To ask what other professional roles are good to do as well as a career?

[Snickerdoodles]

Just posting this out of curiosity more than anything :)

I was reading an interview with Prue Leith in the Sunday Times magazine earlier today, and she mentioned how she’s been involved in business directorships and board memberships for a few years now.

Obviously, it’s way too early for me to be thinking about opportunities like board memberships, as I’m in my mid-twenties and have only just started out in a graduate job. I’m hoping that this will lead to a career, as there does seem to be good career progression in the role I’m in now.

But I’m interested to see if you have any advice on what I should do now and in the years to come to seek out and get professional opportunities alongside my career that I would enjoy and find fulfilling. I’ve heard, for example, that looking for vacancies for school governor roles could be a good start. Is that a good idea at this stage?

Bump :)

I'm a school governor, and it's certainly very interesting, but it does require a significant time commitment to do it properly - i.e. to attend all of the meetings and read all of the associated paperwork, visit the school regularly and write up reports, attend the requisite number of training sessions and fulfil any other "extra" responsibilities that you're asked to take on. Obviously, there will be some variation from school to school.

You could also consider becoming a trustee for a charity, if you have skills that might be relevant. Again, very interesting and rewarding but a significant time commitment is required to do it properly.

You might also want to consider volunteering in a more hands-on capacity, e.g. by mentoring a young person? Or if you could fit it in around your work, you could look into becoming a magistrate?

I agree with BrokenBiscuit about the time commitment for being a Governor, and would als ask what you are 'bringing to the table' as it were. Schools in non middle class areas are usually crying out for Governors.
However, lots of charities need trustees. What about getting involved in something like Scouting or Guiding - people sometimes don't realise how many people they need to support in the background, not just in running sections.
Virtually every organisation needs treasurers, secretaries, and then 'Executive Committee' / board / governor / type people to support them.
Best to find something you have an interest in.

Thanks Brokenbiscuit and BackforGood :) your posts were really helpful. I’ve recently registered to volunteer with Brownies near where I live (did it before where I used to live before moving to where I live now), and have also registered to work as a volunteer tutor and mentor for a couple of tuition charities. I think this should be about right for now, but do you think this would be enough?

Sounds good. The main thing is that you don't want to over-commit yourself because you'll end up not doing anything properly. It sounds like you're likely to have quite a lot on your plate for the time being, with your existing voluntary commitments, so I would be wary about taking on too much more. I assume that you're working full time as well?

Remember that you don't have to do everything at once. You may choose to pursue one voluntary commitment for a few years, and then decide to try something different. I have a couple of things that I'd like to get involved with in the future, but I'm too busy with my job and my existing voluntary commitments right now, so they will just have to wait until I have more time.

Retained firefighter would fit the bill. Get paid like a part time job and have to do weekly trainings. Fits in around other work and life. Plus you get to help people which is cool!