By Nia Starr, MSc International Management and Marketing
For some reason, when I was thinking about applying for postgraduate study, I had the impression that it would be absolutely time consuming and that I would have no time for a personal life or just to enjoy my time abroad. Needless to say, I was absolutely wrong, and I’m glad that I was. While my classes here were longer than they were during my undergraduate degree, I found that I had ample time on my hands to do whatever I wanted and still achieve what I deemed to be the appropriate amount of studying.
When I moved here, one of my goals was to secure a job so that I would be able to stay in England for a few years. Another goal was to try and build a full life for myself here, a life similar to the one I had while living in America. I’m not really an idle person, so I decided to apply for the position of Student Ambassador at the Management School, and ended up being successful. This provided me a chance to meet new people and potential students on my experience, while also providing me with a little extra income. Even with this job, I found that I still had too much time on my hands, so I applied for one of the Postgraduate Advantage Scheme (PAS) internships through the university and secured my place with Undiscovered Cotswolds. The internship was in my field of study (International Management and Marketing), so I was able to practice my craft with really great employers and help the progression of their company. Applying for these different things helped me towards making steps to better my CV which would ultimately help me in possibly securing a job, but not only that, having these different activities allowed me to fill my time and have a fuller and active life here in Sheffield. Finally, I applied for a company based project, which I secured. Not only would this project give me great out of class experience, but if successfully completed, would be an outstanding thing to have on my resume and to discuss with future employers.
I feel that I have best utilized my time here in Sheffield to best serve the long and short-term goals I had when moving here. No matter what your goals are, it is important to make sure that you are taking the appropriate steps to reaching those goals. The university has a lot of resources that have been paramount in my success and could be in yours too!