{"id":25748,"date":"2024-09-11T11:29:52","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T10:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ounews.co\/?p=25748"},"modified":"2024-09-11T11:29:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T10:29:52","slug":"ou-study-unlocked-career-opportunities-i-never-imagined-were-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/business-law\/ou-study-unlocked-career-opportunities-i-never-imagined-were-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018OU study unlocked career opportunities I never imagined were possible\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Law<\/a> student Thomas, 38, left the British Army, he had no idea what his future would look like. Now in the final year of his Open University (OU) degree, Thomas has secured a prestigious training contract with \u00a0world leading law firm, Freshfields LLP, providing a dream start to his career in law.<\/p>\n

Thomas shares how discovering the OU gave him the confidence to forge ahead with higher education, embracing a host of new opportunities along the way.<\/p>\n

A new start <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having left school with few qualifications, Thomas feared his options would be limited when he left the armed forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was going to do after the army, so I took a couple of GCSEs to open up my options,\u201d Thomas explains. \u201cI got on really well and it gave me the bug for learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsure whether higher education was for him, Thomas decided to take one of the OU\u2019s introductory courses to find out what he was capable of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose a Certificate of Higher Education in Law and French<\/a>. I already spoke French, but I was really surprised how much I loved the law part of the course,\u201d Thomas remembers. \u201cI got a distinction in the end, which filled me with enough confidence to sign up for the degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opening opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Keen to explore different avenues of support, Thomas engaged with the OU\u2019s award-winning Careers and Employability Service, where he discovered an opportunity he couldn\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe advisor encouraged me to apply for the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence scholarship scheme<\/a>, which aims to address under-representation of Black men from less socially mobile backgrounds, in corporate law firms,\u201d Thomas describes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d never heard of it before, but when I found out more, I had to give it a go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faced with a rigorous and competitive assessment process, Thomas was up against around 3,000 applicants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an intense experience so I couldn\u2019t believe that I was one of only 16 successful candidates,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cIt was the OU that opened the door to that scholarship – I\u2019ll always be grateful. In fact, another OU Law student was also accepted, and we\u2019ve become really good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grabbing every opportunity the scholarship had to offer with both hands, Thomas had the best seat in the house to delve into different aspects of law, giving him enough experience to narrow down the type of law he wanted to pursue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to spend time with all sorts of companies in a wide range of industries, which really opened my eyes and answered a lot of questions around specialisms,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cI realised that I want to practice corporate law and then started looking for training contracts in that field.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a hugely competitive market, Thomas\u2019 resilience was tested as he received several disappointing responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen those rejection letters drop on the door mat, it feels awful. You really need to be kind to yourself,\u201d Thomas shares. \u201cIt\u2019s the same with assignments, a disappointing result isn\u2019t the end of the world. Just pick yourself up, read the feedback and implement it next time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Undeterred, Thomas kept plugging away until eventually the offer he dreamed of landed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible to think of where I was when I left the army, and now I\u2019m on course to be a lawyer by 2026, with a job in one of the best law firms in the world when I graduate!\u201d<\/p>\n

Juggling commitments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Choosing to study full time while holding down a busy security job has helped Thomas to become more organised with his time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to be very strict with calendar management because it can be quite tricky when I\u2019m doing more than one module at once,\u201d Thomas reflects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have two assignments, all the reading for both modules and my job to juggle it\u2019s not easy. \u00a0The key is to keep on top my deadlines, be realistic about how much time I need to make edits and check my assignments against the guidance the OU provides, which is so helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 busy schedule hasn\u2019t deterred him from embracing the OU student community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are lots of opportunities to connect with other students at the OU, whether it\u2019s joining societies, forums or organised activities,\u201d says Thomas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might feel like another thing you need to find time for, but it\u2019s rewarding and gives you a real sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his OU journey so far, Thomas has this advice for anyone considering OU study:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe OU opens up a world of possibilities, then it\u2019s up to you to take them. You might feel daunted or doubt you can do it but studying at the OU is a gradual process, you build up your skills and abilities at a manageable pace. There are loads of resources to help you and you\u2019re never left alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas adds, \u201cI can\u2019t recommend the OU highly enough, it\u2019s an amazing university!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Law student Thomas, 38, left the British Army, he had no idea what his future would look like. Now in the final year of his Open University (OU) degree, Thomas has secured a prestigious training contract with \u00a0world leading law firm, Freshfields LLP, providing a dream start to his career in law. Thomas shares […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":25745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11,18],"tags":[52,1525,1640,1643,2142],"class_list":["post-25748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-law","category-law","category-student-stories","tag-access","tag-news-home","tag-ou-home","tag-ou-news","tag-student-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}