Rachel Clarke
Rachel Clark travelled to Australia in the mid 90s and began working in public health. To climb her career ladder, she realised a masters degree would feature somewhere in her future plans. So Rachel returned home to Bristol, completed an MSc in Public Health at UWE, and has since found the career success she was looking for.
Following three years Down Under, Rachel returned to the UK in 1997 and started looking for jobs in the public health sector here. But finding the right position wasn't as easy as she'd hoped. After nearly six albeit successful years with the Audit Commission, Rachel decided it was time to go for her MSc and use it to steer her back in the right direction.
Not the only one
"So, in 2003, I took the plunge," says 44-year-old Rachel. "Although I was a little nervous at first, there were many people like me on the course, with similar experiences and expectations. So I soon relaxed and started enjoying my studies."
The perfect course - in her hometown
Impressed by the support she received from teachers of the MSc course, and the close contacts UWE has with the public health sector, Rachel could really make the most of her uni days. "It was great to have access to all the other stuff you need when you're focused on a particular career," she says, "like social and career networks, industry contacts and up-to-date information about organisations and job opportunities. And it was all here, on my doorstep!"
A stepping stone...
Shortly after completing her Public Health MSc in 2006, Rachel started work as a senior assessment manager for the Healthcare Commission in Bristol. "I was dealing with similar processes and regulations to those I'd worked with at the Audit Commission," she recalls, "so I was more than capable, but I wanted to pursue a more mainstream public health role."
...to the perfect position
So Rachel was delighted when, in November 2007, she landed her current job at the Public Health Observatory, also in Bristol.
"I'm Regional Manager for the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System," she says. "I lead a team of six people, doing great work for the National Treatment Agency and the Home Office. And it's thanks to my MSc from UWE that I'm in this position now.
"It's challenging and can be very stressful at times, but ultimately it's worthwhile - many vulnerable people are getting better help thanks to what we do here."
An eye on the future
And just in case the urge to travel kicks in again, Rachel is learning Spanish A-Level in the evenings. "Any big travel plans will be career-related, I think. I'd like to do something similar abroad one day, so another language would help," she says, "but for the moment I'm just enjoying life. I'm very happy right now, but it doesn't mean the journey's over, does it?"
Page last updated 1 November 2011