By Simon Wright
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| It is staggering to think that I did a dissertation 12 months ago |
Today marked
the first anniversary of the end of my journalism degree at the University of
Northampton. Time has flown by over the
past year, and I won’t lie – the first 12 months since finishing my education
have been a frustrating experience.
Rewind a year, and everything felt so different. At exactly this time last year, I was around
a friend’s house in Northampton having some pre-drinks before heading into town
for a final night out to celebrate the end of three years hard work. Now, as I sit here writing this piece – I do
wonder whether putting myself through the University experience was actually
worth it.
Rewind to last year
Rewind to
2012 and things were changing fast for me.
I had just handed in my notice to the retail company I had worked for
due to not being able to get the local transfer I had been banking on, and the
UoN experience was coming very fast towards its final conclusion.
The final few
weeks of the course felt strange. The
relaxed approach I was able to adopt in the closing stages of second year
wasn’t quite there. Although my control
in assignment deadlines was most definitely still around, the individual in me
was working hard to the finish, but looking into an uncertain future. What would happen once the final assignment
was due? Would I stay in touch with
people? Could I make the full-time media
breakthrough I was hoping to achieve?
When I handed
the final piece in, which was all the paperwork and the DVD disc for my TV
project (see embedded video), the feeling was one of delight that I had
overcome my biggest challenge in conquering University but also a sense of
sadness. It was all over, and all I
could do now was wait and hope my hard efforts would be enough to get the
results I felt I deserved.
Before that,
there was one final journalism night out in town. We had gone out as a group twice in the final
two weeks of second year, but in third year – this hadn’t happened, due to
various workloads and friendship groups that either continued to develop or
even disintegrate.
The night
itself was memorable. I had a very good
time dancing and drinking into the early hours of the next day. At the end of the day, if you can’t enjoy
yourself at this point, you simply won’t enjoy yourself at all in life.
The aftermath
That evening
saw me largely say a final goodbye to the people who I had seen and been with
day in, day out for the past three years.
There was the Silverstone Grad Ball, the graduation day itself in July
and a couple of personal goodbyes in the weeks to come, but as a group, it was
a fitting farewell.
I always
maintain that the group of journalists at the University of Northampton that
started with me in 2009 were hungry to succeed in their future careers. Some had better strengths than others, there
were occasional flaws, mental breakdowns, moments of individual doubt but I can
generally say I got on with the majority and built up some very close
friendships along the way.
Since then,
the dreaded ‘distance’ element has got in the way. Some have drifted out to no contact, but I
guess with time, your presence on their lives is simply not needed. However, I still attempt to keep contact as
much as I can (when I have a reliable smartphone that is), and the memories are
mainly good. Even the bad memories, such
as the dark periods I had are still remembered.
I guess my memory bank is pretty full for the inevitable autobiography
in around two decades times then!
I can
honestly say that I’m proud of everyone that graduated, whether that was last July
or in February 2013, and a good portion of course buddies have done very well
for themselves. From interning with
major radio corporations, succeeding in the PR market with fashion and
political departments, to freelancing for now until something more permanent
crops up, I think everyone is in a stronger position than they were when
arriving at UoN in 2009.
Well done to
everyone, and also on this note, congratulations to those who have finished
their journalism degrees this year at Northampton. I hope you all get the results you deserve.
Too many false dawns
For myself,
the University experience flew by and so has the past 12 months. I will admit that I have achieved a lot since
last May, but it has sadly brought too many false dawns, a growing sense of
frustration and no luck in the full-time market, despite making over 200 job
applications ranging from media and journalism, to admin, marketing and even
library work.
Less than two
weeks after my course finished, I was offered an internship with a football
website, which was unpaid but gave me tremendous experience in the online
world. It allowed me to write about one
of my main passions, and helped develop my skills as a deputy editor,
sub-editor and features writer. I was
disappointed not to receive recognition in terms of payment, and the way things
ended before Christmas last year was on a slightly sour note, considering all
the hard work I put in. Although I would
change some aspects of how things turned out, I do admit that without this
experience, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today.
I also tried
online radio and talking to the world with a successful Formula One talk show,
which began in the closing months of the 2012 season. This venture ended amicably in January due to
an advertising structure which had a high risk element, and was something that
I felt was going to be too vulnerable to myself. I have also written for a student media
website, and now have strong freelance positions earning basic pay for another
football site, and a strong fee writing holiday guides for a travel website
that specialises in updating the weather of destinations across the world.
 |
| Kleeneze's business model came very close to getting ugly |
The most
frustrating experience was attempting to make a go of a business with Kleeneze,
which began in February 2013. I went into
this with high hopes of getting an excellent income, and driving strong online
sales together with the door-to-door sales in the nearby neighbourhood I live
in Milton Keynes. Eight weeks later, and
I had to admit defeat and the business was shutdown, another victim of our
recession that never seems to end.
The
online shop was non-existent in terms of profit, and weekly sales figures
always came in at a similar total. Even
boosts of crafty leaflets created on InDesign, and new catalogues simply didn’t
drive the money in. All I can say is it
was worth a go and it is more experience gained.
However,
things ended very messy with the company themselves. My ‘sponsor’ didn’t help me whatsoever and
promised me things that simply never came off.
He was absolutely useless.
Also,
when I went to close everything down, Kleeneze insisted I should pay them
another £90 for the next two months despite not doing anything for them! I was absolutely furious, and although this
matter has now been resolved after drawing up a letter of complaint, the
situation could have got very ugly. However, if anyone is thinking of starting a business with commission
bonuses, don’t do it and I certainly do not recommend Kleeneze as a viable business
structure.
What will happen next?
Despite the
hundreds of applications I have made, I have only been shortlisted for two
interviews. One was last month in
Northampton, and one was in Lancaster in February. I have updated, tweaked and restructured my
approach to applying for various positions, and now have had three career
meetings with the National Careers Service to see if I can make the
breakthrough I am looking for.
Full-time
work in media was always going to be hard, because of the competition levels in
the sector, but I have to be honest, I really expected to have landed something
by now. I considered a postgraduate degree
in January, but this route has been shut off due to not being able to get the
required funding. In recent weeks, I
decided I will start writing a book during the summer and have also considered
going abroad and maybe do some travelling for a year. This is a backup plan, but should I be in the
same position as autumn arrives in the UK, this will become a viable and
probable option.
Do I regret
going to University? No, when I think of
the friends I made and the valuable life experiences gained, but there is a
small tinge of regret that things haven’t gone the way I hope they would
have. It shows that even a 2:1 degree is
not easy to break those doors down to the job of your dreams.
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| The last 12 months have been tough, but I'm still smiling! |
In summary,
it is staggering how quickly a year has gone since I finished University. As I come from the critical mould, I would
say: “Trying hard, feel frustrated, but must not give up.”
Not yet
anyway. After all, I have a habit of
being knocked back and getting up again to conquer the world of media. The last 12 months have been frustrating, but
I still have friends, family and my health to be thankful for, so it could be
much worse.
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