Work and study

Q: Do you work or study? A: I work, full-time, though it doesn't always feel that different from studying given how much I still have to learn on the job. I've been in the same field for a few years now, but the actual day-to-day keeps shifting under me in ways I didn't expect when I started. So it's work, technically, but rarely feels finished or settled. Q: Why did you choose that field? A: Partly by accident, if I'm honest — I fell into it after a placement I only took because nothing else was available at the time, and it turned out to suit me far better than anything I'd actually planned for. Looking back, I think I liked that it rewarded curiosity rather than just repetition. That's not the tidy answer people usually expect, but it's the true one. Q: What is the hardest part of it? A: Probably the unpredictability — some weeks are calm and manageable, and then everything lands at once and you're just trying to stay above water. I've gotten better at not letting that throw me the way it used to, but I wouldn't say I've fully solved it. The other genuinely hard part is switching off once the day is technically over. Q: What do you plan to do next? A: Nothing drastic in the immediate future, though I'd like to move into something with a bit more responsibility over the next year or two. I'm in less of a hurry than I used to be about climbing anything quickly — I'd rather get properly good at what I'm doing first. Beyond that, I try not to plan too rigidly, because the best opportunities so far have come from directions I didn't see coming.