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.

You will need to be able to adapt to a wide variety of calls that will come to you, both through the 999 line and the non-emergency (101) line. You must assess the levels of threat, harm and risk in any emerging situation and assign the correct police response, whilst adapting to any spontaneous changes that will occur during the call. You must assess any vulnerabilities in the caller that will change the way you deal with them, such as an identified disability or mental health issue. You must do all of this whilst maintaining the balance between professionalism and compassion, and ensuring that officers on the ground have any information that could be relevant or might influence their safety.

A typical shift will be 9-10 hours, you might be starting at any time of the day or night according to your rota. Some calls will be easy, and won't take you more than a few minutes such as passing a message to an officer or redirecting people to a local authority. Most will take you between 7-15 minutes as you sift out the essential information from the often disorganised information that the member of the public has given you. You may take a call that will last even longer, such as a high risk missing persons enquiry where every detail may be the difference between life and death, or a domestic incident where you will be the only source of comfort to the caller whilst the aggressor is attempting to force entry to their house or room.

It's really satisfying to know that your entire day is dedicated to helping people that are in trouble. For many people, this will be the first time they have interacted with the police and I have the opportunity to bring an understanding and kind face to the force, ensuring they aren't scared to call in future if they need to. It's also great when you can turn somebody's day around, from them crying at the beginning of the call to laughing at the end of it. Finally, your co-workers will be a great asset. You will form a very strong team bond with them, and I have never experienced the "office politics" that you encounter in lower intensity jobs. Plus, if you like the occasional bit of dark humour then you will not be disappointed, it allows the team to feel more comfortable with the less pleasant incidents.

You will come into contact with some very unpleasant behaviour, many of whom will react with hatred as you are the only tangible manifestation of the police that they can reach. You will have to deal with emotionally charged situations regularly, such as being the first point of contact with a recent rape victim or trying to take details from a mother whose 16 year old son is missing and has left a suicide note. There is always the chance that a situation may turn from peaceful to violent in a split second, and if you do not make the right choices at the right time then people may well become injured or lose their lives.

The idea of policing was suggested to me quite early in my first year of uni, I liked the idea of helping people and taking on challenges that not everyone is willing to accept. I aim to eventually be an officer, but given current budgets the recruitment branches of police forces can afford to be very picky. This job is giving me experience in the field and is a step towards my next goal, and will allow me to perform it far better than I otherwise would.

My philosophy degree has been of some use (once you finish getting ribbed by your co-workers for the "useless degree"), the considerations on ethics are essential to make sure that you do not overreach the ethical bounds of policing. The logic training can supplement this in incidents where you have to prioritise multiple victims according to principles of threat risk and harm. I took a couple of modules in sociology and psychology which have both helped a lot as well, when you can understand the foundational reason for why exactly someone is being unpleasant or uncooperative it helps you to stay focused, maintain your compassion and not get angry. Finally, the social aspect of university has been of tremendous help. I learned to interact successfully with people from all sorts of backgrounds which is essential in this line of work: everyone might need the police one day.

Since university I worked as a bartender in a yacht club for a year, whilst also working on my bike with Deliveroo and doing a couple of odd-jobs for members of the yacht club. Those jobs kept me going financially until I secured my job with the police.

I plan initially to be an officer, after which there are a huge variety of career roles that are tempting. Being a drone specialist would be interesting, but it would be great to have the companionship of a dog handler. It would be very exciting to join the armed response unit, but it might be more intriguing to become a detective. I've also been toying with the idea of moving to London later in my career as a transferee, as the Met have a far wider selection of options to choose from including counter-terrorism, organised crime surveillance and royal protection.

If you find the idea of the job meaningful, then I really do recommend it. You actively know that you are helping people make their lives better every single day you go to work. However, be prepared for a salary that will be eclipsed almost immediately by your private sector friends.