Jack Allan
About me
I have recently finished a BA (Hons) Marketing degree from the University of Stirling where I achieved a 1st class degree. I now work in a graduate role with AnywhereWorks in Edinburgh as a Mattering & Impact Graduate.
Left school
June 2016.
Senior Phase
In S4 I achieved National 4 (SCQF level 4) Art & Design and Chemistry and National 5 (SCQF level 5) Physical Education, English, French, Business Management and Biology.
In S5 I achieved National 5 (SCQF level 5) Maths and Higher (SCQF level 6) Business Management, Physical Education and Biology.
In S6 I achieved National 5 (SCQF level 5) Practical Woodwork and Higher (SCQF level 6) English, History and Modern Studies.
Choosing my Destination
I initially left school and went straight into a full time job which just wasn’t for me. I always knew in the back of my head I wanted to go to university but I wasn’t sure what subject to specify in. I spoke to some of my Dad's friends who had went to university who recommended a Marketing degree which suited my interest in business. My Dad's friends seemed to really enjoy their line of work and I always enjoyed learning about marketing in my business classes in high school so I decided upon this degree option.
Extra Curricular & Work Experience
I played a lot of football during my time at high school both with a local side and with the school team. My involvement in sports has granted me with opportunities especially during my time at university. I was lucky enough to play for the men's team at the University of Stirling for 2 years which helped me to meet lots of people. I also believe this helped to improve my time management skills as I had to juggle my academic commitments with my training schedule.
Skills I've developed
One major skill I have developed since I left high school is my communication. When I left high school I was very shy and found it hard to talk to new people or deliver presentations. Venturing into the world of work and university has helped to increase my confidence and ultimately helped me to be an effective communicator whether that be during a presentation or whilst writing a report.
My time at University has also massively improved my sense of creativity and problem solving. A lot of my coursework centred around creating reports which meant my writing had to be clear and concise to justify my points. I found this challenging however this enabled me to play around with different software and apps to produce creative pieces of work.
My Advice
I would say just try not to put yourself under too much pressure to go to university or land your dream job straight out of high school. From a personal standpoint, taking a couple of years out to experience the world of work helped me to figure out what I actually wanted to do.
