Question: What advice would you give to your younger self?

Melissa Upjohn answered on 19 Nov 2025:

Study subjects that you enjoy, don’t worry too much about figuring out what job you want to do if you’re not yet sure, there’s loads of time to figure things out. This is true for A levels and also for a degree if you decide to go to university. I thought I knew what I wanted to do but after a few years of working I realised I really wasn’t enjoying it and so I did new A levels to enable me to change direction (I was originally working in finance, using my maths, French and German A levels together with a degree in Banking and International Finance) but after studying Biology and Chemistry A levels a few years later I went back to university to study veterinary medicine! And even then, it took me a while to figure out how best to use my veterinary qualification, initially I worked as a clinical vet, looking after horses in the UK, then I did a PhD studying horse welfare in developing countries and decided to work in the animal welfare charity sector after I’d finished my PhD.