What did you study at undergraduate level and when did you graduate? What are you studying now? Are you studying and working at the same time?
I completed my Bachelor of Communications at Swinburne University in 2014 while working part-time and recently completed my Graduate Certificate in Project Management at RMIT in December 2018 while working full-time.
I see education as a really important stage of my life. Both my tertiary education which I completed in 2010 and my university education both at Swinburne University and at RMIT as mentioned above. I traveled across Europe for six months in 2014 which was an amazing learning opportunity. I have worked across several companies since finishing my bachelor's and have learned from and enjoyed each experience.
I found my current role advertised online and I applied. I have been in my position for two years.
What made you decide to progress with further study?
I really enjoyed studying design and advertising in school and wanted to further my learning and understand all the concepts and strategies. I was passionate about excelling and learning as much as possible and knew that studying would help me to secure a job within the industry that I enjoyed.
I chose a Bachelor of Communications at Swinburne University as one of my preferences when I was in year 12. I also applied for the same course in other universities. A career counsellor at school helped me to make an informed decision as they explained the course content and key learnings.
I had to submit an expression of interest and application to be considered for the course. This was submitted through my school. The 2 prerequisites for the course were completion of tertiary education and an entrance score of over 80.00. I was accepted because I met both criteria.
A typical day includes waking up and checking my emails to see if I have received any communication from peers or teachers. Reviewing what assignments are due and what classes I have for the day. Attending classes and lectures, followed by several hours studying in the campus library with peers.
Will this course be beneficial in your career? Where could you or others in your position go from here? Please explain your answer.
The courses that I have been studying have been crucial to my career progression. After finishing my course I undertook several internships. I was offered part-time and full-time work at the end of these internships which provided me with more experience and looked great on my resume. I am still working in communications.
The course covered a variety of areas within the communication industry. We delved into public relations, digital marketing, print and media outlets, project management, event management and copywriting. Overall, I don't think the course was very hard. The assignments and marketing criteria were varied so we got to experience essays, exams and report writing.
Although the course provides students with a sound understanding of concepts and strategy, there are no classes that teach students how to use programs and run real ad campaigns. Programs like Google Analytics, Salesforce, Hubspot and social media platforms are not covered in the course content and I think that would be valuable for students to learn.
Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current undergraduate student? They don’t necessarily have to be related to your studies, or even to one’s professional life.
I strongly encourage students to take on internships during their studies or apply for any work experience that the university offers because you will stand out from all the other students who have graduated in the same year.