Emily Parris – “I felt unsure about what I wanted to do”
Emily Parris is 20 and from Taunton.
After finishing her A-levels and leaving school Emily felt very unsure about what she wanted to do. A lot of her friends had applied to uni, but she felt uni wasn’t for her. She felt a lot of people in her year were applying because they felt that uni was the norm and they didn’t know of any alternative route, so they just went along with it – but Emily was different.
What course did you choose to do and why?
After leaving school I was so unsure what I wanted to do that I had a gap year and worked and travelled and then came back and went to Pitman. At Pitman Training Taunton, I started with the Secretarial Diploma and Touch Typing course as I thought these were fairly broad courses and skills that I would always need/use in the future. After finishing that, I then liked the sound of specialising into something, so I chose to do a Basic Bookkeeping course to see if I enjoyed it, and I did!
Pitman Training commented: “Emily chose very wisely here – she has indeed developed very adaptable transferable skills, but in also specialising she has created a path into a certain industry and made herself more employable for key roles – whether working as an accountant in a firm or working as an accountant in-house within an organisation, she has created multiple options for her career path development.”
What job do you have now?
I am now a trainee accountant at Albert Goodman and am really enjoying it. I think it helps specialising into a subject at Pitman and then if you enjoy it then go and try it!
What advice would you give to school leavers?
I would say just not to be afraid to take a different path at school to everyone else, I was in the minority of people at school that didn’t go to uni. Don’t feel pressured into going to uni, ultimately do what you enjoy. Be confident to try as many opportunities that you are offered. Research alternative routes/courses/training contracts that are becoming more widely available nowadays.
Pitman Training commented “We couldn’t agree more with Emily – treading your own path is not always easy but it has paid off for Emily as she’s really found something she enjoyed. It’s important to give yourself chance to explore what skills you’d like to hone in on by identifying what you really enjoy.”
