Class of 2020: Amber Scott

Aspiring diplomat Amber Scott knows the job market in the wake of coronavirus will be tougher than ever but is confident the skills she’s picked up on the applied quantitative methods pathway and through her extra-curricular activities will help her get a step ahead.

Amber, who is graduating with a BA International Relations with Applied Quantitative Methods, came to Essex through clearing, after turning down an offer from her reserve choice university.

Modules in her first year that covered social research and voluntary work in ESSEXLab inspired her to follow the Q-Step programme: “I chose the statistics pathway as I wanted to explore this side of the subject further. The more I studied it, the more I enjoyed it,” she said.

She admits it’s been a tough pathway for someone who didn’t study maths or economics at A Level: “I struggled to keep up with the equations and the econometrics involved. Using listen again and going to my lecturer’s office hours and extra help sessions however meant I was able to overcome this.”

Learning from her own experiences she’s been supporting second-year students as a Q-Step mentor in her final year and offers this advice to anyone considering the pathway: “If it is something you are curious about then you should definitely try it as the skills it teaches you will be hugely beneficial when you graduate.”

Amber, who made some of her closest friends through the Essex cheerleading squad, also credits Essex’s extra-curricular opportunities with helping graduates to succeed: “The wide range of activities on offer will help alumni to stand out,” she said. “It also gives them more to discuss in interviews when answering competency questions.”

Amber, who volunteered with the Refugee Teaching Programme, hopes to continue volunteering when she returns to Essex to study an MSc Social Data Science.

“It is such a rewarding experience and you have the chance to really help people and make a difference to their lives,” she said.