Lectures have begun, term time is back in full swing and for those
students in their final years the grim spectre of jobs is probably raising its
head. This is somewhere that the AGI may be able to help. We have recently made
our membership free to all students (including post grads). Joining the AGI
opens up a community of GI professionals to you with excellent opportunities
for networking with potential employers.
In addition to free membership we also run a series of showcase events
around the UK and an annual conference all of which are heavily discounted for
students. These events provide the opportunity to attend presentations and
workshops on the latest issues affecting the industry. The showcase events are
particularly suited to students as we run them regionally around the UK reducing
travel time and leaving you less at the mercy of our rail network. We actually
have one such event taking place in York on the 14th of November (details
here) which is ideal for students in the Yorkshire area.
Alongside these big regional annual events we also have a variety of
other events tied up with our Special Interest Groups and Regional Groups.
These range from evening presentations to networking drinks and are a great way
to get involved with the industry. SIG events give you the chance to pick
events that are heavily focused on your chosen area of study.
Although the days of ‘who you know not what you know’ are over for the
vast majority of us (I will refrain from any cynicism here). I can definitely say
that knowing something and knowing someone definitely seems to be the best way
to get a job. This is both from personal experience (not in my current role) and
that of many of my colleagues and friends. In fact I met an AGI member at our
last AGI GeoDrinks event, Jack Goodwin (who has kindly given me permission to
quote him) who got his current job through a connection he made at a GeoDrinks
networking event last year.
Going into 2014 we plan to be doing more to help our student members
from more useful content on the website (the shiny new one we are getting next
year) to guides and tips on job hunting and CVs and any input on what might be
helpful is always welcome.
So in short; join up, it’s free, we’re going to be doing more for
students and we want to hear what you would like us to be doing. Also in the
meantime keep networking and I don’t me cringey champagne and suits based
events it’s all a lot more natural and informal than that! Come along to the
next AGI event near you and find out.
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