to incorporate child development further, specifically in relation to learning disabilities and disorders into my studies, and potentially even into my final year project.
Although I feel confident in the route I want to take from this point onwards, I know it’s important not to get too carried away. After discussing my experiences on placement with my academic advisor, I was shown how important it is that I still keep an open mind. I still have so many other interests within the field of psychology, both in relation to forensics and animal behaviour and as such I want to bare these in mind as I move forward with my studies.
This year has taught me how great it is to find something I’m passionate about but it’s also shown me that it’s ok if I change my mind further on down the line. Having this new perspective on both my education and career path, I am hopeful that I can explore my other interests alongside each other throughout my final year.
As I reflect upon the areas of my ‘career readiness’ that were lacking at the beginning of this journey, I can see how far I have come in terms of expanding my network. I am much more confident now in the ways in which I can reach out to the professionals who work in the careers I aspire towards and feel that I am much better equipped to seek out advice and opportunities relating to the sectors that interest me. I am hopeful that this will allow me to potentially undertake a number of other placements in different work sectors in my future and continue to progress towards the career that is right for me.
