In the summertime...

Cor blimey I’m still so busy! Never mind this idea that it’s the holidays… As I mentioned last time I’m working away at my job as a room attendant in a hotel – such hard work! I’ve always been amazed at the job cleaners do but never have I had more respect for the tough work they do daily. At least it’s going to keep me fit even if I silently curse all of the people who leave hotel rooms in such an appalling state. At least it pays the bills!

I thought I’d do a post on summer holidays as a student. We get such a huge amount of time off each year (term ends in July and we only start back again in October!) so how do we manage to fill it? Well over the years I’ve done a few different things…

Post exam madness

Exams (at least in Durham) finish roughly a month before the end of term, which is fantastic. This gives you a long space of time to basically just relax and have fun. Whilst there are a few bits and bobs to sort out (like module registration, occasionally some extra lectures or a project just to start on the next year’s work a little bit early) as well of the dreaded results day of course, most of the time is your own. During this time I usually

·      Travel with friends to various places around the area such as Newcastle, Northumbrian coast, York, Edinburgh and many more!

·      Survive the feat that is Summer Ball (6pm to 6am with all sorts of amazing activities like dodgems, ceilidhs at 3am and so much food!)

·      Have loads of fun at college days, Beer fests and other uni events

·      BBQ’s, parties, walks, concerts, sitting around in the sun, bar crawls and loads of other cool stuff with friends!

Summer Ball, Edinburgh and the Beach! Typical summer time fun :D

Working

Obviously one of the most sensible things to do is getting a job – it gives you some more funds on top of the meagre amount from student finance for the next year and often means you can actually afford some more fun stuff during the holiday. There are a few options for work during holidays though:

·      Paid internship – get experience in your subject/ try a possible career path out whilst getting paid! This can range from doing research to actually being a paid member of staff. Last summer I was lucky enough to be one of the Ogden Trust’s Teach Physics interns – I worked in a science department of a secondary school for a month. It was an AMAZING experience which I thoroughly enjoyed, teaching and helping out in lessons and generally experiencing what it is like to work in a school. I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone!

·      Summer job – trying to find a temporary job can be hard. Often businesses don’t want staff for such a short amount of time, however looking for work in seasonal areas is often your best bet. Have a look through normal job websites and apply for as many as possible. Experience is a must though – if you’ve never had a job before try and think of other things you have done that you can write down to show you have the skills they need. But then only go for a job that you will actually do – check that it meets the minimum wage and offers you the amount of hours you want. But also be prepared to try your hand at anything if you really want work! They’re often not as bad as you think they’ll be!

·      Seasonal work abroad – this is an excellent idea if you want to travel. There are lots of agencies that can place you doing seasonal work in resorts, as au pairs or in holiday camps. This summer I was all set up to go out to California to work as a Lead Instructor in an educational science camp, however unfortunately the visa process became complicated as I had been hired for a position that was more responsibility than the visa sponsor could allow for a student visa. However it is definitely something I plan to look in to in coming years as would have been a great experience! Look at various agencies, but also do some research. I got my job from sending a speculative CV so it’s worth searching!

·      Work experience – great for adding to your CV. I did a week in the NHS in Newcastle which confirmed my idea that medical physics is a route I would like to follow. It was great to get a real idea of what the job is like – and again I just found someone to contact and asked about work experience and ended up being offered the week and more if I wanted it! Asking politely gets you many good things!

Volunteering

I have often also used my summers to do some volunteering. In 2012 I volunteered as a Housekeeper at the Paralympic games, with all my wages donated to KISS, a Ugandan children’s charity that is very close to my heart. It was loads of fun as there was a whole group of us who did it, and we got some great experiences of the Paralympics – meeting the athletes briefly and seeing the park! Plus we knew that our work was supporting vulnerable children which made it so worthwhile. This summer I am volunteering at Camp Quest, a summer camp for children that aims to encourage them to explore the world in a rational, critical and creative way. It’s going to be fantastic – we have such great activities planned!

Housekeeping team at the Paralympics... Such Fun!

Travelling

Finally – a holiday wouldn’t be complete without some travel. Being at uni is great as you meet people from all over the place so can travel far and wide visiting them, and travel with them exploring new places. As well as visiting lots of different places in the UK, there are such good opportunities to travel the world. Often there are cheaper rates available for students, but also if you’re willing to travel in inventive ways you can get to great places for much less than the usual cost. Travelling outside of the school holiday period also makes the rates cheaper and the locations less busy so it’s a brilliant opportunity to take! Last year I travelled to Lake Garda, Milan, Verona and Venice which was amazing, and this year I’m off to the spectacular island Sardinia to enjoy the clear turquoise waters, white sandy beaches and the deepest gorge in Europe! Take the opportunities while they’re there and go see some amazing places!

Venice last year and where I'm off to this year - I love holidays!

How did I get here... and where am I going?

This week I’m going to take a look at why I chose to pursue a degree in Physics, and where I think I might be headed in the long run. Physics is a great subject to study, yet whenever I tell people I study Physics I almost always get the same response – shock that I’m studying it as either a) they didn’t understand Physics when they were at school or b) they just hated it. This inevitably leads to an awkward moment where either they say “Ooooh you must be really clever” (How on earth are you meant to respond to that?!) or you have to make a choice – do you try and persuade them that Physics is actually really cool (which tends to make you look really weird/ geeky/ over excitable) or do you just leave it and try and change the conversation before an awkward silence takes hold?

So what made Physics grab my attention and make me want to carry on studying it? Well I have always had an interest and curiosity in how things worked and in the world around me. This did not mean that I was always on a definite path towards physics – I was interested in EVERYTHING. Reading, art, music, sports, science, history… you name it I was into it. I would play with Barbies, but also build them vehicles and spend hours making sure the inside of their home was ‘just right’. It was great – I was given access to all sorts of opportunities and this meant growing up was really exciting!

Check out my ultra cool telescope that I got for Christmas
(age 7) - and check out the amazing experimental technique!

I loved studying a wide range of subjects at school, and having to give most of them up after GCSE was a difficult decision to make. I had no idea what I wanted to be “when I grew up” (I haven’t known since stopping wanting to be an Olympic gymnast at age 7) so instead of thinking about where I was heading I made the decision based on subjects I enjoyed. This didn’t stop the head of sixth form asking skeptically where these subjects were leading me to, but I’m so glad I took my range of subjects. Physics, Maths, English Literature and Music – certainly a broad range but each gave me so many different skills which have all helped since. But what to do at university?

Going to CERN whilst on a family holiday - thumbs up!

I considered all sorts of options. Someone recommended I looked at the PPE due to my interest in all sorts of things, but I didn’t fancy that. I’d always had an idea that I’d like to study English at university but then again I’d always loved Music too. However during sixth form I really got excited about Physics. I just found all the new topics I was learning about fascinating – everything from projectiles to particle Physics. I was also good at it and there was always the consideration that Physics was a very employable subject to pursue. It wasn’t an easy decision to make though, and what really did it was the fact I knew it would be easier to keep both English and Music up as hobbies. I don’t intend to ever give up on any of my interests, but all in all Physics was the best option for me.

I wont even pretend that my methods of choosing a university followed the recommended technique – but then again ordering prospectuses for almost everywhere was not actually going to help that much. I basically typed “Top 10 universities in UK for Physics” into google, looked at a few league tables, crossed out ones in London and other huge cities (I didn't want to study there) and then looked at the shortlist of ones left. I then looked at the courses (pretty much standard though!) and facilities on offer. I went and looked round several universities, but all I found that the 5 I had already pretty much decided on were the ones I would be happiest at. And in the end, I ended up in the place I had liked the most so alls well that ends well!

And well as they say – the rest is history! As you know if you’ve followed this blog, I’ve really enjoyed the course so far and love the place I study in. But where am I headed? Well over the course of my time at university I have decided I want to continue with my involvement in Physics (rather than leave it to go into finance or business). I then have several options… Firstly, teaching. I don’t want to go straight in to it though, whilst I have really loved the teaching experiences I have had to date, I want to get away from school for a while. It’s definitely something I’d consider in the future though. Secondly, medical physics. I’d love to do a job that helps people and I’ve always had an interest in medicine. I also find it fascinating how physics can be applied in a very real life setting and can make people better. A weeks work experience in the Newcastle confirmed that it would be a job I would really enjoy so I think that’s my most likely route at the moment! And thirdly, working in science communication would be awesome! I’m not really sure how you’d go about getting into that though so I think getting some experience of the ‘real world’ first would be a good way to go!

Recent homemade astronaut costume -
I obviously never stopped being really cool! 

But for now I’ve just got a job as a room attendant in a hotel (for the summer). Whilst I’m sure it will be a great experience, and a nice little source of income, I can’t see myself doing it in the future! Wish me luck though guys – first day tomorrow!

That’s all for now folks – expect another on Saturday (to make up for a missed one!)