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What to Do over the Summer

Hi everyone since we are properly into the summer holidays now I thought I would talk about what i’m doing with myself, and also things you might be thinking of doing if you have some extra free-time.

At the moment i’m in a bit of a limbo work wise having come home to Northern Ireland, this has meant putting my job in the students union on pause for the time being until i’m back in September which they are really cool about since campus is quiet over these months. I am looking for work experience although this is rather difficult for me as a film/TV student since there is much less industry here than in England but we will see what happens! If you can get experience over the summer I would definitely recommend it as it is a good way to enhance your CV. Part-time work is also obviously very handy to have over the summer to top up your account which you will definitely be thankful for if the student loan runs out mid term!

Since I have more free time I have taken to learning the piano, but i’m genuinely actually gonna do it this time because I have put off learning an instrument for far too long, but so far so good. Additionally since i’m studying film/TV i like to keep watching things all the time and what’s better than a good evening binge. At the moment i’m watching:

The Wire- HBO/Sky

The Crown- Netflix

Black Mirror- Netflix

All of which are great so far and I definitely recommend if you are unsure of what to watch. There are usually plenty of festivals and concerts on all across the UK as well if your a music fan, even Ireland has a fair bit going on in this department which is a change since there is usually sod all here! I went to see Stormzy in Belfast last week which was amazing and I would definitely recommend him if that’s your kind of thing.

The most important thing about the summer is that you do what you want to do, there’s no point going back to university feeling as tired as you left so just enjoy it, till next time.

Jordan

 

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End of Year 2 Review

Just like that I’ve come to the end of my second year at Edge Hill University, something which I can’t quite believe yet, no idea where all the time has gone.

As i finished up the last of my work for the year it suddenly occurred to me that I only have one year left before I have to venture out into the real world, both a terrifying and exciting prospect, (mostly the former).  Anyway, since I have finished it’s probably the best time to do a review and to give a taster of what’s to come if you have just finished first year.

Second year for me brought about a new set of modules, three compulsory and three to choose from a selection. Looking back I am reasonably happy with my module choices opting for a balance of practical and theory work, my only advice would be to pick what you think you can do best in, read module handbooks etc. in order to make the best decision.

The biggest thing I had to look out for was the fact all my coursework was now actually counting towards my grade, 40% to be exact. I would have preferred a 50/50 split but oh well. First year at least allowed me to in a sense practice the different types of coursework I would need to do so when this year came around I knew what I was doing which was definitely helpful. Overall I am satisfied with the work I submitted and urge anyone looking forward to make sure you are as well because you will feel a lot better knowing you put the effort in no matter how it turns out.

Overall I found my second year to be a reasonably low-key affair as there wasn’t anything particularly crazy going on within it. I was mostly just focused on preparing for next year and graduation and getting my work done, I also secured a job within the SU Subway which is an extra bit of income and experience. I think there’s an expectation to do so much all the time as a student, when really as long as you achieved what you wanted to and feel you spent your time well during the year then does the rest really matter? I suppose it’s up to you. Till next time!thinking

Jordan

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Applying for Jobs as a Student

Hi guys, in previous blogs I have talked about working for Edge Hill and the opportunities available, but for this blog I thought since we are coming up to the summer when most students are looking for work, I would talk about applying for part time-work to compliment your studies and a few things to keep in mind.

Get your CV checked: If you are an Edge Hill student then you can get your CV checked by the careers team. This can be very useful as they can give you advice on changes to make that you might not have thought of otherwise, alternatively if you aren’t a uni student yet, then someone you know or a careers advisor, teacher etc. might be useful to ask as you never know how a second opinion could give you a different view.application

Apply everywhere: If you see a job that’s doable and within range then apply, even if you don’t think you will get it, applying for lot’s of roles means you are always going to have a better chance of getting something, there’s no limit to how many applications you can put in, so you might as well!

Interview Prep: If you are lucky enough to get an interview then it’s time to prepare, do your research on the business you have applied for. But even more importantly think of answers to some typical interview questions you may be asked. Common examples could include ‘a time you dealt with a pressurised situation’ or ‘a time you worked successfully as part of a team’. The more interviews you do the more used to these types of questions you will become and answers will come to you more naturally.

Be patient: Chances are depending on how lucky you are or how much experience you have, finding a job could take a while, so it’s important to keep motivated. Students are sometimes less sought out, as employers could see them as being less available because of study commitments and if your like me and live between countries for home and uni then finding a suitable job can be even more of a challenge but the important thing is to keep your options open and keep applying.

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My Experience Working for Edge Hill

Hi guys, in my last blog which you can read here. Working at Edge Hill

I talked about the various job opportunities available on campus, following on from that I thought I would talk a bit about my experience working for the university and what you can generally expect.

At the start of my first year at Edge Hill I was looking for some basic part-time work which unfortunately wasn’t going very well, because of my want to go from home in Northern Ireland to Uni over various holidays it was difficult to find something this flexible to fit around that. While searching for roles I came across one being advertised by Edge Hill to become a student mentor, after a read of the role itself I submitted an application which involved giving some test answers. After this I received an email a few weeks later saying I had been successful!

Once I had received the email, a suitable date was arranged between me and the other applicants to attend a training session on campus, where I was trained on the role itself and it’s responsibilities as well as meeting the staff in charge of overseeing the work, and the other students who had also been chosen for the role. The training itself was really well explained and done in a relaxed atmosphere so there was nothing to worry about.

The role itself is one that is done online from your own phone or laptop and while it varies a bit, it generally involves you putting in a couple of hours a week. The best thing about this online work is that while you do have to make sure your checking up on it and doing what is required. You are allowed complete flexibility in when you want to work which is something that is really nice to have. The Edge Hill staff I have been in contact with when working for the university have also been really helpful and provide plenty  of information for me to make sure I know what I’m doing.

So, that’s my experience so far and I think if you are looking for a bit of extra work to compliment your studies then these roles are here to apply for when available if your interested. Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any questions.

https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/careers/students/part-time-jobs/

Jordan

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Working at Edge Hill

Hello everyone! For this blog I thought I would talk about working while studying and specifically, working for the university.

Throughout the Edge Hill campus, there are a variety of job’s available to students in different areas of the university. The town and surrounding areas are also obviously viable places to apply for jobs and you should apply to lot’s of places if you are looking, but Edge Hill is especially good because of the rapport between you as a student and the university. Working for Edge Hill as a student might mean less issues brought up by holiday’s or getting paid the wrong amount etc that might occur within other workplaces.

There are a variety of roles on campus from traditional part-time physical roles that would involve working at the location week by week at whatever the task entails. This could be work within the Library, the sports centre or the SU bar. There are also more flexible roles such as working as a student ambassador or a student guide for open days. These roles may only be over certain days or weeks and can function as a good extra on top of your studies or any work you already have. The university also offers mainly online roles to apply for such as vlogging, blogging and online mentoring. These roles are primarily ones you can work at on your own time whenever you see fit, and offer great flexibility in choosing when and how long you want to work for, they are also great ways to subsidise your studies or another job.

Edge Hill does post vacancies throughout the year through its vacancies service for students which I will link below so keep checking if you are interested, but around the start of the year is when more vacancies will be posted so if you are a current or prospective student, make sure you are looking around then if you are interested as jobs here and off campus are in really high demand. I will leave a link to more information on jobs and the vacancy service as well if you are interested, and any questions just let me know and thanks for reading!

https://careerhub.edgehill.ac.uk/students/login?ReturnUrl=%2fstudents%2fjobs

https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/careers/students/part-time-jobs/

Jordan

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Tackling those pesky assignments! 💪🏽📝

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After just handing in one of the hardest assignments of this year, I feel like I didn’t do too badly. If you put in the prep and don’t leave it until last minute you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll do. I’m going to give you an insight on what our assignments are like on Primary Ed , they differ per course, and some tips that have helped me stay a little ahead of the workload.

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Start early and get to the library! 📚
This year we have eight assignments that roll one after another, so you’ll always have your head in at least one assignment. Some people overlap the assignments and can do two at a time, those people are magicians. When I start a new assignment I get a gist of what it’s about and head to the library to get as many books out as I can on the topic. They want you to show wider reading so using books and journal articles are the best way to prove this, and also get a better understanding of what’s going on.

Know what you have to do before you start note taking. 📝
There’s no point taking notes without knowing exactly what you need to do. For example, the assignment title I’ve just submitted asked us to ‘evaluate’, meaning we need to find the strengths, weaknesses and any contrasting perspectives. I do two things. Either, take notes on different books and articles then grab four highlights and assign a topic to each colour like strengths are highlighted in pink, weaknesses in yellow etc. Then if you need to find any strengths you can look through all your pink highlighting. Or, the second thing I’ve discovered helps kill some time is to write all the strengths together (with the reference at the end so you don’t forget who said it) and just flick through those points when writing. I’ve used both of these methods and they both help speed up my actual writing of the assignment. It may feel like a lot of preparation but it helps if you know exactly what you want/need to say so you can write the assignment a lot quicker. 

Be disciplined, overlap if you can. 🔮
Like I said before, magicians. It’s hard for me to overlap assignments but it’s not impossible. I like to focus all my attention on one thing but if I absolutely had to I would work on another at the same time. Fortunately, they given you enough time between them, but only if you’re on the ball. If you leave everything to last minute you’ll be pulling all-nighters in the library, so try and be disciplined with your time management. Know how much time you can have to yourself but put time aside to get work your work done.

Write when you are ready. 🤓
Sometimes I’ve said to myself, just write your introduction then it feels like you’ve done something, but then it ends up being that much waffle you could pour syrup on it. It’s much better, like I said before, to write when you know exactly what you want to say.

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Edge Hill University offer workshops and services for students that are struggling with writing, referencing, note-taking and many more academic skills. They’re always around the library ready to answer questions. There’s a huge support system here at Edge Hill and I’m very grateful to be here.

Thanks for reading! Don’t hesitate to leave any questions ☺️

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My first term at University 👩‍🎓📚

Hello!

It’s very strange to think that I’ve been at University for thirteen weeks now. Time really does fly when you’re having fun. We broke up the Friday just gone, I don’t think it’s the same for everyone but the Primary Ed guys have all finished for the year. My parents flew back from Saudi and came to pick me up from University, we’re having Christmas at their UK house this year! Of course, I over packed. We have an assignment due over Christmas and lots to do before placement in January so I feel like I’ve packed the entirety of my uni work.

If you’re a prospective Primary Ed student then this post is for you. This post is a little insight into how the first term went in my first year and what I’m doing over Christmas to plan for next term.

The seminars, lectures and the workload👩🏽‍🎓:

The timetables change each year so what my timetable looks like this year may well be different to yours but this will give you a gist of what an average week looks like. Firstly, we have Mondays off – I know, it’s the best. Then we have our Minor seminar for 2 hours on Tuesday, Foundation Subjects seminar for 3 hours on Wednesday (sometimes with a FS lecture after), Thursday and Friday are the longest days with English, Maths, Science, Computing and APD seminars mixed in.  It’s a nice balanced timetable that gives you a long weekend to chill and spend some time socialising but then also gives you a lot of time to get some work done.

The workload is manageable but challenging. As long as you organise and manage your time well and do your best not to miss any seminars or lectures you’ll be fine. I’ve really enjoyed my first term and I’ve managed to pull myself to seminars when I was exhausted and just didn’t want to get out of bed, but I always did because they’re always so fun and engaging. I’m not in university now until placement and I know I’m going to miss it! ☹️

The assignments📝📚:

I’ve handed in three so far. The next one is a whopping 3,500 on APD that’s due in January. This scared me to start with but the my biggest tip for you is to get in the library! They have so many books available and I managed to get a load before I came back so I’ve been reading through them and I feel a lot more prepared and ready to knock this out over the Christmas period. They vary from 750 words to 3,500 words and they’re all set in a different kind of style which I love. They are challenging but not at all impossible, they also make me feel very intellectual and academic 🤓!

Placement 👩🏽‍🏫:

Out first placement starts in January, last year it started in November so yours could be a different time too. I just recently found out where I’m going for mine this year and I’m really excited. I took a regional opportunity and I’m heading down to the Peak District. With the situation I’m in I honestly didn’t care where I went but my heart felt this was the right place and luckily I got it. They can’t always guarantee you what and where you want but they do their best!

So over the Christmas period, as you can see, I have some work to do. They encourage you not to work over the two weeks the University is closed for, and I’m sure some people will, but if you’re like me and you want to be as prepared as possible, I’m sure your desk will look like mine!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading! See you next time 💕

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Working at Edge Hill – Let’s get this bread.

Getting a job at University is important in more than the obvious ways. Sure you could look at it as just a means of getting cash but don’t. When you come to university it is important to make it worth your while and having a part time job can really help you ensure that you are getting the most out of your university experience. So here are three ways that working at Edge Hill University ensures that you are making the most out of your time.

Experience. 

You may have had a part time job before University and if so, that’s great. But if you haven’t that’s OK too. Getting out there and actually working is a great way to not only gain experience in the field of your work but in life. Its a common quote that ‘Everyone should work in retail for at least a month’  the idea being that when you’re on the other side of the angry person screaming about how they’re right you might appreciate the cashier the next time you walk into a shop annoyed about something you bought.

A Sense of Purpose

This one might sound silly, but hear me out. When you start university you will most likely have a lot of free time. You can fill a lot of this by meeting friends and going out but after a while you might start to find yourself looking for something to do. A job is the perfect way to fill this void. By having an outlet and a sense of purpose you will find your days go by much faster and you get all the other benefits of working.

The cash

Alright, can’t ignore it anymore. The cash. It’s the big one. Having that extra cash to do things like go on trips or maybe insure your car. Working is a great way to make that extra cash, and honestly there is nothing better than having your own money and your own independence. Knowing that you don’t have to rely on anyone and being able to spend your own money on what you want without feeling guilty is a great feeling, only topped by the feeling that your time is valuable to someone.

Hopefully this blog answered all your questions about parking on campus. If you want to read more you can check out the EHU careers center here.

If you want more free and great advice email think@edgehill.ac.uk or leave a comment below and I will get back to you. If you want to suggest something to write about or want to be interviewed leave a comment below also and I will get back to you personally!

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Linking Education and Life – 5 Real Skills from EHU Computing

With the summer coming to a close, and a week before I move back to Ormskirk, I thought it might be a good idea to share 5 skills that my first year in computing have taught me. Before coming to university I had run m9Networks for about 4 years. I have always had an interest in computing, all aspects of it. Finally starting a specialised course really gave me some skills that I had been overlooking and EHU have influenced my professional career even before graduating. So here are 5 skills that 1st year computing at EHU have taught me and how I used them this summer.

Organization

In my first year of computing, and university in general, I was exposed to a need for organization. I have always been a mixed bag when it came to being well prepared. I have two modes, 100% ready for anything and absolutely nothing done. For the most part I would be the latter. University gave me a chance to really explore my organizational style and see how it makes life easier for me. This summer while working I was able to use this when working on projects with deadlines.

Determination

Something I pride my work on is my determination to get the job done. If I don’t know the answer to a question I will go out of my way to find the answer. Once again, starting university has helped me improve this skill massively. While working at one client site this summer I faced several serious problems that resulted in setbacks. The determination that I had gained while doing reports and attempting to understand more complex coursework in first year gave me the confidence to push through and surpass these problems that came in my way.

Planning and Drafting

One of my modules in my first year of computing was Digital World: Information Systems and Design. The code for this course if you want to check it out is CIS1108. This course focused around designing and implementing IT systems for businesses and customers. One of our tasks included designing a database and network system for a local business. During the summer I was tasked with something similar and was able to almost replay the design process piece for piece.

Networking

Networking is one of my main fields of interest and study. This summer I was involved in some large networking projects with several ISP’s in Ireland that I had previously been involved with. My first year module named Computer Architecture and Networks gave me some valuable information regarding standards and implementation of networks. While some of the information presented to me in this course was not new it does mean that other students who have not experienced networking before we’re covered. So if you’re worried about it being too complicated, don’t.

Security

Finally, the last skill that I was able to take away from University and apply it to my work in the real world this summer was Security. Being security conscious in the every more connected world is important. Very important. In my first year I was taught about basic security and how it relates to threats in the real world. While it is easy to understand and implement very secure passwords, encryptions and physical security the basics are often overlooked. In one of my installs this summer I thought back to my lectures regarding security and included a pamphlet regarding social engineering to the client.

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These five skills; Organization, Determination, Planning and Design, Networking and Security that I learned in my first year and I can honestly say they have been a great help.

If you want to check out some of my work you can read about a UniFi network install at a large home in Donegal, Ireland here:

https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Stories/UniFi-and-FTTH-Rethinking-LAN-s-in-Ireland/cns-p/2473683

And if you want more free and great information on any topic email think@edgehill.ac.uk or leave a comment below and I will get back to you. If you want to suggest something to write about or want to be interviewed leave a comment below also and I will get back to you personally!

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Working at a Summer Camp

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all having a lovely summer – hopefully the weather will pick up again soon! It has been my second time working at a kids camp for 6 weeks and it has been an experience I will never forget. If you are considering applying to camps for next summer, I highly recommend it!

  1. Camp America but in England

If you are concerned about the cost for working abroad, a residential camp in England is ideal to experience camp life whilst staying in the same country! As I live in Manchester, it was nice to enjoy a more rural location for a change, filled with beautiful views and countryside.

  1. Meet people from all over the world

The best part of working at a kids camp for me, is the chance to get to know campers and fellow staff from all over the world. Campers were from other countries like Spain, Italy, Saudi Arabia… the list goes on! There are not many places with opportunities like this which I am so grateful for.

  1. It is enjoyable and beneficial to you

Not only have I had one of the best summers I have ever had (really!), it has allowed me to develop multiple skills. Part of my job was to plan and run activities for children from 6 to 17 years old. Quad bikes, fire-making, outdoor cookery and raft-building are examples of skills I didn’t know I had! The other part of my job was a more pastoral role as it involved looking after a dorm of children each week.

If you are looking for ways to add to your CV, earn money, or simply have fun, there is no better job than working at camp. Now I have had these 2 years of experience, I am hoping it will give me that extra bit of confidence when going into my third and final year of Primary Ed. Have you worked at a kids camp before?

If you have any questions, drop me a comment below!

Thanks, Anna 🙂