It’s never too late to join a society!

Maybe you’re in your third year of university, or even doing a masters like me, but it’s never too late to join a society!

For context, in the three years of my undergraduate degree I never once joined a society. I had planned to but I could never decide what I wanted to do. When I finished I had some regrets which is why I promised myself that during my postgrad I would take the leap and join one.

Meeting new people

I know from starting a postgrad, that making friends can be a challenge in this type of environment. Quite often many post-graduate students are less eager to make friends due to the fact the course is (usually) only one year and is quite independent. Joining a society gives you the opportunity to make some new friends who come from different degrees or walks of life. This means that you can find people who enjoy similar things to you and even discover new things you may like.

Get out and socialise

For third years and post-graduate students, often finding the time to socialise whilst juggling your uni workload and a potential part-time job can be a challenge. Joining a society means you have meetings and socials that you can attend whilst forgetting those stresses. Also, knowing you have (at least) an hour a week with your society means you can arrange your time, and include socialising in your schedule without feeling any guilt about it.

Again, many post-graduate students may struggle to find friends to do social things with. I know this year, most of my friends left at the end of their undergraduate degree, so it has been nice to be able to make some new friends through my society.

Developing those skills

One great reason to join a society as a third-year or post-graduate student is the ability to gain new skills! Many societies such as Gaming Development, St. Johns Ambulance and British Sign Language, all give you the opportunity to develop new skills. These skills are all things that you can take with you when you finish your degree, and they will be skills that you have enjoyed making.

Luckily for me, at the start of the year was given the opportunity to nominate myself for a committee position, which I won. This has given me the opportunity to further develop my interpersonal skills, giving me something that I will be able to talk about on my LinkedIn profile and in job interviews.

Hopefully, I have been able to persuade you to take the leap and join a society. Refresher’s Week is coming up and there are even more opportunities to check out what’s on offer. Make sure to attend and have a look at what ‘tickles your fancy’. You may only have a few months of your degree left but remember it is never too late to try something new!