After I Graduate...My journey of thought, research & being unsure

At 3am, I have been thinking about graduation and which path is best to take afterwards - hopefully, this blog post is coherent.

With the never-ending existence of the pandemic, I'm unsure whether this has substantially affected the number of jobs in the creative industry, especially at entry-level. Although it's not impossible to get a job, I have seen my peers who graduated in 2020 struggle to find a creative role, as applying becomes more competitive. 

Therefore, I have been looking at other options in case 2021 follows a similar pattern to 2020. 

Postgraduate Study

While working at Disney, a number of my colleagues shared their regret about not doing a masters. They felt it was too late in their career to go back to studying, which was largely due to their financial commitments and stability. 

I decided to take this into consideration, and started looking at masters degrees and what they would entail. My main plan was to seek employment after graduating but I wasn't having the greatest time on placement, so I wanted to seek other opportunities. A small part of this was to prolong the inevitable but the main reason was to propel my skills further so that I wouldn't be stuck at intern level again (if possible).

I knew I liked Web & Digital Design so I was considering a MA in Web Design & Content Planning at the University of Greenwich. This was one of the Universities I originally applied to when applying for Undergraduate courses - it's always given me a good vibe. 

Alas once I started final year, Dean mentioned that web design was dead/dying and Steve thought I was too good for this course and wouldn't find it challenging enough. This was obviously a lovely compliment but this put me back at square one. Feeling defeated, he suggested that I look at the Royal College of Art instead, as this would benefit me more with networking and developing my ideas. Specifically, the MA in Visual Communication (Graphic Design pathway) was suggested.

Honestly though, I didn't and still don't want to go somewhere super artsy (which is obviously a pre-judgement of the institution). Steve thought this could be a problem with my confidence, which could be a factor in why I am wary of this. However from what I can pinpoint, I've never really had an emotional connection with art pieces. Maybe I've never given myself a chance to, or maybe I don't know what I'm looking for, but I tend to get bored rather than emotional. This may be why I've never had a favourite artist, because nothing has emotionally impacted me yet. 

I would consider myself a more technical person and logical thinker instead, hence my studies in Engineering and Computer Science at a S.T.E.M college. After completing my courses, I realised that I  missed designing and creating things that looked nice. A toolbox is useful but not very cute when it's made out of a metal sheet.

Nevertheless, I'm not one to dismiss recommendations even if I feel initially that this may not be the right choice for me. I had a good read on the Royal College of Art's website and found the MRes in Healthcare & Design postgraduate course. This sounded really interesting, as you focus on a research project with support from Imperial College London. Considering I was already creating Grumble Tum (IBS Support Website & App) for my degree project, I thought this would be a good fit with my interests.

I felt that the MA in Visual Communication, was similar to Digital Media Design in the sense that what you learn is very open-ended and broad. To be honest, I need a course that is more focused in one area because although I have gained a wide variety of skills, there are none that I feel entirely confident with. This was the main reason why I was considering Greenwich's web design postgraduate course as this area is already one of my strengths, and seemed to teach aspects that I was missing from my knowledge such as WordPress, SEO and User Experience Design.

So at this point, I thought I would at least apply for the MRes in Healthcare & Design at the RCA, as this was the course I was more interested in. I completed phase one, and got to phase two where I panicked as I only had around a week until the final deadline. In a hurry I started compiling my portfolio, but after attending a zoom portfolio Q&A discovered that they only accepted portfolio's in PDF format, or as a PowerPoint etc. Their reasoning is so that you have complete control over the placement of images and is displayed exactly how they would see it. They found that online portfolio websites were unstable/unreliable and I'm assuming cost students their place on a course. Generally the whole Q&A felt a little condescending (maybe I was imagining it, who knows).

With such little time left, I weighed up my options/pros/cons and spoke to those close to me.

Pros

• High-quality postgraduate course
• Prestigious university, recognisable on CV
• Course will be interesting and challenge me further
• Links with Imperial College
• Guaranteed to be networking with others achieving in their field
• Part-time course
• Small class size

Cons

• Expensive with a two year duration
• Would have to commute from family home - accommodation in the area is unaffordable
• Very little time until the RCA deadline
• Portfolio in the incorrect format
• Still needed to write a proposal for my research project
• Likely will have to rush the application before the deadline, decreasing the likelihood of getting a place on the course
• Added stress as had dissertation imap assignment due in the same week as the RCA's deadline
• Odd vibe with an environment out of my comfort zone
• Online open day was after the deadline

As you can see with the cons list, the common theme was feeling completely unprepared, slightly stressed and was unsure if the course was even right for me. Even if I was accepted, I feel that for me personally going to the RCA would be a huge jump from my time at Hertfordshire. The more I consulted others, the more I decided that I just wasn't ready to apply.

Throughout this exercise I discovered a lot about myself, looking back on my choices I have played it safe in my own strange way.

Why I am the way I am

In my secondary school experience, there was always a focus on the best or worst achieving students. Being in the middle (B grade student), getting higher grades was unachievable - we simply didn't have the support. Although I enjoyed school, there was an underlying elitism that has shaped me today. We were segregated by our SATS results as soon as we entered the school, there was a secret invite-only club for those considered suitable for Oxbridge mentoring, and teachers who only cared about the middle achievers when we weren't going to apply for sixth form to raise their league tables. 

On multiple occasions I was setted incorrectly. I achieved solidly good grades in a very low-level set, and should have been moved to the appropriate level. Instead I was moved above this level, the school assuming it would give me a confidence boost and I would achieve even better. Instead I went from a grade B to a D with no sign of improvement, I felt dumb and my teacher left me to struggle for a term. I only improved when, I was moved back down after my Mum got involved. 

Therefore understandably, I chose a sixth-form college that had only been open for a couple of years in a location that I was familiar with. The small amount of students gave me the opportunities and care I wouldn't have received elsewhere or at school. Likewise, I chose a university close to home, lower in the league tables with lower entry because I felt comfortable. Being realistic, these choices have obviously paid off in terms of my achievements and this clearly correlates to my comfort level.

Is it psychological? Probably. But regardless, at this stage I need to feel comfortable to get good grades - especially since having IBS has squashed my confidence further.

After that long stream of thought, I decided that although my thoughts are based on pre-judgements, I wasn't only not prepared to apply to the RCA but also not mentally prepared to actually go to the RCA. Instead I have acknowledged that sadly the Greenwich course may not be the correct fit either and tried to pinpoint what I liked about the course and University.

• The university gave me a good vibe, the course page was transparent and friendly
• I could commute back home easily for family events
• Campus accommodation was affordable (or had the option of commuting from family home)
• Good location for attending events in London without the busyness of the city
• Course subject was in my strongest topic
• Taught modules were well thought out and would fill the gaps in my knowledge

Thinking about the course itself and wanting to become more confident in one subject area, my overall thought went to doing a masters in User Experience Design instead. This had crossed my mind in second year however, I wasn't taught any of these skills on the course to properly consider this option. Then I did a placement advertised as a UX & design role to learn more about this area, but this turned out to be more of an artworker/web design role instead. I always thought this would make the most sense as it combines being technical and creative, which is why I enjoy web design. Knowing that you're meant to specialise in final year, my thoughts went to roles I would be most qualified in, which would be digital design or web design roles.

However due to my IBS, I need to work somewhere that would be flexible in case I needed to work from home at short notice. I have noticed that a flexible working environment is commonly offered in game studios/companies, so being educated further into User Experience Design may be beneficial if I decide that I want to transfer my skills into UX for games rather than websites.

I am still on the search for User Experience Design masters, so far I have found:

• Falmouth University Flexible Learning - (Part-time online) MA User Experience Design
• Loughborough University - MA User Experience & Service Design
• University of Brighton - User Experience Design MSc
• University of the Arts London - MA User Experience Design
• Institute of Art, Design and Technology (Dún Laoghaire, Ireland) - User Experience Design (MSc)

Obviously going to Ireland is very unlikely assuming I would be classed as an international student because of Brexit. This makes the tuition fee €16, 000 (approx. £14, 000) instead of the EU Fees which are €4, 000 per annum. Although, my birth was registered in Italy, I currently don't have the required documentation to apply as a dual national. Without this the course becomes unaffordable.

I'm considering the course at Falmouth University more than the others due to its flexibility and online nature. I feel I am more suited to learning online, due to my current health issues. To afford the course, I could work part-time or full-time alongside studying, instead of taking out a loan which is a huge benefit to me.