Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

I am currently studying Russian. Upon (hopefully) taking up my new position in our Moscow embassy in the new year I will be the lead UK diplomat in the spheres of science, innovation, higher education and space policy.

I am studying Russian full-time, so it's a rather odd existence. A typical civil servant, though, will spend their day meeting with stakeholders in their field, weighing up policy options, advising ministers, and developing legislation. There are also operational roles - for example, in customs and immigration.

The opportunities, the contact with senior players in government and the sectors you work in, and feeling like I'm working for a cause bigger than just myself. I also really appreciate the commitment to equal opportunities and diversity. I feel like I work in a meritocracy, which is very important to me.

Negative public perceptions of the civil service (much like the Royal Family, we can't defend ourselves); continued cuts to headcount (meaning more work to share around, and more pressure). Don't expect to earn millions, but you can be perfectly comfortable on a civil service salary.

The civil service is a fantastic sphere of work and the calibre of people working in policy development is very high. The thing I like most about it is the variety. I started my career in asylum casework - interviewing, making decisions on asylum cases and then defending negative decisions in court.

I moved on to managing an administrative team, then to designing policing policy and drafting legislation at the Home Office; negotiating EU budgets at HM Treasury; managing ministers' offices at the Home Office and the Business Department; then into the development of higher education policy, and now studying to become a diplomat in Moscow. There aren't many organisations that can offer that kind of variety. And the job security's pretty good too.

It's very difficult to enter the civil service now unless through the graduate Fast Stream, which aims to recruit the senior civil servants of the future and I highly recommend. You require a 2:2 in any discipline, and will need to pass minimum standards of English and maths.

Plenty. The Fast Stream offers a generous and intensive programme, and the civil service in general is good at investing in its staff.

October 16- Present: Managing staffing, recruitment, finances and processes for ministerial offices at the Department for International Trade.

August 16- October 16: Project managing the installation of new ministerial offices for the Department for International Trade.

April 15- July 16: Studying Russian prior to cancelled diplomatic posting in Moscow.

Sept 14- April 15: Developing higher education quality strategy for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Sept 12- August 14: Managing ministers' offices at the Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (David Willetts).

Sept 11- Sept 12: EU budget negotiations at HM Treasury.

April 09- Sept 11: Policing policy and legislation.

Prior experience: Asylum casework and team management.

Possibly back to my previous plan of a posting abroad. It's the last 'big thing' I haven't yet ticked off my career list.

Getting into the civil service is incredibly competitive, but worth it. You need to know what to expect during the recruitment process, so your best chance is to find someone who understands it - ideally someone who's done it themselves - and who can give you advice. It takes all sorts to work in the civil service, so don't be put off by thinking your discipline won't 'fit'.