Elliott back at it with another quick blog, this time I'll give you an insight into how you can be shaping that bright future of yours.

So, let's get straight into it; the first thing you'll want to consider is where you want to be, what you want to be doing. Would you like to continue on the road of academia? Looking into master's courses, a PHD, or some general academic research?

Or maybe you would like to have a look into going into a job; working your way up and earning bare p's, you could even make something like a business or a product; the world is your oyster.

Considering all the above you have many paths and options you can go down, let me outline these for you. Say that you are going down the academic path; you need to know what masters you want to do; imagine this is like specialising into your biggest passion in your field, I will use myself as an example I did my undergraduate in Physics at Chester so I am moving to do my MSc at Queen Mary in Particle Physics, you can see how I have streamlined my education into the specific field. This is what you need to be looking into, you can use your career team at your university; they will not only help you decide where and what to study but how to carry out the application.

The next factor you need to give thought into is to make yourself look attractive to the University you are applying to. For this look into any extra-curricular activities, you can do; this might be an ambassador for your current establishment, maybe being a representative for your course this will show a passion for your subject, something I found is that being a member of your disciplines professional body (the IOP, Institute of Physics is what I am a member of) shows how passionate you are about your field; so, give this some thought.

Now you have put yourself on the path for academia you can now look into research going on in the topic you are interested in as this could be where you carry out your research projects after your masters and/or your PHD.

Let's look into going into a job after your degree, joining the industry, bringing home the bag. This process begins before the end of your degree; you ideally want to be a year ahead of this so begin by booking a meeting with your careers team at your university; you want to cover 3 issues:

·      Streamlining & Updating your CV.

·      Looking into graduate schemes.

·      Preparing you for the applications.

This means you will have your bases covered to move into the working world, the career teams will set you up well for whatever you have in mind.

A little bonus thing you can do at the University of Chester is the CDA or Chester Difference Award, this recognises all the effort you put into moving into the future of your employment. I would suggest it to anyone who can access it.

I would like to thank you all for reading and I hope that this little blog helps you move into your future confidently and effectively; with you in the driving seat you will most certainly be shaping your future.

By Elliott Halford
I am a 3rd year student here at the university of Chester studying physics