What do you do at work?

I am doing my doctorate, it is part of the COMPLEX project which studies the effect of secondary EU law into national laws.

What do you like best about your job?

The flexibility, the never ending acquisition of knowledge, my colleagues. The work is very enriching and allows me to understand better research and academia in general.

How did you get this job, and how is your career journey after graduating?

I applied to the job offer soon after graduation, I got the job in September, so only about 2/3 months after finishing the master’s degree at NTNU.

How do you use your skills learned from your studies in your job?

This master’s degree taught me a lot, I had excellent professors, and especially Lise Rye that was my thesis supervisor. This master has taught me practical things like how to do a policy analysis and as well as how to improve my research and writing skills.

What is your best career advice for current students?

To think about it early on, what would you like to do, in what sector and start to adapt your learning towards it, same for your internship and try to create your network of people.

What do you do at work?

Education and dialogue work. I teach youth about topics like dialogue, democracy, racism and freedom of speech. My employer offer this kind of education to all schools in our region in Norway. In addition I give some lectures every year at our siste institution, on the Nansen Academy, lectures on EU-related topics. Among these are 'the EU as a peace project', 'European identity', 'EU institutions and the European Parliament', with the last being the topic of my Master's thesis.

What do you like best about your job?

I enjoy both the teaching part, but also working a place where I regularly can discuss and have dialogoe with students about what is going on in the world.

How did you get this job, and how is your career journey after graduating?

During the European Studies masters course, I had two trainee positions. One for the Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo and one for a Danish parliamentarian in the European Parliament, located in both Brussels and Strasbourg. Both of these were the main experiences I used to get my current job.

How do you use your skills learned from your studies in your job?

Firstly, I use my knowledge about the EU when having lectures on that topic. Important here is also having learned the skill to stay updated on the topic even after my studies. I also use my knowledge of international politics and history when teaching youth. Having that knowledge as a foundation, makes it easier for me to ask the right questions and to teach in the best possible way.

Did you have part-time paid jobs or voluntary jobs during your studies that are relevant to your job today?

I had one year in the Student Parliament at NTNU, that I have used in applications when knowledge of administration or political systems has been relevant. In adittion I worked in the Student Media at Samfundet. Other than that it is really my two trainee positions that has helped me the most. Those were not voluntary, but paid positions. But I should add that I got those trainee positions by first having done volunteer work, which I used in my applications for trainee positions.

What is your best career advice for current students?

Try to get an internship or two! To get those, having done some volunteering in organisations of some sort, helps a lot. But the experiences as a traine have been more important in applications and interviews than what I actually studied. I had to postpone the writing of my masters thesis due to having two 6-month long internships, but that was well worth it. Not only for the work experience, but also to experience a different place, job, and culture.