Graduate stories
When you choose Birmingham, you benefit from an expert and dedicated careers service who will support you to develop the skills and knowledge you need to stand out and succeed in a competitive graduate job market. Our students go on to excel in a wide range of careers. Find our more about what some of our graduates have achieved and how their time at Birmingham helped them on their journey.
Zainub Butt
Technology Data & Analytics Senior Associate, PwC UK
BSc Mathematics, 2019
I was quite unsure on what I wanted to do when I started university but I knew studying Maths would open a lot of opportunities. I attended a number of careers fairs hosted by the Careers Network to understand what organisations I could apply to and also have a face-to-face conversation on the roles I could apply for, this really opened my mind to a number of graduate opportunities. PwC always stood out as the top graduate employer so I was keen to give it a go. Read more >
John Sewell
CEO and founder of Cosimo Art
BA History of Art, 2018; MA History of Art, 2019
I’ve been really fortunate to have received a wealth of support from the University throughout my start-up journey; from an initial grant to cover the legal fees of setting up, to now working out of the brand new Exchange building in the city centre as part of the UoB Elevate incubator programme. Read more >
Elizabeth Conway
BBC Sport journalist on the BBC Journalism Trainee Scheme
Modern Foreign Languages and English, 2020
My time at Birmingham gave me so many experiences that I could talk about in my applications. This ultimately allowed me to get to interview stage. Burn FM radio and Redbrick helped me understand how to package radio shows, broadcast news and publish and propagate stories. I formed a great network of like-minded people and attended alumni events of people in the industry who I kept in touch with and gained advice from. Read more >
Baljinder Singh Atwal
Solicitor, West Midlands Police
Law LLB, 2015
The university gave me so many life skills and abilities which I was completely unaware of until I left as a graduate. Being on a large course with a wide range of talented and diverse people allowed me to develop good social skills very early on. Outside of my course I enjoyed the whole host of opportunities available through societies and sport. I played rugby for the Law School and made some great contacts which I would not have met through my lectures and seminars alone. Read more >
Kamil Rog
Graduate Town Planner, Atkins
BA Geography, 2020; MSc Urban and Regional Planning, 2021
Working well in a team is a key skill in many industries, and your time at University is the best way to grow and evidence your ability – be it through assignment group work or student societies and sports.
Contributing to various student society committees during my studies developed the co-ordination, time management and leadership skills that are key to becoming a successful candidate. Your time at University provides many opportunities to become confident in your strengths, and Careers Network are there to help you apply that into your journey beyond. Read more >
Olamide Majekodunmi
Founder of All Things Money and freelance writer
BSc Business Management with a Year in Industry, 2020
As I didn’t have plans to go into a graduate role post-uni, I didn’t use the careers services in my final year. However, when applying for my year in industry, I used the careers services then, and they did a fantastic job at recommending the best places to search for placement opportunities, proof-reading my CV and prepping me for the different interview processes I went through. I honestly couldn’t recommend the careers services at Birmingham more as I probably wouldn’t have landed my year in industry without them! Read more >
Deborah studied MEng Mechanical and Materials Engineering, she's now a Graduate Materials Engineering Trainee (Video transcript)
Jamie studied BSc Sports & Materials Science and Materials Science and Engineering MEng, he's now a Graduate Research Engineer at the National Composites Centre (Video transcript)
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Tom studied BSc Physics with Particle Physics and Cosmology and MSc Computer Science, he's now IRIS IAM Service Manager, Science and Technologies Facilities Council (Video transcript)
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