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When reading Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You recently, Sam Payne (History 2012) reflected on his own life and career as a social worker and family therapist.

The novel features four millennials with different jobs, struggling for meaning in their lives.

Sam says: “None of them derive the meaning from their work that they would’ve expected to and that’s a theme that speaks to a lot of people of my generation. But it’s not one that ever speaks to me. I feel very purposeful, there’s such a basic human level in being there for people in strife and difficulty. It provides its own justification.”

When Sam was perusing the Facebook pages of Law firms, as many humanities students do midway through their University of Cambridge studies, it did not encourage him to apply. While acknowledging that for many the route is the right one, he recognised there was an alternative for him.

He adds: “Cambridge can often create an expectation about the type of work you’re going to do afterwards. ‘Is that a good use of this degree?’ and things like that. And just because there are lots of doors open, it doesn’t necessarily mean any particular one is the right one to step through…

“It’s personal. I knew I wanted to work in the public sector – that was one of the things I took from my parents: to do a job that you care about and that has some personal meaning.”

Sam grew up in Birmingham, attending a state grammar. His mother was a doctor until her retirement and his father is a vicar.

While looking at career options, Sam stumbled upon , a charity which delivers a two-year, salaried social work training programme focusing on children and young families.

“It’s like Teach First for social work,” he adds. “The traditional undergraduate or masters routes have more of an emphasis on academia, whereas Frontline appealed because you focus on being in practice. It looked like an interesting opportunity, so I applied.”

Sam deferred his place to live and work at The Anchor on Silver Street, overlooking the Mill Pond, before beginning his role in 2016 in a London Borough where he has been ever since.

“When I first applied I had this idea of becoming a civil servant eventually and thought I didn’t want to do the traditional move from a desk in a library in Cambridge straight to a desk in Whitehall and presume to be able to contribute to the running of the country,” he says.

“But within six months of starting social work I thought to myself ‘I’m not leaving this’. In the civil service, even though you would be doing good for many more people in a utilitarian way, you lose the proximity.

Within six months of starting social work I thought to myself ‘I’m not leaving this’

“Being able to work directly with people is a real privilege and a huge part of what I enjoy about it. So the idea of taking a step back and moving into a policy space is not attractive at all.”

The myriad challenges and unknowns of a role in a borough which crosses the socio-economic spectrum – with people from all parts requiring assistance for different reasons – keep Sam on his toes.

He says: “I potentially work with 30 families a year, and only some of those intensively, but the intimacy and feedback make it emotionally and intellectually stimulating to puzzle out what’s going on for those people and how things might be better for them.

“That’s not to say social services always has the positive impact which we hope for… but being able to try and help families in need is pretty compelling.”

When at 91ֱ�� he was the GCSU Access Officer and supported the admissions and outreach work of the College, advising on applying to Cambridge. Now his advice is simple.

He says: “It’s a question of internally, what is going to make you feel like that was a worthwhile thing to do with your day?”

- Name changed for the purposes of the article