12th May
By Tilly Jones
Content Editor
The cost-of-living crisis doesn’t make it any easier on students because of the expectations we are expected to meet, alongside trying to better ourselves and our careers...
I want to get down to the real business and discuss my degree stage of life.
I was browsing on LinkedIn this morning and Oh Polly were hiring. I felt inspired by their listed jobs and the heart message of their company; they offer help to people in Cambodia and this touched my heart. I was like “Yes, I can do that, but I am still at uni.” My face turned upside down because I know I am capable of some of the roles, but my experience doesn’t suggest I am. They wanted employees with 2-4 years of credible experience in a similar role, plus, I have no time to commit to a lengthy job whilst I am studying.
Here’s where my dilemma is. Not even entry-level level jobs hire pre-grads and you'll hope they do once you graduate. In this day in age, why is it so hard to get employed in a job with a suitable wage after uni?
The cost-of-living crisis doesn’t make it any easier on students because of the expectations we are expected to meet, alongside trying to better ourselves and our careers. Our foundational education centres pressed it into us to go to uni, but is it worth it for everyone?
I'm in my second year at Winchester University studying BA(Hons) in Media Communications and social media. To add a little context, when I first saw and joined this course, I was excited and thought I was going to be immersed in live client briefs and be assessed on more practical work than theory. Boy! I was wrong. Instead, we are given essay after essay and this year we have a 35-hour placement module which is short and unpaid. More on that later. The practical modules are not live client briefs, meaning they have no professional credibility for clients, such as Speedo, Arena, Marc Jacobs, and L’Oréal to name a few. Instead, they are generic and to me, uninspiring. I do not feel they closely link to possible work I expect to be doing in a post-graduate social media role. For example, one of my uni modules was encouraging the use of cameras to make a short film. Something I had already done in college when I was studying Creative Media Production. I expected this uni module to grasp the opportunity to create a commercial advert for an existing company brand to showcase our skills. That would have inspired me more and pushed me further.
Since joining this degree, I can't really say that I have developed any new and distinguished skills as opposed to the ones I learnt at A-Level equivalent college. Most of my skills are ones I have circulated since then. Since joining university I have developed some skills because of the external things I have chosen to do and the people I put myself out of my comfort zone to meet. University has enabled me to become more myself and grow more confident in being myself. I was bullied young at school for being shy and “not trying hard enough” in social groups even when it was clear I was unwanted in the situation for being the new girl. At university, there is no status quo, and we are all adults, on the same page. I am respected as an individual and commended for my self-respect by my friends. They like that about me because I am not insecure nor cocky, I listen to their needs, and they listen to mine.
Don't get me wrong, my uni degree is not all bad as I am not writing this piece to slander it. They have provided some seminars or workshops alongside lectures; for example, on the Adobe suite, a vital skill set for my sector. The main struggle is these practical workshop opportunities do not appear often during timetabled hours, and people typically struggle to make them because, outside of hours a lot of us have booked to work part-time jobs. Additionally, require time to recover or commute in heavy traffic. They also pop up in the already crazy-busy online system at random and the same goes for our email inboxes. It is sometimes hard to keep up, especially when these notifications are appearing twice by accident (makes you wonder if it is an error) or if they don’t show up on the digital timetable (sometimes this is not up to date and can say you have a class if an email mentions it is cancelled).
In this day in age, there are many online tutorials for the information delivered in workshops if you feel behind. If I wanted to become an Adobe Suite professional, I would take it upon myself to join a side course or watch a lot of YouTube videos. I feel like that type of independent study is highly encouraged. However, it is not practically assessed and graded as part of the project material, which can demotivate a lot of students. In my opinion, putting what you have learnt into essay format, for a lot of creative students, is not always the best learning approach, especially in large amounts. While I am good at writing essays it is not my first choice of collating learnt information. My grades for the occasional practical assignments have been significantly higher. Hence why I chose a degree I thought was more creative and supposedly assessed more practically.
Early in the first year of my degree, I mentioned, we had a short film module, and I was surprised to observe a lot of my classmates did not know the basic operations of a DSLR camera or the Adobe edit suite. I came to uni knowing these and felt those skills to be the foundation of my chosen pathway. I spent my first year studying in lectures amongst the other students on various media pathways. None of us were given modules that specifically specialised in what we joined for. As a social media student, the short film module could have simulated work for a live brief for a brand and/or company. We could have been given a mock brief allowing us to film and produce a brand commercial instead, considering the aim of the module was to familiarise ourselves with the cameras and edit suite. I gave my first year at uni the benefit of the doubt and put myself out of my comfort zone socially, joining some societies and making friends, ensuring I kept my grades up.
If I was super enthused with my degree, would I be sitting here writing my blog? No, I would be working on a project. But the lengthy essay assignment about research theory and data can wait until I reach the mindset to complete it...
I had expectations to specialise in social media tasks in my second year, with a choice of modules. However, I recall most/all my modules being mandatory. Based on my knowledge, my pathway shared classes with other Media and Communications pathways, including Film and Media and Creative Advertising. For each of our course pathway titles being so specific I didn't understand why our course remained so broad. For my pathway, I didn’t understand why the modules did not encourage mocks or live briefs that utilised social media in the large world of relevant jobs. If I wanted my course to remain broad to Media and Communications instead of social media, I would have chosen to apply for the Media and Communications standalone degree. It feels like when you choose a pathway, the specialism comes second and is not the focal point of class delivery.
On my pathway, I feel this is a missed opportunity for those of us wanting to enter roles such as Social Media Managers, Digital Coordinators, Tik Tok Specialists, Marketing Specialists, Influencer and Collaboration Networkers and Content Creators for Businesses. I would have loved for my 35-hour work placement module to have been replaced with a live client brief opportunity for a company like Speedo. This top swimwear brand works with other universities like Nottingham Trent and their students. On a module like this, we could have generated a bespoke portfolio, from organising shoots to creating adverts for social media, meeting clientele with extensive networks and making use of specialist equipment or assisting with the management of their platforms. These types of creative briefs would offer increased benefits. Potentially, three brands could have been presented to us by the uni to select work for, in teams, approaching different sectors of their companies based on what degree pathway we are on.
Choosing our own placements is a hard process and volunteering for something is a tricky decision. As somebody who is passionate in their field of choice, I do not feel enthused working for free for some small media sector at the uni to “gain experience.” It is simply a way of using students for their knowledge and time not to be paid a penny in return. Not all of these styles of placement are ‘learn as you go’ as they promise. Students have enough experience to at least get paid for what they contribute. For example, I would happily work for a small amount or for free if I was being assessed for working for Speedo or L’Oréal, if it meant I was getting to know the company and it could lead to future employment, CV accreditation and a meaty portfolio. This is something that could be 30 days long, with a minimum to present 35 hours of logging for assessment purposes.
If I had known this before, would I have chosen a different uni?
If I was super enthused with my degree, would I be sitting here writing my blog? No, I would be working on a project. But the lengthy essay assignment about research theory and data can wait until I reach the mindset to complete it. But, speaking of which, I am someone who gets the work done before the deadline and does it to the best of my ability because I physically cannot do something unless I know I gave it my best. I have made myself poorly in the past because of my unhealthy working habits. Now, I have reached a better approach to stress the older I have become and can better compartmentalise what is and isn’t worth stressing over.
So, when I was looking on LinkedIn, I spotted the profile of a Nottingham Trent University student studying a similar degree to mine. The student’s profile displayed a comment they posted on the Oh Polly “We are hiring” post. The student said they were going to apply upon finishing their final project at uni. I browsed the student’s profile further and saw their uni project resume. It was extensive, and most of the projects had been uni-assessed and extremely course and industry relevant. This student is going to be so well equipped for a specialist role upon graduating.
The opportunities presented on their uni degree appear to be across a larger scale than the ones here at Winchester, so when applying to unis I should have taken that into account. I chose to look at the percentages of coursework to practical and since realised that I should have researched further what the practical assignments would be. In my position, at my uni, not a lot of opportunities like those available at Nottingham Trent are available, possibly due to short staff and smaller scale networking. If I had known this before, would I have chosen a different uni? Possibly, but I had to factor in other things; distance from home, my health, living arrangements (possibly could have found somewhere cheaper there, not going to lie) and whether I’d be a name or a number. I enjoy my campus because it is lively, and the student union is nice and welcoming. The areas are well maintained, and you can join a society or sports group from the various choices available, plus, the learning facilities and the sports facilities are to a professional standard. Since the development of the West Downs campus, there is a lot more on offer, however not for my degree. I did not get to step foot on that campus for learning or experience any of the new facilities because my degree is situated at the old campus, King Alfred, which is still a nice place to be.
The on-campus accommodation could be cheaper considering it is not up to standard with what you can get for the same price up North. For a university, this needs better consideration. Most of the halls accommodation at Winchester has been around for a while and could do with some minor upgrades. Winchester is on a hill and so is the on-campus accommodation, it would be nice for the shuttle bus or a bus stop operator to run more frequently nearer these areas. As someone with chronic fatigue and ME, I thought living in halls would be easier, but living in a house in a local part of Winchester is. Stanmore and Winnall are good areas as the ground is flatter and they have better access to bus links. I am in town or at home (chilling and studying) a lot more than I am timetabled at uni. So, commuting to those areas from the house instead of the halls accommodation is much easier. There is also no easy parking at the uni; it is near impossible for family to visit without buying a permit and if you commute or own a car, you must also buy a permit. I am lucky to have free street parking outside my house. Some student sharers might be lucky enough to have a drive for visiting family to park or for themselves (if they need to use a car to travel to supermarkets, fitness centres, to shop in town or go visit family). Though not a lot of these students with cars can find a place to park near uni. Not without paying a fortune in rent if they’re nearby the uni or by paying for a permit. With students’ loan allowances being the way they are, cars are hardly feasible for students in Winchester.
Don’t get me started on the very poor living conditions students are expected to live in. If you want a nice student rental, you can expect to be paying 8k-10k a year. Not a lot of rentals allow tenancies under 12 months, so you could find yourself paying for a property you’re not even living in over the holidays. Possibly even being caught out to pay council tax when the third year has finished. A lot of students have to manage jobs alongside their studies to afford things. It can be very difficult to find the spare time in the day, the spare energy for studies and having a social life is important as it’s good for mental health. For me, I am glad my parents’ income sits where it needs, to be considered for the full maintenance loan of 9k. It might sound like a lot, but it does not go far.
My parents are comfortable so to speak, but it covers the house back home and what they need to live. They do not have the spare to be funding me at university whilst I am here because it is my responsibility and was my choice to go away to study. They support me in other ways, but I am an adult. They could fund my activities as a child, but this is different. My loan should cover it until I can pay it back. A lot of students who have parents with high incomes over the threshold are assumed to be able to support their children, so this immediately disqualifies them from applying for a higher loan and supporting themselves. The stereotype is that students use their loans purely for social purposes, drinking and partying. This is not true at such a large scale. In my experience, a lot of students I know are not like this and struggle to make ends meet because the rent is so high for houses that are barely considered habitable. My loan, even at max, just about covers my rent and bills (since the nationwide bills increase) I don’t know how much extra we will have to pay over our cap; a cap that has not increased with the cost increase. All my housemates have been careful, we have respected the property and only ever run water when we have to, being cautious of how much we use, turning off plugs when we go home for the holidays, switching off appliances when not in use and using minimal heating. We have had so many winter-weather months in a house with little to no natural building insulation or floor underlay that it was near impossible to stay warm enough. The houses in my area are prone to moulding, so I have been keeping my windows clean. When we moved in there were dark patches on the ceiling. All the agents needed to do was get someone in to give it a deep clean and a lick of paint. Not that we would have used this appliance much due to bills costs, but even our tumble dryer, which has been broken since we moved in has not been replaced since the issue was raised. This type of situation is the case for many students across the UK.
Capitalists list their job ads to those who are just starting out and highlight their inclusion for diversity; those with disabilities and of other races to make you think you have a fair shot. The minute someone more qualified walks through the door, a company are more likely to take them on instead because it is easier...
I have to stick to a budget per week, which I am lucky to have been taught this growing up. This needs to cover my food, monthly rent and activities I want to do (like exploring my city and socialising). I am not a huge drinker or partygoer and I have a condition that hinders me from over-pushing myself, so I go for the occasional drink or lunch with friends, go for walks at my own pace and swim to keep a good physical state and keep my mental health in check (again, at my own pace). I have good days and bad days. These days, I have been better than usual because I have learnt to pace myself better. Something doctors lack understanding of with this type of condition. You do not always have to be bed bound. I had an intense collapse a few years back that forced me to learn to walk again. This condition can hide itself for years until a relapse and symptoms can come and go. I can’t restrict my life too much otherwise I’d become depressed. Due to my diagnosed chronic fatigue and ME (I do not claim disability PIP for this as it is on a milder scale) I started a remote small business and began flexibly dog walking (a couple of times per week to keep healthy). It keeps me from getting depressed and I can add some extra savings to the pot to save for socialising, so my loan can mainly be used for living. This side hustle stuff is not income I can live off due to the inconsistency.
I have had knowledge of my chronic fatigue since my collapse episode when I was about 11 years old. I am nearly 20 now so I have learnt to manage what I can and can’t do and when to recover, as well as accept the ergonomic equipment help and use bus pass services to reduce daily impact and not stop me from doing things I want to do. Without these help measures, I would have reduced long-term physical ability and lesser maintain some sort of stability.
In 2021 I took it upon myself to set up my own small business, creating and selling organic and vegan small cosmetics upon finishing high school in 2020, 2021. During my time studying for an extended diploma in Creative Media Production at college, I later created my own blog and developed this into a podcast during my time at university. This year I have expanded my skills and started my own Freelancer Social Media Consultant Agency remotely. It does not pay much for a stable income due to the lack of current client queue, however, when I finish uni, this might be something I can grow and can use on my CV.
The Covid 19 outbreak that hit the world affected my second year at college, throughout this I showed resilience and was able to complete the year and achieved D* D* D. College was a more practical experience and the theory tied in seamlessly. Winchester University itself is a place I like; I am not just a number, and they know me by name, I enjoy the campus and have been here since September 2021. It is now May 2023. I shocked myself after writing this sentence as I forgot it had been this long.
The cycle is a load of b**ls**t...
It is hard to get a job for an entry-level internship, or a part-time or full-time role within my sector because my experience is not great enough. It is extremely difficult because I have little reputation on a large scale. Capitalists list their job ads to those who are just starting out and highlight their inclusion for diversity; those with disabilities and of other races to make you think you have a fair shot. The minute someone more qualified walks through the door, a company are more likely to take them on instead because it is easier.
After applying to numerous jobs, I have noticed, in the sector I'm starting out in, employers overlook that I have set up businesses for myself and others because there is no employer trace like the ones you get if you work for an existing business. You either get no response after applying or they say “Thank you for applying, we wish you the best, but we have taken on somebody who is more experienced” even if their ad specifically stated ‘no experience’ or light knowledge was required for the role. It can make you feel cheated if they promise to train you whilst being on the job, only to be told you’re not experienced enough when you receive the post-application email. The cycle is a load of b**ls**t.
My experiences and points of view on certain aspects, positive or negative, might not be what other people around me think and that is okay...
I tell myself what I said in the first year that “next year will be different” and “I will get to specialise in what I want to do someday.” One can only hope. The graft is real people, and I am prepared to put the work in. I should just avoid the feeling of being cheated or scammed within this competitive industry and accept that defeat is normal. I will find communities that do want to make a difference, those who employ worthy individuals beyond what is written on paper.
My course might be perfect for another individual, but that individual is not me. I wouldn't say I like feeling stuck in one place and prefer learning from the present-day things around me, not old-century theory. This stage of my life is a case of getting the box ticked, aiming to maintain health and achieve a degree before I am 21.
Coming from the Isle of Wight, opportunities there in the media sector are limited. I felt uni was my only way to move on to better things. But if I was from the mainland, commuting to work from my family home or renting a small professional sharer apartment would not have been so bad. All I'm doing now is working on essay after essay, as well as growing a student debt.
I am someone who always aspires to be more than I am because it is in my DNA to better myself. I am content with who I am and feel confident that I'm employable because of the skills I possess. My determination to succeed and learn is strong and I am learning to trust the process. The process ahead may not always be easy, because there are obstacles beyond my control. However, as I said, I am not bashing my uni in any way as this stage of my life is a learning curve. My experiences and points of view on certain aspects, positive or negative, might not be what other people around me think and that is okay.
I hope my article has shed light on being a university student in this day in age. Naturally, I am a people pleaser, and it is not my intention to slander any topic I spoke about. I have spoken fairly and maturely as I am an adult being with my own thoughts and my own sense of self. This is how I feel, and it is worthy of space.
Signing off,
Tilly
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