For some people, becoming an MP is a lifelong ambition. They dream of sitting in the House of Commons, representing their community and debating the big issues of the day.

I was not one of those people.

For many years, I was an academic at Royal Holloway. I had a passion for geography, which developed into an interest in geopolitics, and eventually I realised that I wanted to use my experience to make a genuine difference to the community I live in.

That path eventually led me into politics and, ultimately, to becoming an MP and sitting on those very green benches.

But there are plenty of other routes into politics – and you certainly don’t have to become an MP.

Perhaps you are sitting in your Politics A-level class at 16, completely fascinated by the complexities and intricacies of the subject.

You enjoy debating ideas, understanding how the world works and, perhaps most importantly, questioning it!

You might go to university, or you might not, and then find yourself wondering what on earth you can actually do with all that enthusiasm.

The good news is, there is quite a lot.

You could work in the Civil Service, helping to develop and deliver government policy. Civil servants work for the government of the day, regardless of which political party is in power, and there are a huge range of roles, from policy and communications to economics, science and international relations.

Alternatively, if you are particularly passionate about the politics of a specific party, you could work for a political party itself.

There are jobs in fundraising, campaigning, communications, events, research and much more. It can be fast-paced, occasionally chaotic, but certainly never boring!

You could also work directly for an MP, either in Parliament or in their constituency. MPs rely on their teams for all sorts of things: writing speeches, helping residents with problems, responding to correspondence, preparing for debates, engaging with the local community and running social media.

And that is only scratching the surface.

There are think tanks, charities, pressure groups, journalism, public affairs, academia and countless other organisations where political knowledge and an interest in public life can be put to good use.

So, if you love politics but aren’t quite sure where it might take you, don’t worry. You don’t necessarily need a grand plan at 16. In fact, I certainly didn’t have one.

Politics is one of those wonderfully broad subjects that can take you in almost any direction. And if you’re lucky, it might even take you somewhere you never expected to go.