Angus Leigh

Angus shares his experience of returning to education after 32 years.

My time at University

I returned to university to take my Masters 32 years after securing my BSc, so I was most definitely a mature student!

After 30 years in business, I was becoming very concerned about the environment. So I decided to make a career change that would allow me to contribute to help tackle the problems of climate change and biodiversity loss.

This was a significant change of direction, and I chose Edinburgh for several reasons:

• it had an excellent reputation for geosciences;
• it provided a wide range of courses that matched my aspirations;
• and I was able to select from a range of different course modules from both Edinburgh University and SRUC, essentially gaining access to two great educational institutions at the same time.

Although it was challenging to return to academic study after such a long absence, and the technology had changed beyond all recognition, I found the experience thoroughly enjoyable.

The staff were supportive and patient, and I found the enthusiasm and optimism of my fellow students to be highly motivating. Field trips, excursions, chats over coffee, lab sessions, lectures - all have provided me with valuable insights and fond memories. It was not an easy year - but I would be quite happy to do it all again!

My experience since leaving University 

After completing my Masters, I was fortunate to secure a position with the Scottish Government.  I worked within the Agriculture and Rural Economy Directorate (ARE) as an Agriculture Officer at the Dumfries Area Office.

I am now a Policy Officer, still within ARE but now based in Edinburgh. Having lived in the countryside all my life, I hoped to make a successful career change and secure work centred around the natural environment and rural communities. I feel extremely fortunate to now find myself in a role that allows me to do just that, working on future rural policy emphasising agriculture.

Currently, I am working for the Scottish Government in a post I took up late in 2020. As my role changed during the Covid-19 crisis, I have yet to meet my new team colleagues face-to-face, which is a little disappointing. Adapting to working from home virtually was also a challenge but more than compensated for by the benefits of a reduced commute!

As a result of my move, I am a step nearer to my overall career aspirations. So, despite some testing times, I am feeling quite content with my current situation.

Alumni wisdom 

Always be optimistic, don't be wary of asking for advice or support and be sure to take the first step at the earliest opportunity. You may still need to change direction, but you have at least set-off!