For the weekend...
It’s hard for me to pinpoint the exact area of employment that I’d like to pursue in the future, after university as I’m still unsure as to what direction to take as I don’t want to be stuck doing something that I don’t enjoy. However, there are two areas which are areas of interest to me and I have thought about. This gives me options to aim towards and look into in more depth through research and even work experience or placements.
Firstly, ever since I can remember I have wanted to become a teacher. Although this is not necessarily an area of media employment, I would like to either teach ‘media’ or just take with me aspects of the course that would be of use to the job role, such as presentations.
Through secondary school, I worked towards the aim of becoming a teacher, taking subjects such as Child-Development in GCSE, to give me some experience and knowledge with working with children, as well as pursing this through A-Level where I took BTEC Early Years course, to again give me more knowledge about working with children at a range of ages. Through taking these courses I had a lot of experience of working in schools such as a 60 Hour placement and 2 weeks work experience, which I gained a lot of information and awareness about working with children at different ages and responding to their needs. As well as this, I took Drama for GCSE and A-Level. The purpose for this, again, was me thinking along the lines of becoming a teacher and using it to boost my confidence, as well as helping me to develop team work and co-operation, which would be handy when working with a large group of children.
School as an organisation is one of the building blocks of school improvement and of young peoples’ achievement. Having a nice school with modern equipment helps children to enjoy school. As well as this, teachers must give the same enjoyment to children.
Becoming a teacher is a life-changing decision. This is because you will make a real difference in the lives of children, and will experience fulfilment as the students grow, learn new skills, and express their individual strengths.
Being a teacher is not just about standing at the front of the classroom and dictating work to the children; it entails many roles within it which I need to be acknowledge:
> A communicator - whether it be with children or other adults.
> A disciplinarian
> A conveyor of information
> An evaluator
> A classroom manager
> A counsellor
> A member of many teams and groups
> A decision-maker
> A role-model
Some of these roles I have already had experience in, from my previous experience from working in schools. Being a good communicator was key, as you had to use the right kind of communication with whatever age you are working with, in order for them to understand you. Another example of a role I have experienced is a counsellor, whereby you also need to be there to listen to the children and what they have to say in order to boost their self-esteem.
As an undergraduate student, if I was to become a teacher, I think I would need to improve on making my points more clear and understandable to enable children and adults understand the points I’m trying to make and in essence learn from them.
The second area of employment that would be of interest to me would be working in media, specifically, advertising. My dream job would to be work in an advertising company, planning and designing advertisements and promotions, for big brand beauty and fashion names such as ‘MAC’.
The tasks involved in this job role can vary enormously too, ranging from placing adverts in newspapers to working on high-profile campaigns for new products.
However, to succeed in such a notoriously competitive business, you need determination and a creative streak. This I believe can succeed in as I also have a keen interest in art, which I again took for GCSE and A- Level. Although aspects of it is about being creative, Advertising agencies are also on the lookout for analysts and planners to ensure a product is accurately marketed to the target audience. This type of work has been shown through-out the course, from the use of ‘meaning systems’ amongst other factors, again as an undergraduate student I feel that I have the knowledge to partake in this type of job role, as I now understand certain uses of ‘signs’, meaning systems’ in the study of film, television, popular music, advertising, and new media. To work in this area of employment many skills are required:
> Communication skills
> Commercial awareness
> Creativity/ attention to detail
> Analytical skills- shown through- out the course
> Leadership qualities- team work (Drama GCSE/A-Level)
> Initiative
> Enthusiasm
> Organisational ability
> Energy and stamina
> Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines- shown through assignment deadline for university.
As an undergraduate student I feel that I could improve on self-belief and confidence that I can do something, in order to get the full potential out of my work. This would be portrayed within the job role, ensuring that my work is at a standard where it can be displayed in shops, billboards etc. As well as this, although I have done some emailing around for work experience, I feel I need to be more pro-active and enormously resilient at finding, ringing and emailing companies in order to gain the experience I want.
