The Trials and Tribulations of a Content Writer  

University – The First Time Round

So I was accepted to The Manchester School of Art to study Filmmaking. I went and began working on my own productions some of them dramas, some of them documentaries, all of them mediocre.

I enjoyed the creativeness involved in filmmaking as it gave me a format to finally channel the artistic personality that I knew I had deep inside, but the problem was that with minimal funding available through the university and not having choice of who I worked with, the work for me never really ended up being what I wanted it to be.

For the next few years of university, I got by working on projects but never really felt 100% in love with or good at what I was doing.

University Ends and Real Life Begins 

So university came to a close and real life began…or so it seemed. After finishing university and applying for several jobs I found that there was very little work available in the field I had studies in.

At this point I had to take a look at myself and consider, why exactly am I not getting anywhere with grad jobs?

So many people have a degree nowadays, it is in fact estimated that over a quarter of the adult population has attained a Bachelor’s degree. So how am I going to set myself apart from the competition?

To me it was obvious. A masters of course.

‘You’re Not doing a Masters Are You?’ 

So I decided to do a Masters, but in what field of study? Another filmmaking degree was not the route I wanted to go down but I had enjoyed the writing aspect of filmmaking so again, naturally I chose Scriptwriting.

A year of studying fulltime whilst working 30 hours a week was no easy feat but ultimately, it was more than worth it. I got my Masters and I got a good one, achieving a Merit or the equivalent of a ‘2:1’.

A Similar Feeling

So university ended again and I found myself in a similar position, looking for the next step to take. However, this time there was no educational option. Which industry was I going to make a splash in? I had no idea.

A friend that I studied with was in a similar position and sent me a link to a website called ‘Uplink’. Uplink allows you to work as a freelancer in just about any role you can think of. He’d had success copywriting so I thought I would try my hand.

Freelancer to in House Writer

So I worked away at Uplink and what I found was that when it came to writing, I was pretty good at it. Researching information and constructing essays around topics had been my bread and butter for the last few years and these skills transferred perfectly into blog and copywriting. I had finally found what I wanted to do with myself and it had literally been under my nose for so long- writing.

The Job Hunt Begins 

So I began looking for a job that allowed me to apply my skills in creative writing to a commercial environment. After a few weeks of applying through Indeed I received an invitation to interview from a company called ‘Blue Whale Media’.

Interview and Job Offer 

Interview day at Blue Whale Media, I turned up with the appropriate and expected amount of nerves but they were soon dashed when a pint sized menace in the form of a black pug named Sid attacked me.

After meeting the dogs and discussing the parameters of the job with Gary and Stef, I realised that these guys were my kind of people- friendly, team players and passion about what they do.

They offered me the job later that day and I have been here ever since.

So Where Actually Does Two Art Degrees Get You?

So where have two art degrees actually gotten me in life? No, I may not be working on a film set or writing feature film scripts but it cannot be denied that the flames of creative passion inside me were fanned by my 4 years of studying, surrounded by creative types.

My ability as a writer is a direct result of my years constructing essays, case studies and blogs and without a doubt I would not be here without them.