Progression: Careers within the Media Industry
Introduction:
In this post I will research career opportunities and explain my findings. I hope to have found new, valuable information that I can use going forward to inform my career choices once I have completed my education.
Initial Mind Map:
Prior to completing research I completed a mind map about my preformed ideas about employment. I feel like this will give me a good foundation going forward.
Why is it beneficial to research potential career opportunities?
As a student, it is beneficial to research career paths that are available in preparation for once one has completed their education. Researching careers that one is interested in helps formulate ideas in regards to higher education - as certain roles require specific qualifications. As an example if videography was one's career of choice it would advantageous to study a course that is in a similar field to the role, i.e. 'Film and Television'. 'Creative Media Practice' covers a wide range of different skills that are applicable to a workplace, ergo this opens career prospects in many industries. It is beneficial to research different career paths as this may lead to the discovery of a more suitable career than one previously thought. I hope to study either journalism or Film and Television in higher education - as to further inform my choice I will research career paths that have been chose by graduates of these courses. Understanding the transferable skills that one acquires in studying these courses is crucial as they inform the types of role that one will go in to in the world of work.
For further reading I visited an article by Newcastle University that I found very informative. I found that reading articles provided by a university would be advantageous as I wish to eventually go in to employment, within the media industry, post degree-level study. Universities are also a reliable source and use reliable statistics/figures. Quoting the article:
"Our graduates have followed a variety of career paths in the industry, such as:
This article has helped me develop my understanding of the diversity of career paths one can take after studying Journalism at degree level. It has also furthered my knowledge of potential employers that offer roles for applicants at this level. There are four types of journalism listed here: print journalism, online journalism, broadcast journalism, and multimedia journalism. To expand upon my knowledge further I clarified the differences between by reading this article by 'Indeed'. 'Indeed' is a platform in which employers can list vacancies and those who are looking for employment. This article covers types of journalism and concisely explains the differences between them. It covers: 'News Journalism', 'Investigative Journalism', 'Reviews Journalism' and 'Column Journalism'.
Apprenticeships in Journalism:
Apprenticeships are an alternative to studying at degree level, in which one works whilst studying a qualification.
Apprenticeships are available at the Government website.
Types of 'Journalism' careers:
News Journalism:
News journalists are journalists that report on events and issues happening locally, nationally and internationally depending on the scale of the media outlets that keep the public informed. They need to have a good knowledge of current affairs to accurately transmit the information to their audience. News journalists need to have strong communication and research skills and may be required to seek out and interview subjects in order to write their stories. These professionals may work for written publications, such as newspapers or online platforms, or they may report news on the television or the radio. Some news journalists may work for just one media institution, while others may contribute to many different publications on a freelance basis.Investigative Journalism:
Reviews Journalism:
Column Journalism:
Colum journalists usually write for newspapers column is a recurring piece or article in a newspaper, magazine or other publication, where a writer expresses their own opinion in few columns allotted to them by the newspaper organization. Columns are written by columnists.
Roles that are similar in nature to Journalism:
- Broadcast journalist
- Editorial assistant
- Magazine features editor
- Magazine journalist
- Newspaper journalist
- Political risk analyst
- Press sub-editor
- Publishing copy-editor/proofreader
- Web content manager
- Writer
- advertising copywriter
- Digital copywriter
- Market researcher
- Multimedia specialist
- Public relations officer
- Science writer
- Translator
Typical employers in Journalism:
If you want to work within journalism, you can find employment in a range of organisations such as:
Outside of journalism and media, there are plenty of options for you to use your creativity and communication skills. Typical employers can include:
Constructing a CV for a career journalism:
A journalism degree provides you with a range of core journalistic skills including researching, investigating, interviewing, reporting and writing, in addition to technical skills such as video, editing, shorthand, audio, content management and web design.
The degree also gives you more general skills that are valued by many employers. These include:
| Employed | 79.8 |
| Further study | 3.1 |
| Working and studying | 5.4 |
| Unemployed | 5.6 |
| Other | 6.1 |
Using these figures from 'Prospect', a website dedicated to helping postgraduates find work, I can discern that approximately 79.8% of postgraduate leaners whom have completed a degree in journalism move on to employment. 3.1% of graduates move on to further study, presumably a doctorate/PhD in journalism.
| Type of work | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Marketing, PR and sales | 29.4 |
| Arts, design and media | 26.8 |
| Retail, catering and bar staff | 12.8 |
| Secretarial and numerical clerks | 8.9 |
| Other | 22.1 |
Employers within the Media Industry:
It is beneficial to understand employers in the media industry that are local to where one is situated. I looked up BBC vacancies in Sunderland, to no avail. However I did find many roles available in the neighboring city, Newcastle.
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