Communications/Media Q+A!

[elysepopplewell]

HELLO!

I'm Elyse and I've finished two years of my Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at the University of Technology Sydney. I studied one semester abroad in Venice, Italy - organised through uni! I've interned and worked at Bauer Media across the DOLLY and Cosmopolitan titles. I now intern at a global think tank specialising in peace and terror studies - I do communications strategy there. I do freelance writing for online publications toooooo.

Susie will also be on this thread - she was accepted into AFTRS and then decided to take the offer to study a Bachelor of Communications (Media and Arts Production) at UTS, beginning at the start of 2017. She's one year into her degree! She also studies from the Creative Writing stream at UTS. Susie has worked on several film projects, and has interned at Disney and ABC Soul Mates.

SO, ask us about our degrees, the courses, why we chose this, what our advice is...ANYTHING! We are here to answer it all!

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[K888]

Hey Elyse!
I have a few questions:

1. What made you choose your course?

2. Do you have to follow a specific structure for articles when you write them, or do you just sort of go by what seems right? I've always wondered when I'm reading a newspaper or something how articles are actually written.

3. What was the best thing about exchange?

[kiiaaa]

hi
I was wondering if you could please explain to me what are these 'main round' 'second-round' offers? I'm super confused and don't know the difference and tbh I'm so confused on what they are and how I should approach them.
thank you

[JustinHughes]

Is there an abundance of jobs available upon finishing the media and communications degree?

Also, was it affordable to do your exchange?

[yazminarouady]

Hi there, I was just wondering what the process of you getting into the magazine industry was like?

Also, in what ways did this course assist you in doing so?

Thank you

[elysepopplewell]

Hey Elyse!
I have a few questions:

1. What made you choose your course?

2. Do you have to follow a specific structure for articles when you write them, or do you just sort of go by what seems right? I've always wondered when I'm reading a newspaper or something how articles are actually written.

3. What was the best thing about exchange?

Hey K888!

I was initially drawn to the course at UTS because I wanted to do the Bachelor of International Studies - it seemed really unique and called my name. I knew the Communications course was really practical and quite hands on, so it really seemed like the right course for me.

For the structure question...with print there's definitely a specific structure and it will depend on the type of article, where it is in the publication, and what title/brand it's under. A few things that come into consideration are the hook, for example: How early on do we give the piece of information that's going to grab someone in? For short news stories, it's usually the second sentence. But there is much more freedom with editorial pieces

As for exchange...the best thingggggg....ahhhhhh. The best thing was a new sense of liberty, yet a new sense of direction.

Is there an abundance of jobs available upon finishing the media and communications degree?

Also, was it affordable to do your exchange?

Hello! there are more and more jobs opening all the time. If you're stuck on doing print, then you might find that while jobs are still available, they aren't becoming more common. But if you're ready to launch into the digital world, then there's new jobs all the time. Communications is under no threat - the need to communicate exists, and always has existed - but it's packaging changes

As for exchange affordability: I was lucky enough to continue my paid work abroad, but I also used my savings. There is a OS HELP Loan the government can offer, that is just over $6000 in value, and it is given to you to use overseas and it adds to your HECS debt Most students on exchange at my university use this, I believe! And then depending on your university, or host university, there's also options for scholarships as well

hi
I was wondering if you could please explain to me what are these 'main round' 'second-round' offers? I'm super confused and don't know the difference and tbh I'm so confused on what they are and how I should approach them.
thank you

Hello There are different rounds for different things. There's a December round 1 and December round 2, for example. The offers coming out now are typically early offers or from specific institutions. I waited until the first main round offer in January for mine, even though it's the "main round" it seemed like allllll of my friends had been given offers already and I hadn't!! But UTS didn't offer early entry so I had to wait. More info that might be helpful can be found here.

[fways]

Hi I wanna do communications majoring in journalism but I’m worried there aren’t a lot of jobs in that sector. I’ve thought about majoring in public communication/relations but I don’t know much about that and it dosent interest me as much also how hard/easy was it to get an internship. Thanks😀

[beatroot]

Hey Elyse and Susie!

Just wondering how the process of internship works. Does the uni give you your own internships or do you have to find some in your spare time?
How did you work at the said companies whilst studying at uni? Also do you have any connections with the people in the industry you wish to work in? If so, how? How does one make connections? :3

These questions are for Elyse: How is your course structured each day? Which lectures do you have to attend? How exactly is your degree taught? (I have your degree as my third preference)

These questions are specifically for Susie: where did you work on your film projects? Did people contact you, was it offered at UTS (for work experience or something similar) or did you look up these film projects on your own? How easy is it to get connections in the film industry and how easy is it to get into the industry? How likely am I really going to get a job in the industry in the future? How is your course at UTS structured each day? What do you do in each lecture and what assignments do they give out?

Now back to Elyse and Susie:
I'm waiting for offers to come out for AFTRS. But in case I don't get in, would it better for me to do a one year diploma (at this other film school I got accepted into) and attend AFTRS the next year (with a completed diploma) or should I go to UTS for a year (same course as Susie) and attend AFTRS (despite not completing the bachelor degree). My parents really don't want me to do the diploma course but wouldn't it be better to have a diploma instead of completing one year of a bachelor degree?

[elysepopplewell]

Hi there, I was just wondering what the process of you getting into the magazine industry was like?

Also, in what ways did this course assist you in doing so?

Thank you

Hi! So about internships: you can get them if you're keen. I had the idea in my head that internships were very exclusive, difficult to obtain, and especially in the magazine industry. Being keen and willing to put yourself out there is MAJOR KEY, especially in the magazine industry.

In my very first week of uni I got an email asking if anyone was keen to do three days of digital work for the relaunch of the new DOLLY website. I emailed back faster than you can imagine (lol) and said I'd love to do it. They liked the way I performed in those three days and offered me a one-day-per-week position interning at Cosmo, which is where I stayed for nearly a year, and picked up a role for two weeks as Editorial Coordinator as well. So, my experience was essentially just being quick and on the ball in order to snowball into the next opportunity.

So about my course...initially it didn't really "set me up" because I had only JUST begun. But as the internship went on, and even more into my new internship that isn't with magazines, there's various little skills that carry across. Sometimes it's in writing style, sometimes in facts about the way different digital audiences receive things, sometimes in general professionalism, and so on. In terms of the Journalism content I learnt and carried into the internship: there's not much. I didn't do much written Journalism at the internship.

If you are keen at interning in magazines, you need to write a resume and then put yourself out there. Call the Editorial Coordinator or whichever number is available in the masthead of the magazine, and ask where and how you can apply.

[elysepopplewell]

Hi I wanna do communications majoring in journalism but I’m worried there aren’t a lot of jobs in that sector. I’ve thought about majoring in public communication/relations but I don’t know much about that and it dosent interest me as much also how hard/easy was it to get an internship. Thanks😀

Hey there! Thanks for your question

There are plenty of jobs in the sector. I also was told a lot that there's not a lot of jobs, but it's not something that's ever been addressed as an issue in our course either. I'm actually always surprised at the DIVERSITY of jobs - so that might be reassuring

At UTS you can study a double major, so you could major in Journalism AND Public Communications if you fancied

I receive emails almost every week from UTS with new internships available and how to apply. Some of them are specific to third years (people about to graduate) but for the most part there's an abundance. If you have tunnel vision for big brands and names then you will struggle to find what you're after, but if you're willing to do 100 hours here, and maybe 100 hours there, and move between big and small, or between digital and print...then you will find yourself REALLLY making the most of your internships and that's just awesome.

In saying this, in about August this year I started applying for new internships 'cold' - which means I didn't go off advertisements, I just emailed a bunch of places, or called them, if I was interested in their company and product and wanted to learn from them. I heard back from maybe, 2 of 12? and they said nothing was available at this time of year. No panic, though! I started looking at the UTS Careers Hub online postings and I found one that looked interesting and unlike anything I'd tried, so I sent through my resume and they gave me a call to say I should come in, we'll chat about the role, and if it seems like a good fit then I'll do it. And it's been a great fit

[bimberfairy]

Hi Elyse and Susie! Communications at UTS isn't my top preference but it's one of them, and I visited the university on the Open Day and also read through a bunch of booklets they provided. My question is how the student life at UTS is for Communications students, in terms of societies, classes, opportunities for students, and career opportunities as well. I'm quite interested in the course if I don't make it to my top preference but Communications is the only course at UTS I'm interested in, so I'd like to know more about it! Thank you (:

P.S. It's super amazing that you guys are doing these University AMA's! I love it and was wondering if you guys would be doing a Commerce/Business one too?

[sudodds]

Hey Elyse and Susie!

Just wondering how the process of internship works. Does the uni give you your own internships or do you have to find some in your spare time?
How did you work at the said companies whilst studying at uni? Also do you have any connections with the people in the industry you wish to work in? If so, how? How does one make connections? :3

Hey! My internships (the one with Disney Junior making christmas themed cinemographs and the design dept. of ABC Soul Mates) were completed during high school, rather that at UTS, so with that in mind take what I say with a grain of salt aha, as I'm not 100% as familiar with the process as Elyse is specifically in regards to uni internships, however I know that at UTS there are tonnes of different avenues you can take for finding an internship. You can look around yourself and do your own research (as I was doing initially for the Summer, before I realised I would be away for a chunk of it aha). Alternatively, most UTS faculties have various facebook groups where you can connect with other people within your course - internships are often posted there as well! These groups are great, because they not only facilitate "official" internships (ie. working for a specific company), but also if other students, mainly from the year above have major projects that they are working from and need some help, they'll often post crew calls there as well! One of my friends is currently editing some stuff for a post grad student whose crew call she responded to via the "UTS Media Arts and Production group", which is great work experience

In terms of industry connection, what is great about UTS is not only is their communications degree quite well-respected (it's known for being a very hands on course in comparison to others, eg. what we do in 1st year isn't done until 3rd year at most other unis, which employers value so already got a bit of a leg up there!), but you are also surrounded by lots of other people with likeminded goals - it's not uncommon for groups to form and go on to create things together professionally. I have other connections that I have made through my internships, and being lucky enough to know some pretty neat contacts in my personal life as well! In terms of how to make connections, its definitely about getting involved imo. Helping out some of the older students with their projects is one of the best ways to go about it, as is going to the various events held by UTS geared towards making connections (kinda like speed dating but for industry professionals aha).

Finally on the topic of internships, can't say much about it, but next year one of my selected courses is "professional internship", so you can also literally get an internship as a subject, and that counts towards your final grade!

These questions are specifically for Susie: where did you work on your film projects? Did people contact you, was it offered at UTS (for work experience or something similar) or did you look up these film projects on your own? How easy is it to get connections in the film industry and how easy is it to get into the industry? How likely am I really going to get a job in the industry in the future? How is your course at UTS structured each day? What do you do in each lecture and what assignments do they give out?

The film projects that I worked on were through either assessment tasks (productions are the main form of assessment within the MAPS degree, as we don't do exams. These are always group projects), and through internships (eg. when I worked on ABC Soul Mates). I also made quite a lot of short films for both school and competitions during high school! All of these were locally based - the furthest I ever had to travel for shoot was Watson's Bay (for the Disney Junior cinemographs, but that wasn't really a film shoot). On the MAPS facebook group, as I mentioned earlier, their are always tonnes of projects that you can volunteer on. In terms of connections, I have been quite lucky knowing some personally before I even started at UTS, however a big part of it is just putting yourself out there. They're not "easy" to get, but I wouldn't say they are particularly hard either - depends on your definition of connection. Is it easy to make connections with the heads of production companies - No. Is it easy to make connections with "lower level" employees or other students that you can create amazing works with? Absolutely

Getting a job in the industry really depends on three things (as far as I am aware):
1. Connections + Work Experience
2. What aspect of production you want to work in (ie. director - very difficult, editor - not too bad, scriptwriter - eeeekkkk )
3. Flexibility (both in terms of time as even internships can take up an insane amount of time, and also location - Australia's not the best place really to work in film production. Being an editor isn't too bad, however the stuff that you'd be editing isn't exactly highbrow cinema, more likely Reality TV or panel shows. Willingness to relocate, perhaps internationally, would open up more opportunities. For example, Bollywood often hires Westerners to help them break into the mainstream western market.)

That's just if you want to get into "mainstream" video production though. It's important to recognise that this industry is rapidly changing, and online video content is really taking over (even the "mainstream" industry is trying to adapt to this, eg. streaming services like Netflix). This doesn't just mean making YouTube videos, though that is an option (eg. Buzzfeed and WatchCut are proper production companies that offer internships! Hoping to apply for one with WatchCut, though its in the USA cos #yolo).

In terms of how my day is structured - firstly there aren't many days ahaha. Comms degrees have pretty limited contact hours - I only had 8 this semester (2 days a week). For media arts alone, that accounted for one hour lecture and one hour tutorial a week, which later was combined into one 3 hour seminar (which was essentially just a really long tute). In lectures, theres a LOT of watching things, rather than just straight content. I didn't take many notes in the lectures, more just absorbed the info (especially as their is not exam at the end, so you're not going to get tested on anything). Assignments for Media Arts are often a "tester assessment" worth very little that just gives you some practice with the software you are using (eg. a 1 minute audio soundscape, or a 2 minute video essay). Then you'll often have a marked proposal, outlining your plans for a major project, and then the major group project

Now back to Elyse and Susie:
I'm waiting for offers to come out for AFTRS. But in case I don't get in, would it better for me to do a one year diploma (at this other film school I got accepted into) and attend AFTRS the next year (with a completed diploma) or should I go to UTS for a year (same course as Susie) and attend AFTRS (despite not completing the bachelor degree). My parents really don't want me to do the diploma course but wouldn't it be better to have a diploma instead of completing one year of a bachelor degree?

Hmmmm. I get why your parents are hesitant about a diploma. TBH, I don't know how well-regarded they are in the industry, and when I say that I mean I really don't know aha, they could be worth a lot, I have no idea. Having a degree is good because its more versatile, and overall, looks better on a CV, however if your plan wasn't even to complete the entire degree then I'd say a diploma then AFTRS would be best? However, if you're really keen for AFTRS and you don't get in, rather than dropping out of UTS after a year, it may be more worthwhile to complete the course, then do post-grad/speciallisation at AFTRS? That is what they are actually known for, and where their high employability rate comes from, whereas their Bachelors course is very new.

Hope this helps!

Susie

[elysepopplewell]

Hey Elyse and Susie!

Just wondering how the process of internship works. Does the uni give you your own internships or do you have to find some in your spare time?
How did you work at the said companies whilst studying at uni? Also do you have any connections with the people in the industry you wish to work in? If so, how? How does one make connections? :3

These questions are for Elyse: How is your course structured each day? Which lectures do you have to attend? How exactly is your degree taught? (I have your degree as my third preference)

These questions are specifically for Susie: where did you work on your film projects? Did people contact you, was it offered at UTS (for work experience or something similar) or did you look up these film projects on your own? How easy is it to get connections in the film industry and how easy is it to get into the industry? How likely am I really going to get a job in the industry in the future? How is your course at UTS structured each day? What do you do in each lecture and what assignments do they give out?

Now back to Elyse and Susie:
I'm waiting for offers to come out for AFTRS. But in case I don't get in, would it better for me to do a one year diploma (at this other film school I got accepted into) and attend AFTRS the next year (with a completed diploma) or should I go to UTS for a year (same course as Susie) and attend AFTRS (despite not completing the bachelor degree). My parents really don't want me to do the diploma course but wouldn't it be better to have a diploma instead of completing one year of a bachelor degree?

Hello Bea!!!!

The uni lists and emails about internships, but you need to action them or apply for them yourself. There is one university subject called Professional Internship, and I don't know if the university allocates you to an internship or if you get it yourself... But outside of that subject, the expectation is that you will use the universities resources, or your own research, to find an internship if you want one I do one day a week while I'm at uni, because I go into uni three days a week and intern one, and then I work in retail over the weekend. So having one week day without obligations is important because I usually use that for catching up on uni work. How does one make connections - try remember people's names! and I am HOPELESS with this! But then I find them on Instagram later and give them a stalk (professional) so I can remember face to name! Then I jump on linkedin and connect. But always remember to tell people your interests. I went to a book signing and started a conversation with the lady next to me, turns out she edited the book I was at the signing for. I have her email now. So it begins to come organically, when I say what I study and what I'm interested in, people will usually say "Oh I know someone who does that..." Or, "I actually work at..." and that's great. But it wasn't a first-year priority for me, admittedly, it came in the second year.

My course is structured in a way that I study three subjects per semester, there's one non-compulsory (but I ALWAYS attend) lecture for each subject, and one two hour tutorial for each. So, six hours of compulsory each week, nine hours in total. I study one subject core communications, one journalism subject, and one elective or subject from another communications field. The Journalism subjects are very practical - every single assignment is producing a piece of journalism. The other subjects are probably more typical of what you'd expect of university - essays, producing presentations, that kind of assessment style

For that last joint question - I'll let Susie answer that...

[sudodds]

Hi Elyse and Susie! Communications at UTS isn't my top preference but it's one of them, and I visited the university on the Open Day and also read through a bunch of booklets they provided. My question is how the student life at UTS is for Communications students, in terms of societies, classes, opportunities for students, and career opportunities as well. I'm quite interested in the course if I don't make it to my top preference but Communications is the only course at UTS I'm interested in, so I'd like to know more about it! Thank you (:

P.S. It's super amazing that you guys are doing these University AMA's! I love it and was wondering if you guys would be doing a Commerce/Business one too?

Hey! For the most part, I enjoy UTS. I have yet to have a bad tutor, in fact all of them have been fantastic, and despite not having a proper campus as such, the facilities are excellent, and there is a lot on offer at UTS that can help you to further develop and foster a career. I would say that UTS is a more "career focused" uni, than a social one. The club/societies life at UTS is there, but definitely not in the capacity that it exists at other universities eg. UNSW or USYD. Many of the clubs in fact are industry/course focused, eg. UTSoC (UTS Society of Communications). But yeah, the social aspect of UTS is a bit lacking if I was being 100% honest. I have a small group of good friends (that I made through working together on a group project), though it is definitely the kind of uni where you "go to class, then go home" unless you have group projects to work on - at least that has been my/my friends experience, I'm sure there are others who think otherwise.

[Micaelaburg]

Hey!
Just wondering if either of you lived at the uni itself? If I were to get in I’d have to move there. Any ideas on what campus life is like?
Also, for journalism what things do you generally do or learn? Is it very practical or group orientated?
I know you mentioned that it wasn’t very social but how did you find it transitioning from high school and making friends and that. I’m quite worried because I’d have to move very far without knowing anyone 😅
Any other tips or advice for aspiring journalists/UTS students would be greatly appreciated