Recent BSc Geography Graduate 1 year on, lost and regretful :( Someone help?

I haven't been a regular user of this site, but I thought it was probably the best place to ask for some advice.

I graduated from Brighton University in 2012 with a Bsc Geography Degree second class honors.

I moved home got a full time job, then moved back to Brighton where I am not working full time. I have a constant feeling of regret and time has ran out for me to study what my true passion is.

I did geography because I was good at it and was constantly told ''there's no jobs in Media.. do a Science at uni''.

Now I'm 22, and wanting to go back to uni to do what I love, but I am so lost on what I can and can't do.

I have A levels in Business, Geography and Photography, and a BSc Geography degree and could not be further away from what I want to do - which is media.

Is it best to go back to uni and try and get on a masters with no media experience? Or do I save and fund myself through another BA?

Oh god... this is depressing :frown:

(((

Reply 1

User995789

14

Original post by joewildcat

I haven't been a regular user of this site, but I thought it was probably the best place to ask for some advice.

I graduated from Brighton University in 2012 with a Bsc Geography Degree second class honors.

I moved home got a full time job, then moved back to Brighton where I am not working full time. I have a constant feeling of regret and time has ran out for me to study what my true passion is.

I did geography because I was good at it and was constantly told ''there's no jobs in Media.. do a Science at uni''.

Now I'm 22, and wanting to go back to uni to do what I love, but I am so lost on what I can and can't do.

I have A levels in Business, Geography and Photography, and a BSc Geography degree and could not be further away from what I want to do - which is media.

Is it best to go back to uni and try and get on a masters with no media experience? Or do I save and fund myself through another BA?

Oh god... this is depressing :frown:

(((

Geography is a broad degree could you not apply to any jobs and say you have those skills? :smile:

Reply 2

nonswimmer

11

Original post by joewildcat

First of all, sorry to hear that you feel lost and bewildered. Don't forget that you have graduated into one of the most difficult job environments for decades, and also that you graduated fairly recently. You say that you are not working full time which implies that you ARE working part-time. You should be pleased with (if not satisfied by!) this, things could be much worse.

To answer your question, there are two 'issues' you need to consider. The first is: what do you actually want to be doing? "The media" is not a job. What job do you want? Journalist? Television producer? Researcher? Writer for specialist magazines? etc etc etc

Secondly: you are considering a Masters degree. Think very carefully before proceeding with this. Masters degrees are not magic gateways to employment. You can read about as much stuff about unemployed postgraduates as about unemployed graduates. And even if some of them do improve your employability (for example, journalism MAs might well teach you some of the law and shorthand skills you'd need for that career), they are very expensive. In the journalism example, you can learn shorthand for a lot less than the tuition fees plus living expenses, and a copy of McNae's Essential Law For Journalists will only set you back £20-odd. The practical skills are mostly instinct and what you learn on work experience and in your first job.

The real solution to deciding whether an MA is right for you lies within the answer to the first question. When you have decided what you want to do related to the media, do some research (perhaps including some work experience) to find out whether an MA will actually be of benefit to you. Employers will happily tell you whether or not this is the case.

Finally: from your A-level profile and degree subject it seems that you have never studied Media before. It is a complicated and at times densely theoretical subject, and I fear that you would struggle at MA level if you have never studied it before.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 3

Pariah

15

Good advice from nonswimmer. Also, if 'Media' is your true passion presumably you are doing something to pursue it - taking pictures or videos, blogging, writing on spec for local freesheets, whatever... - which can help you build experience and a portfolio of work.If not are you sure that the idea isn't just something that you are using as a focus for your dissatisfaction with the current job market?

Reply 4

User182034

15

Work experience is key. Have you looked at work experience opportunities on the BBC site? Sometimes the BBC will even accept you as a volunteer to answer phones, and a lot of people end up in media that way. Volunteering for radio stations and newspapers is the best way into a media career, in my experience. A degree in geography is as good as any degree that involves essay writing for entry to the media profession.

Reply 5

ChemistBoy

16

I sympathise with your position, but I have to ask whether it is the job you are wanting or the degree? Working in the media doesn't require a media degree but it does require a demonstration that you have the skills and that is generally done through being involved in media projects in your spare time (i.e. student newspapers, radio etc.) did you do any of this at uni?

I want to tackle this quote in particular as I feel that you probably didn't understand the advice you were being given.

Original post by joewildcat

I did geography because I was good at it and was constantly told ''there's no jobs in Media.. do a Science at uni''.

I think the advice you were being given was to study a natural or physical science such as chemistry or physics (or even geology) rather than a social science like geography. I think this is where you made an initial mistake and if you are applying for jobs that prefer science grads then that is probably why you are getting rejections. People are looking for natural science graduates because they tend to have strong mathematical backgrounds and are able to do quantitative problems solving, geography really doesn't give you that to the same degree. In short, just because a degree gives you a BSc doesn't mean it is truly a science as far as employers are concerned.

Reply 6

returnmigrant

21

I echo some of the advice above - a Masters degree is NOT a golden bullet to a job and can be a very expensive waste of time, especially with something as lightweight as media studies.

You'd be better off applying for internships and packing in some high quality voluntary roles then applying for mainstream media jobs. See http://www.charityjob.co.uk/Volunteer-Jobs for some ideas.

Recent BSc Geography Graduate 1 year on, lost and regretful :( Someone help?

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