Deciding to make a career change can be daunting, but for mature student George swapping retail management for a future in historical research was something he felt he had to do.
Having the opportunity to do the
foundation year has been brilliant
Take a look at the profiles of other students who started their journey with a foundation year at the University of Hull.
Stay in touch
Name
George Jones
Foundation Year
2023 - 2024
Degree
BA History with Foundation Year
My parents moved up this way. I'm originally from the Isle of Wight and an important part of the application process was choosing a university close to family support. I’m also a big fan of maritime history and Hull has a huge amount of that.
I was previously a manager at WHSmith before moving on to a management job at Jewson Builders Merchants. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It really wasn't me. I distinctly remember two of my colleagues excitedly discussing the construction of a new hotel, and I said to myself: 'I couldn't care less about this.’ I thought, if I don't do it now I never will. I'd like to give a career change a chance.
I already had an offer from the University before I visited. I also had an offer from Leeds. Leeds felt like too much city for me because I’m a country boy at heart. This university has a nice layout and the '10-minute campus' design is great as well.
When I came to the Open Day, I wanted to find out more about the foundation year. I visited the library and spoke to a student called George and Emma, the foundation year leader. I didn't realise George was a student at first. He was a mature student as well, and we just got chatting. He told me what a good time he was having, how interesting the course was, and gave me an idea of the sort of assignments I could expect. It was incredibly helpful and reassuring.
The conversations I had with people here made me more confident that I had made the right choice.
The advantage of having work experience behind me is that it made me disciplined. When I was working, there was always a specific number of tasks that needed doing within a strict timeframe. I think that translates very well into university life. In most jobs, you must communicate and work with other people. Students often grumble about group work but it’s just one of those things you must do in life. Coming here with that bit of real-world knowledge was a big help.
However, I didn’t know much about writing essays. The most writing I did was a couple of paragraphs in an email, so this was a whole new set of skills to learn. I hadn’t really done any academic writing since sixth form. The library became a huge resource for me.
George's story: changing career
2 mins
I never applied for university when I was younger because I stumbled through my A-levels a bit. I was predicted good grades, but it was during the years when the exam modules and marking structures changed. I didn’t get the grades I wanted, which upset me and caused me to lose a lot of motivation.
At the time, no one explained that I could retake them or that there were other options. I just thought I had messed it up completely and that the university path was out of reach.
I look back at the very first thing I wrote when I came to university, which was a 500-word piece on a source for my course. I chose a book I'd already read about Nelson. Comparing my early assignments with my work now, I can really see where I have improved, especially in my spelling, grammar and vocabulary.
Having the opportunity to do the foundation year has been brilliant. Looking back, I realise I always could have done it.
I've met so many people, both older and younger than me, and made some wonderful friends.
I think the biggest challenge is motivation. Sometimes you get an assignment or a module that you’re just not enthusiastic about and it becomes a real struggle to push through. You need a lot of discipline to get past those moments. You're not going to enjoy every single day, but sometimes you just must smash through it.
The other challenge you face as a mature student restarting your career is imposter syndrome. You come to university thinking you are going to be surrounded by 18-year-olds, and you worry that you won’t make any friends and will end up having a lonely experience. That wasn’t the case at all. I've met so many people, both older and younger than me, and made some wonderful friends.
I'd love to carry on. I really enjoy researching, so I would quite like to do a research MA and see where it goes from there. If I can achieve my dream of becoming a historian, that would be fantastic.
A doctorate would be cool to do eventually. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure. I think there are a few doors I haven't really looked behind yet. For instance, I’d love to do archival work with the Navy. I know the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth hires archivists, and that would be a brilliant job to do. This career change has opened doors I thought were closed to me forever.
