My Story - Chen

Before studying at the University of Sheffield I was raised and educated in China. I went to an international high school in Beijing where I meet various people from a wide range backgrounds and nations. During that time, I had a taste of British education and was looking forward to a higher education experience in the United Kingdom.

The University of Sheffield has a good reputation in academic performance, research and student life. I chose to study Materials science and engineer because I believe that a material scientist is able to design a new material, which is the very kind of life I was dreaming about in my childhood. As I read through the department’s website articles and spoke to a student studying this course, it’s clear that studying Materials Science and Engineering at Sheffield is highly regarded.

Sheffield is a nice city with good history and is known as a steelmaking city. As an international student, I have a good experience with the University. People are very welcoming and friendly; I found it is easy to get involved in various student events and societies. The atmosphere here is great for studying and living, I really enjoy meeting new friends and making new friends from all over the world.

One of the scariest things for me as an international student is graduation because I‘d have to decide to whether to stay in the UK or go back home before my student visa expires. With such pressure, I started to search for graduate jobs seven months before graduation. No one is born successful, finding a job is no easy path and I was rejected numerous times. After a few attempts, I came to realise that applying for job without the correct mindset is like shooting targets with your eyes closed. This is the experience I would like to share with anyone who, like me, is trying to find a job in the UK as an international student – ask yourself what your biggest advantage is when a company is deciding to hire you. For me, and I believe this also applies to the majority of international students that, the strongest point is the experience of western life and at the same time the ability to speak other languages. After I came to realise this point, I started to look for job targets to international students only. In the end, I am very lucky that I found a job that requires my engineering expertise and my language skills – the company deals a lot with China and is planning to grow their business in China. Again, no one is born successful; it is all about adjusting yourself when you are taking actions. This is my story, what is yours?

Chen