What I’ve learnt as a digital media graduate vs. as a student
Going to University is a given these days, most people go even if they aren’t sure what they want to study or do after they finish. In my family, it’s always been more of a ‘when’, not an ‘if’ you go, so I always knew I would continue learning after High School, but what does University actually teach you?
Having finished my degree in the last month, while interning at The Attention Agency, I’ve realised how many things I have learnt at my internship in such a short time in comparison to my years at uni.
Before starting my internship I had the feeling that I was learning a lot in my papers however, I’ve realised that most of the things they teach you at university are the basics that you have to know when going into the industry.
Throughout my degree I’ve had the opportunity to take and try different papers to figure out what I did and didn’t want to do - which is really great - but, I’ve also had to take lots of mandatory papers that didn’t always add much value. Out of all the papers I took, Advertising and Digital Media have been the most useful.
What I did and didn’t learn at uni
A few core things that University does teach you is working in a team/group and time management, however, these are things that anyone can learn in real life, with experience whether at school or work.
My Digital Media paper, in particular, has given me a generic level of skill including the use of Adobe software, from Photoshop to Illustrator to Indesign. I have also gained a basic understanding of web design, SEO and digital marketing strategies.
Advertising on the other hand has enabled me to be creative and stand behind my ideas. It’s taught me to put priority on understanding your target audience and researching your competition before getting too deep into something that then has to be changed.
One major thing I have not picked up during my education is how to use the actual software that Digital Marketing agencies (like ourselves) use. These softwares do change and upgrade regularly, which would make it hard to teach it in depth. Plus the likelihood of a tool being upgraded in the time between finishing uni and starting a job is pretty high however, it would still be useful to even have a basic understanding of how to use a tool that employers will be getting you to work on.
What I learnt during my internship
During my two month internship at Attention I have learnt a lot of valuable things that my degree didn’t even touch on. I have learnt how to use Google Ads but also started my journey on learning how to best optimise the tool. I have learnt how to use Facebook Business Manager, Linkedin Ads Manager, how to use reporting software and how to draft up successful EDMs. The digital marketing world revolves around these tools and they are something you have to know how to use and how to use them well, which is why it’s so shocking that we didn’t touch on these in any of my papers.
The knowledge you gain in the first few months in an industry is massive. I still have PLENTY to learn and understand that my knowledge with these tools and softwares is just at the start. Still it’s also all the additional “small” things you learn, such as how to write effective copy, how to do simple things in Photoshop. It’s learning about your brands and their businesses and knowing how to alter your messages accordingly although none of these are actually “small” things, because they are so important in helping you feel more and more confident in what you’re doing.
Another thing I have learnt is the importance of asking questions! At uni there’s always the feeling that your question might be silly, that you should probably know the answer, but asking questions is the best way to learn. If I didn’t ask questions I would not be as confident in completing tasks. Having something explained or shown is so much more beneficial even if you think it’s a dumb question.
Conclusion
I’m not in any way saying that University is pointless, infact I’m very glad I went, because throughout I realised where I wanted to end up - Digital Marketing.
There are so many positives that come with studying, a) the freedom, b) the freedom and c) the freedom. Having an easy schedule and lots of free time is amazing - and definitely something we take for granted. But on the other hand having to sit through classes and lectures about things that I won’t use or come across again does feel like a bit a waste of time. Just like how most of us still haven't needed to calculate the degree of an angle or what X equals.
Finishing a degree does give you a great sense of accomplishment even though in the end it’s a piece of paper that simply allows you to keep on learning - but it gets your foot in the door and that’s why it’s 100% worth it.