Meet James Hugh McAllister

About James

Degrees studied:

Philosophy

Year graduated:

2023

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about what you've done since graduating.

I work at the Town Hall in the Democratic Services Team as a Democratic Officer. In this role I am responsible for arranging, clerking, and managing Committee Meetings for local politicians (councillors) in Darlington.

I am responsible for 6 committees, clerking school appeals, and any other work to support democracy in Darlington. 

I originally went straight into teaching Religious Education, but left my teaching course and role in January due to financial issues (you do not get paid for your training year of teaching in certain subjects). 

I then applied to my local council to work as an Elections Assistant, and worked on 2 elections in 2024. The elections team work in the democratic services department, and therefore I had good knowledge of democratic work undertaken at the council.

My elections manager and the Democratic manager retired at the same time, and asked that I applied to join the Democratic side of the department. 

In March 2025, I started as a Democratic Officer. I thoroughly enjoy my job.  

Studying at Newcastle

Why did you choose to study at Newcastle University?

Being from the Northeast, I had always wanted to attend Newcastle if I were to get the grades. The PARTNERS programme was available to me, and during that summer course I really liked the staff.

Stephen Overy led the course and was amazing; when I found out he was head of the department this consolidated my decision. The programme contained really interesting subjects. Being from the northeast I also knew a lot of people who were to attend Newcastle or were already attending. 

How do you think your course prepared you for your chosen career?

Essay writing requires you to incorporate the work of another to support your own argument. When taking minutes, I feel my essay writing has massively helped my ability to rewrite others words in a digestible manner.

I also feel that the general political exposure you experience in a Philosophy course has aided my political awareness required in my current role. On a more subtle note, emailing lecturers in a respectable manner has also directly transferred into how I communicate with colleagues, councillors, and the public. 

What did you enjoy most about your time at Newcastle University?

Compared to my friends on other courses I definitely seemed to enjoy writing essays more than them. Being graded on something that I had a genuine interest in writing about was very refreshing and I felt that this made me enjoy uni more than others. 

Philosophy as a whole is a very interesting course, and the lecturers added to this. 

What advice would you give to students starting to explore the next steps after graduating?  

Personally, I would start looking before graduating. If entering the teaching world (as a few did on my course), I would ensure you work in a subject you have excellent knowledge of. I was an RE teacher as this was closest to Philosophy. 

I would also say to explore opportunities at your local authority, or any civil service jobs available near to where you wish to locate.

I am constantly so surprised at the board spectrum of jobs advertised at my workplace, a lot of which would suit a Philosophy graduate - equally so for Civil Service jobs.

At my current work place, I am one of the few with a degree, therefore I would recommend Philosophy graduates to also explore this path.