While at university I felt it was important to concentrate on my work but also keep my ears down for job opportunities. This is really important in the 3rd year as in a few months you’re not a student any more and you want to get far in an industry relating to the course you’ve been doing for the last three years!
I currently work as a Technical Operator for Satellite Information Services, a company based in both Milton Keynes and MediaCityUK, who broadcast horse and dog racing to betting shops all around the world. They also have the largest outside broadcasting division in the country.
Prior to my job here, I worked at the television shopping channel Ideal World on work placement whilst I was in my third year of university, and then I became a full time employee after about five months. I moved on fairly quickly as I felt that gradually making my way up to Manchester to MediaCityUK was the way to go if I wanted to stay working in the TV industry and I will hopefully be getting transferred soon.
I studied Audio Production at Lincoln, but audio is only an aspect of my job; you have to be very open minded when looking for a job in today’s television industry as you’ll be waiting a long time for the right job to come along if you aren’t.
Work placements are definitely a good thing to keep an eye out for, both paid and unpaid; you might have to spend a little money to get somewhere and be out of pocket for a few weeks/months, but it’s going to help you get further in your career. I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t been in a work placement.