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What we’re talking about:

Today I’m chatting with Jo, who completed a Bachelor of Science and Arts at Monash University. While we do spend time discussing her course, the major themes in our discussion are more about how she followed her interests and took advantage of a range of opportunities that allowed her to explore all of these areas leading her to her current role at the Bureau of Meteorology.

Learning to be true to yourself

This is a common theme throughout this conversation, and it’s a really important discussion to have. It’s easy to be led by the opinions of others as you make choices around subjects, courses and even how you spend your spare time. If you can tune into yourself, pay attention to what you love to do and what you want to achieve, you can take the pressure off and make the next best step forward for you at each stage. Jo shares how she struggled with this in Year 12 and how she got through it and ended up in a much better place mentally as she learnt to pursue her interests. 

Other opportunities to explore at university

Jo got involved in some different programs while she was at uni that had a profound effect on her both personally and in terms of her career. She was a mentor for Access Monash and loved giving back by mentoring high school students who hadn’t experienced the same privilege as she had to help them access tertiary study. She also did the Greensteps program and an internship with the sustainability department at Monash City Council to explore her interest in environment and sustainability that she wasn’t explicitly studying within her degree. She describes her experiences in these programs and how they were at least as informative and important to her as the courses she completed.

Meteorology

After completing Science and Arts and majoring in Physics and French, Jo felt that a career involving environment and sustainability actually aligned more closely with her interests and values. She applied for lots of different roles before coming across the Graduate program at the Bureau of Meteorology and realised that it not only would allow her to explore these areas, it also required a background in Physics or Maths as a prerequisite which meant she was qualified for the role. Jo shares her experience in this program so far.

Links mentioned:

My website: https://www.roadmapeducation.com
Bachelor of Science and Arts at Monash: https://www.monash.edu/study/courses/find-a-course/2022/science-and-arts-s2006

Graduate Diploma in Meteorology: https://learn.bom.gov.au/course/view.php?id=172

Access Monash: https://www.monash.edu/access

Monash University’s Greensteps program: https://www.monash.edu/msdi/study/extracurricular/greensteps

Jo also shared this resource with me after our interview, relating to the theme we discussed around being guided by values, not goals.

ACT Mindfully: https://www.actmindfully.com.au/free-stuff/