Student Spotlight - Charlie Swan
A Social Sciences qualification will open up a number of career opportunities in the public, private and voluntary sectors. The skills you develop will prepare you for jobs that require employees to be creative; critical; complex problem solvers; mature; and objective.
In this week’s blog, we caught up with a student who changed their direction of study to pursue a career in this field 👇
What’s your name and what course are you studying?
My name is Charlie Swan, and I study HNC Social Sciences.
What were you doing before the course and why did you decide to do it?
Before the course, I was at high school. At the time, I wanted to do science, and I wanted to go into chemistry, so it has been a bit of a change. I took Higher Psychology and Advanced Higher Chemistry last year and I decided to go into psychology instead. I choose to study social science because I thought it would be interesting.
How did you feel when you started at UHI Perth?
When I started college, it was very different to school, but I enjoyed it because it’s a different environment. I met new people and my lecturers are cool. Online classes are a bit of a pain, but that’s just because I sometimes struggle to pay attention in those classes.
What subjects do you study on the course?
In the course we have five subjects, including the research methodologies. They are primarily psychology, sociology, criminology, politics, and history.
How do you get on with your classmates?
I don't do much talking, but the people I have talked to, they're quite nice. I've got my own group of pals and folk I like to hang around with.
Have you faced any challenges whilst you’ve been on the course?
I learned at the beginning of my time here that I have dyspraxia, and I really struggle with deadlines. and it makes it difficult when I have multiple assignments due every other week. But the lecturers have been helpful. And so, when I do need extra time for my assignments, I can just ask and say due to my dyspraxia, I need an extra week just to get this done and that's what the lecturers help me with.
What subjects have you enjoyed on the course?
Sociology, politics and history are all interesting. Like I said earlier it’s so different from school and I really enjoy how the lecturers teach the classes. And sociology is very interesting. It's so complicated and complex to get your head around, but it's just very interesting.
What are your plans after you finish the course?
What I'm thinking of doing is taking politics and sociology next year and just focusing on getting a degree in those two subjects.
What advice would you give to people who are coming to college for the first time?
Be polite. Don't be afraid to ask questions - your lecturers are going to help you.
