Megan works for education charity The Access Project, as Online Tuition Coordinator. She has worked on delivering free tuition and mentoring to students from disadvantaged backgrounds over the past year, online. 

What are you enjoying most about work?

I particularly enjoy my role when I get to interact with students and hear about the impact the programme has had for them over what has been a difficult past year. It’s really rewarding working towards contributing to lessening educational disadvantage and towards a wider, long term goal. 

What is the biggest mistake you have made since graduating and what have you learned from it?

I wouldn’t say there have been any mistakes as everything has been a learning experience. I definitely put too much pressure on myself to get lots of applications done when I was searching for a job and was desperate to find my ‘passion’; I felt like I was behind everyone else as I hadn’t figured that out yet. But, this definitely wasn’t an issue and I just needed to have a little patience and not rule any opportunities out, as when I started doing this role I found the route I was interested in following and it paid off. 

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

I would always advise; don’t put too much pressure on yourself when applying for jobs if you’re unsure what you want to do. I had no idea, but found my passion when applying for jobs so keep your options open as you never know when you’ll find the right path for you. 

What have you learned since graduating that could be helpful to other graduates?

Take any opportunity, you never know what it is going to lead to. My role was created in response to the pandemic, there are positives with the new ways of working. It's also okay not to know what you want to do when you start the job search, you'll find your way as you go along, so don't limit yourself! 

How, if at all, has the pandemic affected your working life? 

The pandemic has meant that I have worked from home for the last 10 months and I have not had the usual work life experience after graduating. However, it has been really interesting to adjust to new ways of working and develop my skills in response to the pandemic.