Throughout the past few months, we’ve posted blogs from LSE alumni and employers about what it’s like to work in certain sectors, including their advice for current students.

In this blog you can find a recap of what they said – check out previous posts too and look out for more posts this year!

Culture, arts and heritage

Guest blog by LSE alum Vishal Kumar who studied BSc Economics and Geography (2014) and is now working at Sotheby’s:

Auction houses are fascinating places to work. Like other cultural institutions, auction houses have Specialists with unrivalled academic knowledge of art. However, the auction business has always been a commercial enterprise often associated with glamour and glitz. Yet, despite their differences, institutions in the cultural sector are looking for graduates with business skills. Firms nowadays optimise customer service, streamline operations and improve management decisions through insights drawn from big data and this is where I have found demand for my skillset at Sotheby’s. [I] will give you some background about how I got to where I am, an insight into the type of work I currently do, and some insider tips for breaking into the arts and culture.

International development (think tanks)

Guest blog by LSE alum Sejal Patel who studied MSc Environmental Economics and is now working at the Overseas Development Institute:

I did my master’s in Environmental Economics at LSE. Before this I undertook an undergraduate degree in Economics and Geography at UCL and then spent some time working in both the public and private sector, with positions in China and India as well as the UK. What attracted me to working in an international development think tank after graduating from LSE, as opposed to say in international development consulting, was the flexibility of being a researcher in the field. It is a cross between being an academic and a consultant. Like a consultancy, you work on projects, which vary in size, scope, and duration. But like an academic, you involve yourself in furthering learning, practice and knowledge; you write journal articles as well as reporting to clients on your findings.

Economic consultancy

Guest blog by LSE alum Michele Granastein, now working at Oxera:

When I started my MPA in Public and Economic Policy at the LSE in 2008, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I knew I wanted to use the economic concepts and skills I acquired during my undergraduate and master’s degrees and work in a dynamic environment that combined aspects of Academia, the private and the public sectors. After attending a Careers Fair at LSE, and speaking to Oxera, I learned that economic consultancy was a career that covered all of these elements and which would be a good fit for me.

Startups/entrepreneurship

By Laura-Jane Silverman, LSE Generate/LSE Careers:

…despite the ease with which energy and motivation for your particular subject is generated, the reality of starting a sustainable social enterprise to tackle the problem can be a lot trickier. And while your drive to tackle a social issue may take you some way, it requires a lot more than that to ensure business success and sustainability, satisfy your client, and achieve your original social or environmental goal. We’ve put together a few tips you might want to consider if you’re looking at creating your own social enterprise.