What jobs do York graduates do?
Lissie Spencer
Senior Associate at Deloitte
At a glance
- Studied Environment
- Graduated in 2010
- Now a Senior Associate at Deloitte
Before I came to York I took a gap year because I wasn’t entirely sure whether I wanted to come to University or not. My A-levels were much better than I expected but I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to make the jump from the security of my gap year and being regularly paid, to University life. I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in accounting by the end of my gap year, but thought a degree would add academically to my potential. Going to University was definitely the best decision I made! My three years at York were the ones in which I really grew, not just academically, but also as a person.
Going to University was definitely the best decision I made! My three years at York were the ones in which I really grew, not just academically, but also as a person.
I was the Vice-Chair of James College in my second and third years, a role which required me to organise events, liaise with a variety of different people, meet lots of new people – and generally pull things together. The experience really helped me to gain confidence and learn how to properly delegate to people, in addition to learning the logistics of organisation.
I was also on the Board of Studies, which gave me a completely different angle from working in James College. Working as a Student Ambassador for the University was also a brilliant experience. It became massively important for me when working with kids in Camp America, and also allowed me to work on different projects within the scope of ‘Aim Higher’, encouraging young people to come to University.
One of the amazing things about York is that you really gain an ‘experience’. The teaching is excellent, you get a lot out of the college system, and you manage to balance your extra-curricular time with learning. All of these things are so useful for application forms and job interviews.
I decided I wanted to come to York on an open-day, when I got the feeling that I could really settle here. It is so friendly. I decided to study Environment as it was an up and coming area, and seemed like a challenge. It also gave me the chance to be in a multi-disciplinary course with a good choice of modules. It is definitely one of the friendliest departments! I don’t think which subject you do at degree is particularly important, however; employers often take on people with a diverse range of degrees, and nowadays it’s all about the style of learning.
Upon graduation I completed my second summer with Camp America and I have been working for Deloitte since September, after securing the job whilst in my third year. I split my time between the office, working with high profile clients such as Santander, UBS and Ferrari , and studying for the ACA, the leading business and finance qualification. The atmosphere at work is great, especially when we are studying for exams at college. Working with a big firm means that we’re in a large teaching group all from the same company, so there’s a nice community atmosphere.
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