Working abroad was a huge step, working at sea was an even bigger one. I had moments at the start, where I thought I would never pass my STCW course (sea safety, fire fighting etc, a course that is required to work at sea) I ended up having to do the course 3 times throughout my career as it has to be renewed every 5 years. I never thought at the start of my career at sea that I would become an actual uniform wearing officer. What I mean by this is an officer in a white uniform with gold stripes (Epaulettes) on my shoulders - but I did when I became the Front Office manager onboard Thomson Spirit, what a massive learning curve I did it!

Be who you want to be. I put the time in to build myself in my career and even now I am still growing. The support and help I've got around me means I have constant help to get me where I want in my career. Even if you don't want to progress up within your role, the support is there as and when needed. Happiness is key within a career, if you aren't happy in what you are doing then it's probably not a role for you. But when you are happy in your role then that will radiate off of you.