What Do You Actually Do?

Lots of people want to work in the rail industry and York graduate Laura has made it happen. She is Technical Head of System Safety at Network Rail, which means it's her job to make sure the railways are safe. Get an insight into what's going on in the sector and what this kind of work is actually like.

Laura's bio:

I gained a Masters of Engineering at the University of York before starting my career in the rail industry. Over the last fifteen years I have been part of the modernisation of the industry, varying from insourcing of circa 500 staff to the safe integration of new railway stations. In my personal life I am a mother to four children and a school foundation governor.

For grads interested in heritage, Rebecca Thompson might just have the dream job (she describes it as 'one of the best jobs in the world'): Senior Estate Manager at English Heritage, where she cares for over 400 buildings and monuments in England.

She has lots of info to help people wanting to get into the sector, including how to network, skills shortages and the impact of climate change.

Bio: After starting in commercial construction, Rebecca followed her interest in cultural heritage and studied a Masters in Archaeology of Buildings at York. She is now Senior Estate Manager at English Heritage. She has channelled her love of historic buildings into a career making sure they are relevant and sustainable for future generations. She cares about promoting equality and diversity in the heritage sector and ensuring our craft skills are utilised so they are not lost.

What does an investigative journalist actually do?? Sam Bright studied History at York while running a politics blog in his spare time. He's now the UK Deputy Editor at DeSmog and has written two books. Sam tells Kate what his day looks like and shares his tips for students interested in this kind of work.

Sam's bio:

Sam Bright is a journalist and author who has written two books: Fortress London and Bullingdon Club Britain. He has worked for the BBC and has been published by the New York Times, the New Statesman, the Big Issue, VICE, the Spectator, the Yorkshire Post and others.

We get a lot of questions about Speech and Language Therapy careers. It's a hugely rewarding area of work where you support and care for people of all ages who have difficulties with speech, language, communication, eating, drinking and swallowing.

York graduate Jess is a Speech and Language Therapist working with adults with learning disabilities. Find out about what she does each day and how she got there.

Want to work in the television industry? Tim Dean knows how to make it happen! He graduated from York with a degree in Social Policy and now has 20 years' experience in TV. Tim and Kate talk about how he got into the industry, why you don't need a media degree and what it's actually like producing TV every day.

Kate talks to York graduate Jack about training to be a barrister. Jack studied History and decided to train as a barrister after completing the Teach First Programme. Jack explains what skills you need, what he does each day and how you shouldn't be put off by thinking it isn't a career for you.

Something a bit different in this episode - Kate speaks to two Uni of York colleagues about imposter syndrome. What is it? Why does it happen? How can you deal with it? What support is out there for you?

In Careers we hear a lot of students mentioning impostor syndrome in relation to their studies and career planning. We also hear it from graduates - and it's come up on the podcast a lot! - so we thought it was time we addressed it head on. Feeling like a fraud and doubting your skills and talents is really common, but don't let it hold you back. In this episode Kate, Jo and Gemma give their top tips and personal experience about improving wellbeing. 

Jo Hardy is Student Wellbeing Programme Manager and Gemma Cormican is a Mental Health Practitioner in the Open Door team. 

Vinusha is a York History student who completed a placement year in the NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group as a Quality and Safeguarding Support Officer. Vinusha explains what she got out of her placement and has tips for current students starting their placement or work experience search.

Want a job in research? Or interested in working in the media? This episode is for you. Today Kate talks to Lucy, York grad and current Journalism Researcher at BBC News, about what her job is actually like.

Ben graduated from York with a degree in Philosophy and after a few years found himself working in the financial services sector for Deloitte. It wasn't something he planned. In the episode Ben explains how his first impressions of the sector were wrong, how you don't need a 'big summer internship' to get into finance and how he's found a job that's a perfect fit for his strengths and skills. His job title is Associate Director - Global Mobility (Tax).

Ben's bio: I'm a Philosophy graduate who has quite accidentally ended up working in Financial Services. It's an industry I didn't expect to enjoy working in - I couldn't be happier to have been wrong about that. In my role, I help people making international moves (and their employers) understand the tax implications of doing so.

This episode is for anyone interested in international development or the humanitarian sector. Rob Simmons works in Somalia for Committed to Good and was speaking to Kate from a shipping container at the airport in Mogadishu. Rob tells us what you need to get into this kind of work, the best bits and the worst bits. He also shares his advice on how students can approach people working in the sector.

Did you know that each summer loads of York students do an internship through the Student Internship Bureau (SIB)? SIB advertises paid, project-based internships in and around York that are exclusively for York students.

The worst of the pandemic might (hopefully) be behind us but the world of work has permanently changed because of Covid-19.

Remote working is here to stay for many people and some sectors hit hard by the pandemic are still to properly recover. For our students, you may have had fewer chances to build up work experience. What does all this mean for your graduate job search?

In this episode we hear Kate and Enrico Reuter, lecturer in public and social policy, reflect on this and answer questions from York students. They also listen back to highlights from past podcast episodes.

Kadi is an environmental consultant who coordinates and project manages the environmental inputs for big infrastructure projects. She's also a York Environmental Science graduate. In this episode Kadi and Kate talk about what she does each day, the parts of the job she likes the most, and what York students interested in environmental consulting can do right now to prepare for their future careers.

Thanks for listening this autumn. Here's a preview of what's coming up in Spring Term. If you haven't already, follow us on your chosen podcast platform so you don't miss them. 

Management consultancy is always a popular job area with our students, but do you actually know what the job is like? Today Kate chats to Jo Auger about what she does all day, the skills she uses, and the best and worst bits.

Jo has been a Management Consultant since graduating in 2006.  She started her career on Capgemini's graduate scheme, moved to EY in 2015 and has been at Gate One since 2020.  In the past 15 years she has worked for a number of clients across multiple sectors and now balances a full time career in consulting with raising her two young sons.

Attention music students! In this episode Benji Merrison explains how he created a career for himself as a composer for film and television after graduating from York. He takes us through what his job is like day-to-day and how he got there. 

Benji Merrison is an award winning composer providing bespoke music for Film and Television. He has devoted his life to music.  He was recognised at a very young age as a prodigious talent, both as a performer and composer, and went on to obtain a BA (Hons) in Music and an MSc in Music Technology from the University of York.  He also studied Jazz Piano with Howard Riley at Goldsmiths University.

After his studies he settled in London to embark on his career as a full time composer in 2001.

To celebrate graduation week here in York we have a special episode covering the key things you need to know about graduating in 2021 in the middle of a global pandemic.

We cover how to start a new job from home, what to do if Covid stopped you from getting work experience, how to future-proof your career, and more!

We listen back to podcast highlights from our year of lockdown episodes and Kate chats to Dr Enrico Reuter, Lecturer in Public and Social Policy, about exactly what’s going on in the job market at the moment.

In the episode you heard clips from:

Alex graduated from York a couple of years ago. He studied Law and is now a trainee at Norton Rose Fulbright. He tells us about the reality of being a trainee, the best and worse bits, and what it’s like doing your training from home during a pandemic. He has some good tips for future trainees.

Alex is a trainee solicitor in the Project Finance Team of Norton Rose Fulbright's Banking Department. He works on transactions for the financing and construction of projects in the energy, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors in a range of jurisdictions.

Our guest today is Dan Rutstein, whose career history is proof that you definitely don’t have to pick one job and stick to it. Dan graduated from York and his career (so far) has included journalism, diplomacy, consultancy and podcasting. Kate and Dan talk about taking opportunities, transferable skills, the importance of networking and how to make a ‘portfolio career’ work.

Dan's first career was as a journalist, a news reporter at the York Evening Press before working in sport at the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and then Bermuda's Royal Gazette. He then joined the British Government, working in London for the transport and business departments before serving abroad as a diplomat in Germany and Los Angeles. He was President of immersive technology company Laduma before being laid off during the pandemic. He now works as a consultant with Orange County Soccer Club, helping them with their international expansion. He hosts three podcasts - United States of Dramerica, Screaming into the Hollywood Abyss and America the Beautiful Game.

When you’re looking for your first job after graduation it can sometimes feel like you’re picking a career for life, but that’s far from true. In this episode we chat to York grad Alice who started working in the heritage sector before switching to accounting.

Alice is a year 1 trainee chartered accountant at Godfrey Wilson Limited, a small, charity-specialist practice. Her day-to-day brings her into contact with a wide variety of clients in the charity sector and accountancy assignments. She is also undertaking the ACA, the qualification for ICAEW chartered accountants. Alice is a History graduate. Prior to this, she learned about the medieval world through the MA in Medieval Studies at the University of York, and worked as a partnerships and impact administrator at the Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture.

We’re back for a new season! In this episode Kate talks to Paul Backhouse, Head of the Historic England Archive. They cover tech skills in the heritage sector, imposter syndrome, the pandemic and a lot more.

Paul is an archaeologist at heart, whose accidental career has spanned roles in graphics, publications, survey, archive, IT and telecoms. His projects include the complete 3D laser-scan survey of Stonehenge, the creation of an exhibition in Da Ming, China on the Archaeology of the Silk Road. The project he is most proud of, is his contribution to the excavation and identification of 400 First World War soldiers killed in the Battle of Fromelles in the Somme, France.

After graduating from York in 2011, Alison started her working life in account management before taking a short career break to figure out what she actually wanted to do. She now works for the Co-op's start up Health business in Manchester as a Technology Delivery Manager but has done a variety of roles in 5 years with Co-op. She is also a Big Sister for the Girls Out Loud mentoring programme.

Alison and Kate talk about changing careers shortly after graduation and the skills you need to work in agile project management.

Ian is an Academic Clinical Fellow and junior doctor in Obstetrics & Gynaecology. After graduating in English during the 2008 credit crunch, he pursued Graduate Entry Medicine and an MSc in Global Health Science. He divides his time between clinical work and research into complications of pregnancy.

Luke is President at Momentum Worldwide, the most awarded global experiential agency in the world. With offices in over 30 countries the agency works for clients such as Samsung, Verizon, American Express, Microsoft, Coca Cola and Nike. He is a Harvard Business School alumni and has previously worked across numerous global marketing networks as well as client side for Richard Branson leading the launch of the Formula One team at Virgin. Outside of work he juggles 5 kids and tries desperately to find time to keep fit.

This episode is essential listening not just for students interested in breaking into the advertising industry, but for anyone wanting to work in a position of leadership. Luke tells Kate about his career journey, what he does every day, and what he looks for when recruiting new graduates.

John is a clinical scientist at Congenica, a digital health company specialising in genomic medicine. Before that he worked in the genomics service in the NHS and completed the NHS Scientist Training Programme. He graduated from York in 2012. In this episode, John and Kate talk about the opportunities in clinical sciences, his tips for current students, and how the pandemic has changed his working day.

Christina works for the family history company Ancestry, where she researches client families in the U.S, Canada, U.K, Ireland and the Caribbean. She gained a PhD in History from the University of Southern California in 2018, and before that an MA in Modern History from the University of York. Her research focused on the relationship between capitalism, education and fundamentalist Christianity in 20th century Los Angeles.

Alex is the Innovation Manager at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Newcastle Hub, where he works at the forefront of technological innovation in the legal sector.  He graduated with a PhD in Philosophy, with overlapping interests in linguistics, cognitive science and economics. In this episode, Alex and Kate talk about what exactly he does each day, how he got the job and how his PhD helped him.

Tom has worked at the Environment Agency for the last 10 years, in a range of roles from planning to environmental regulation, flood risk, and biodiversity. He is currently managing the largest river restoration project in the North, creating new habitat and re-naturalising the River Derwent, one of the most important lowland rivers in Europe.

Vivien graduated from York with a degree in English and Education, and spent three years working in the TV industry at institutions like the BBC before deciding she wanted a career change. Four years later, she now works in the business technology industry, managing complex systems implementations for companies in the retail, manufacturing and service sectors to enable them to refine and better their business processes.

Bethany graduated from York three years ago with a degree in Social Work. She now works in the fostering team in a local authority, and previously worked in child protection. In this episode Bethany and Kate talk about what the job is like, the key skills you need and tips for getting into the sector.

Daniel is Sustainability Assistant Manager at Grant Thornton UK LLP. During six years in professional services, he has inspired colleagues to get involved with initiatives aligned around education, employability and enterprise as well as the environment, mental health and microfinance. Prior to that he spent seven years in the charity sector, primarily in internal communications. Daniel graduated with a BA in English (European) and MA in American Literature and Culture (European) at the University of Leeds. He is currently an Executive MBA candidate at Cranfield School of Management.

Today's episode of What Do You Actually Do!? is a bit different.  Recorded during the lockdown, Kate and Tom, Director of Employability and Careers at the University of York, chat about what it's going to be like for graduates going into the job market in the middle of a global pandemic. They look at how the job market was hit in previous recessions and what might be different this time.

Sarah is a Primary STEM Subject Expert, running training courses, predominantly in Science but also in Technology, Computing, and Maths, for primary school teachers. She also mentors on school improvement initiatives and helps to develop resources such as online training programmes accessed world-wide.

Full transcript: bit.ly/2R14bMc

For more information on working for STEM and non-teaching education roles see: 

Julia is a third-year BA English Language and Linguistics student. In the summer she did a SIB internship with Make It York where she conducted market research into the creative and digital businesses in the city. Her responsibilities included research, analysing the findings, writing reports, maintaining social media and compiling newsletters for Science City York, a branch of the organisation. 

To find out more about the Student Internship Bureau: 

Oscar is a third year BSc Film and Television Production student. Over the summer,  he did a sustainability programme internship in the Department of Estates and Campus Services at the University of York.

To find out more about the Student Internship Bureau: 

Laura has worked as a professional manager in Higher Education for 10 years, focusing on strategic project management across a range of institutions. She currently leads the Strategic Projects and Change function at York St John University with responsibility for the delivery of major projects aligned to the University strategy.

*This episode was recorded at the end of 2018, so some of the topics discussed may not be relevant at the time of streaming*

For more information on working in project management and non-academic HE roles see:  

For many years Richard Knight worked in the film industry as a freelance location manager, sourcing and organising the locations for films such as the BAFTA award-winning "This is England" and "FourLions", television dramas including "This is England 86, 88 and 90" "Prisoners Wives" and "Utopia", commercials for the likes of Vogue, Gucci, New Balance, Selfridges and Santander, and music videos for the Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg and Louis Tomlinson. In recent years he has worked at Screen Yorkshire providing practical and logistical support to Screen Yorkshire-backed projects, and devising and running a range of training and crew development initiatives.

Cat graduated from Newcastle University with a Psychology and Linguistics degree in 2015. Whilst at university, she was on the committee for the Raising and Giving Society, where she gained a passion for fundraising and supporting causes in her local community. Alongside her peers, she supported a number of different charities through RAG, and built up skills of communicating with local businesses, organising fundraising events for students, and even photographed the RAG charity naked calendar! In the lead up to graduating from university, Cat was unsure about the career path she wanted to take, but she knew that fundraising was something she really enjoyed and cared about. 

Cat was quite lucky in that Action for Children had a vacancy in their Fundraising Team at the time she was graduating. She started with Action for Children in June 2015, in the position of Community Fundraiser for Yorkshire, and in September this year she has progressed to the role of Senior Community Fundraiser, covering North East & Yorkshire. 

For more information on working in the charity sector see: 

JT Welsch is a Lecturer in English and Creative Industries at the University of York's Department of English and Related Literature. 

For more information on becoming an academic see: 

Job vacancies: 

JT: https://www.york.ac.uk/english/our-staff/jtwelsch/ 

Kate is the Compliance and Corporate Services Manager at St Leonard's Hospice.

For more information on working in the healthcare sector and St Leonard's see: 

John is a producer at York Theatre Royal and company director at Stand and Be Counted. 

For more information on working in the Theatre sector see: 

For more information about York Theatre Royal , Stand and Be Counted and John: 

Stefan holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biology from the University of York. He currently works for Aptamer Group as their Process and Production Manager, leading the laboratory team in delivering results to customers. Prior to joining Aptamer Group, he worked for a leading multinational CRO, specialising in GMP Protein Chemistry for 7 years. He has worked on a variety of products, covering pre-clinical to market release testing for multiple high profile clients around the world. 

For more information on working in biotechnology see: 

Adam Smith is a writer, journalist, podcaster and social media editor. In his day job he's the audience engagement editor for The Economist, a global news magazine, where he focuses on stimulating online conversation around articles. He also reports on LGBT+ issues as a journalist and makes the podcast Karl's Kaschemme, about queer desire. You can find out more about him on his website at www.adamesmith.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @AdamCommentism. 

For more information on working in journalism/editing see:

For more information about The Economist: https://www.economist.com/ 

Dr Hannah Greig is a Senior Lecturer in the History Department and member of the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies. Her research interests lie in the social, political and material history of Britain in the long eighteenth century (c.1688-1830). She is also an experienced consultant for film, television and theatre productions. 

For more information on working in the media see: 

For more details on Hannah’s work: