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Katie Thistleton

Hello and welcome to The ����ý Bitesize Careers Podcast. My name's Katie Thistleton and today we're going to be talking about what your future job might be. You might not know where to start at all, you might have a bit of an idea, but not know what the first step is. You might be looking for some inspiration well that is what we're going to cover today, and I am joined by the wonderful Mark Anderson. Who is an award winning careers coach. Hello, Mark.

Mark Anderson

Hello Katie.

Katie Thistleton

And we're also going to be joined by the wonderful Tolu who works as a healthcare laboratory technician. That sounds very cool. Hello, Tolu.

Tolu

Hello Katie.

Katie Thistleton

What does the day-to- day job involve then? What does being a technician actually mean?

Tolu

So, my job consists of working in the lab with cells and genes. Essentially, they're for medicines that help people with acute diseases.

Katie Thistleton

Essentially, you're working on medicines.

Tolu

Yeah.

Katie Thistleton

And what's your role in making those medicines?

Tolu

So, a lot of that is I'm in the lab doing analytical tests and after that most of it is database. So, it can be quite intense sometimes.

Katie Thistleton

And I suppose something that's really great about doing that job, maybe even the best bit about it, is you're actually doing work that might make a huge difference to people's lives?

Tolu

Yeah, that's the main reason why I like doing it.

Katie Thistleton

That's really great. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing a lot more about your job, but first I've got a little game I'd like to play with you. If you're up for it.

Tolu

Okay? Yeah.

Katie Thistleton

So, because we're talking about your future job today, what your future job might be, I'm going to play a game all about jobs from the future. See what I did there? So, I'm going to shout out some job titles and I want you, Tolu, to tell me whether you think this job existed ten years ago or not. Are you ready?

Tolu

Ready.

Katie Thistleton

A human computer. Did that job exist ten years ago or no?

Tolu

I’m going to say no.

Katie Thistleton

It did. It was apparently what we had before calculators.

Tolu

Okay.

Katie Thistleton

A video game designer.

Tolu

Yes.

Katie Thistleton

It did. Video games existed ten years ago, but I've obviously come a long way now. A drone operator.

Tolu

No.

Katie Thistleton

It didn't exist ten years ago. Well done. A driverless car engineer.

Tolu

No.

Katie Thistleton

It did not exist ten years ago. You got that right as well. A renewable energy engineer.

Tolu

Yeah.

Katie Thistleton

That did exist ten years ago. Renewable energy existed then, but there's a lot more roles in sustainability now. An app developer?

Tolu

Surely? I think so.

Katie Thistleton

It did exist ten years ago. A video assistant referee.

Tolu

No.

Katie Thistleton

VR did not exist ten years ago. It was first introduced in 2018. Well done. You did really well. I really enjoyed that. This is my favourite game we've done so far. You know, this is one of the things that I find so exciting about the world of work, Mark. You know, there are jobs that people are doing now, like some of those jobs that we've just mentioned there, that just didn't even exist when we were at school. So how can people who are watching this and listening to this now think about what their future job is, if they might end up doing a job that doesn't even exist yet?

Mark Anderson

So, it's just really important to not think right now what job you want to do in terms of what job title. But it's more important to think about the environment you want to be working in, who you want to be working with, and just keep keeping an eye on what's going on in the world, so you can see what might be happening in five or ten years’ time.

Katie Thistleton

Is there such a thing as perhaps thinking about an issue that you want to solve? Because I suppose Tolu's already told us what he loves about his job is that he can create medicines and he can help people with their health. Might there be a way you can sit there in your bedroom or in your classroom and think this problem needs solving. Maybe I can one day work on something that helps that?

Mark Anderson

Yeah, definitely. I think one of the key questions to ask yourself when you're thinking about what you want to do in the future is what problem do I want to help solve? What impact do I want to make? Whether it's on individuals, a community, on businesses, whatever. And then that can link your career path to what you're actually passionate about and what you care about.

Katie Thistleton

Yeah, I love that. Tolu, is that something that you thought about when you were picking your future career?

Tolu

Yeah, definitely. I think because I was quite science-based, it was how I can kind of use that ability that have in science and kind of pick something that would help someone.

Katie Thistleton

Was there a particular issue that you wanted to help with?

Tolu

Sickle cell anaemia is something that's quite closely related to my background and stuff. Cancer, of course, the big one. And like cystic fibrosis. All this stuff I used to read up on andI wanted to get like that idea of what's behind it.

Katie Thistleton

That's amazing. Mark, we've talked to there about, you know, thinking about the things that really matter to you and what you might want to change in the world. What are some other things to consider when you're trying to decide what might be the perfect job for you one day?

Mark Anderson

I think it's important to think about, like I said, what's going on in the world. You know, sometimes when you're watching the news or you see something on social media or anything, you know, this really gets me angry or really, you know, stirs my emotions. You know, think what? What is that? What's that what's happening there? And think about, okay, if there's the problem, who is out there solving that problem? Is there somebody solving that problem? Maybe there’s not. Maybe that's something you can start.

Katie Thistleton

Excellent. Lots of food for thought there, guys. Thank you very much. And now it's time for this. it is time for the part of the podcast where we put our guests to the test with the big job interview. Tolu, I'm going to be interviewing you. How do you feel about that?

Tolu

Nervous.

Katie Thistleton

Well, don't be nervous. Mark, any advice for Tolu going into an interview with a big, scary interviewer like me?

Mark Anderson

Just go for it.

Katie Thistleton

What's been your career highlight so far?

Tolu

That one's quite an easy one. I would say. That's probably winning an award at the Royal Society quite recently, and that was the Hauksbee Award.

Katie Thistleton

What's been the scariest moment of your career so far?

Tolu

I wouldn't quite say moment, I would say moments, and that would be probably just trying to put myself out there in terms of just work. So, like that could be maybe like in a meeting where I have to kind of say my point and it might be polarising or it might be kind of volunteering myself for a different type of work that I may not be quite used to.

Katie Thistleton

What advice would you give your younger self about your future career?

Tolu

It ties into that last one, I think I thought it would be, don't be afraid of the outcome, just kind throw yourself at any opportunity you can.

Katie Thistleton

Amazing. And our final question, the big one, would you say that you're doing your dream career?

Tolu

Definitely, yeah.

Katie Thistleton

A full house. A full house on the podcast. Everyone has said that they’re doing their dream career.

Katie Thistleton

Well done for the big job interview, Tolu. I think you did very well. How did you find it?

Tolu

Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Katie Thistleton

Amazing. Good. That's good feedback for me as an interviewer. Mark, if there was one thing that you'd like people to take away from this podcast episode today, what would it be?

Mark Anderson

There's a whole range of things that you need to be asking yourself when you're trying to decide what to do, whether it's thinking about your passions, thinking about what skills you've got, what people say you're good at, as well as thinking about what's going on in the world. So, when you put all of those together, it's really like putting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together.

You answer those questions and then hopefully a picture will start to emerge.

Katie Thistleton

Amazing. Well, thank you so much to both of you today. I feel like I've learnt a lot. I hope you have, too. If you like the sound of Tolu’s job and you'd love to do something like that one day, then check out the careers in healthcare section on the Bitesize Careers website. And if you just don't know where to start with your future career, then you can check out the tips and inspiration section. We've got loads of articles and quizzes there to really help you figure out what you might want to do one day. And thank you so much for watching and listening to The ����ý Bitesize Careers Podcast. See you!