What lies beyond

I wrote in my last blog post about how quickly time at university shoots by (maybe it’s because I seem to mentally split it into chunks of time spent for rehearsing for shows!), and how, sooner than you’d perhaps think or expect, you’ll find yourself considering what lies beyond it all in terms of a career and… well, the rest of your life! For me, that reality has never hit home harder than during the past couple of weeks, during which I’ve found myself looking into options, attending a careers fair or two, talking to companies, drafting applications and - most terrifying of all - getting to grips with the prospect of the real working world after a fantastic few years down here!

It seems weird to think that I’m now firmly entrenched in my fourth and final year of an MEng Software Engineering programme – meeting the new set of Freshers in the musical theatre society, Showstoppers, has certainly hammered that message home! With work towards modules well underway and the first deliverable document deadlines of my Group Design Project (a group dissertation originating from a challenge within the technical industry) rapidly approaching, I can vividly remember thinking in first year how this time would never come around for me!

Yet with graduate scheme applications now opening for many an organisation, and my last ever winter at the University of Southampton creeping ever nearer (the central heating in our house has been greatly appreciated recently!), it really is time to look beyond my course and on to the future. In that respect, I’ve been trying to adopt as pro-active approach as possible to figuring out my future career path, looking at many a prospectus, graduate scheme and careers fair which fits around my course and the various other activities I’ve undertaken during my time here to give myself the best chance I can.

The first event I attended took place at the Royal Opera House in London last week, entitled TheatreCraft.This quite unique careers fair is a free annual event for everyone up to and including the age of 25, and is tailored to those prospectively looking at a career in the theatrical industry outside of performance (however much I love performing, the competition is fierce to say the least)!

Braving a five o’ clock wake-up call (an hour I definitely can’t remember the last time I encountered!) in order to make the necessary journey, and thus boosted by a strong coffee or two, I went along to try to investigate the possibilities of taking my passion for the Performing Arts beyond the amateur societies I’ve loved being a part of so much in Southampton – a quite intimidating prospect to undertake on your own, but ultimately a wholly worthwhile one!

The event consisted of a grand hall of theatrical-related showcases from employers and prospective routes into the industry, including theatres, drama schools, performance colleges, concert halls, press stands and much more. These were all manned by professionals eager to answer questions and talk about their specialisms. Furthermore, there were free hourly workshops, led by figures within the industry. Figures ranged from directors to producers, marketers and plenty more – I managed to, in quite a star-struck state, meet the Director of one of my favourite shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year! It was with these talks that I filled up almost an entire day, listening attentively to the anecdotal advice of people who’d made a living out of it all and taking notes aplenty along the way! One even took place in the Royal Opera House rehearsal hall – incredible!

It was an inspirational and brilliantly informative day, and left me feeling suitably encouraged that a career in the arts is definitely something I have the option to pursue should I so choose – and in final year, options are what we’re all looking for!

Additionally, this week I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the University’s Information Technology, Science and Engineering Fair 2014 – perhaps a more traditionally associated event with my degree programme, and equally as informative and encouraging! Organised by the University’s Career Destinations team (who are always seeking to give you advice and support in terms of offering placements, advice and CV workshops) the day followed a similar format of showcasing a vast array of organisations and potential employers, and thence allowing you to speak to as many professionals from them as possible, with a particular focus, in my instance, on those offering careers in technology.

I went to the event slightly unsure of whether my background in Computer Science leant itself to much by way of adapting to other specialisms – for example, the financial sector (of which my knowledge is enough to get by – but nowhere near that of my housemate studying Economics, for example!). I was heartened to learn just how much can be picked up on the job or taught via many graduate schemes, and I left feeling inspired to tackle plenty more applications to companies across a range of industries I’d never previously considered – so here’s hoping I hear back soon! Plus, as an added bonus, many companies at the Fair were offering freebies along the way – so I left with a bag chock-full of useful goodies and accessories, alongside leaflets and contact details aplenty. All in all, not a bad afternoon’s work!

So despite my initial trepidation, it’s with great optimism that I look to what lies beyond University and, although I’ve still some way to go yet during this academic year, it’s certainly a weight off my mind to know just how much is on offer after my programme concludes! Fingers crossed for the future, wherever it may be!

Robin