Back to School - Inspire Career Talks

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited back to my old secondary school, Wycombe High School, to talk to the Year 7 & 8 girls about life post WHS.

At first, I was unsure of how many of the girls would be that interested or understanding of what I do, as sometimes I'm not even sure I understand myself (I mean, what on earth does buy-side business and IT change even mean! 😨). However, I was pleasantly surprised when so many hands shot up to ask some great questions.

The Asset Management and Investment Management industry is one that lacks equal representation in many ways, however, the gender imbalance is often fairly obvious to those who choose to acknowledge it.

Speaking to the younger year groups (especially at all-girls schools like WHS), about the opportunities that are available to them within this industry is a key factor in increasing the amount of women in the industry.

The main point I stressed to each of the girls was to choose to study something you love. At the end of the day, unless you want to pursue a career as, for example, a doctor or an aerospace engineer, the subjects you choose to study often don't have as large an effect on your career options as you may think. I studied music throughout my whole educational career through to university, yet I decided to not pursue this further and to step into the world of finance instead, which was definitely not hindered by my choice of degree. For example, a BA in Music can offer you an exceptional variety of soft and transferable skills that can be applied to most careers and sectors (art, creativity, analysis, history, maths, physics, performance/public speaking ...)

I had such an amazing time and I am very excited to have been invited back once more to speak to the Sixth Form girls on the very same topic, to help them with their own paths in life after WHS.

I wanted to thank Antonia Ashwin and Maria Spiteri for the opportunity, and the incredible other panellists!

What are your thoughts on choosing subjects that prioritise your enjoyment and mental wellbeing over subjects that may enhance your career?