Progression Opportunities
Progression Routes
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University
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Internships
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Apprenticeships
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Employment/Self-employment
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Further training
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University
Higher education where students study towards a degree and academic research is done.
pros - self improvement learning new skills cooking, cleaning etc. opens up employment opportunities. gain work experience and connections. gain life experience and make more friends.
cons - student loans and debt, not enough contact hours, your committing 3yrs+ to studying. not guaranteed a graduate job.
you can apply to university through the universities website or through UCAS.
Example of 3 university courses down below.
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Internships
when a student/trainee works in a organisation to gain work experience or fulfil requirements for a qualification.
pros - possible job opportunity at the end, build resume and portfolio, make connections, first hand experience in industry and variety of work.
cons - mostly unpaid, menial work.
you can gain an internship through job sites or ITV, E4 or BBC.
Example of an internship advert.
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Apprenticeships
A job with training, earn while you learn towards a qualification or skills. they last up to variable lengths but typically a year and come in different levels and in most subjects.
pros - practical experience, earn while you learn, no debt and learn on the job.
cons - responsibility, miss out on university experience and you cant gain access to certain careers.
you can gain an apprenticeship placement through the gov.uk website or through job sites such as indeed.
Example apprenticeship
https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/-100948
Employment
The state of being employed to a company or employer with a fixed payment.
pros - set salary, paid holiday/sick leave, social interaction with colleagues
cons - lack of flexibility, minimal pay rises, daily commute
you can gain employment through job sites with a simple search.
Example of a photography job advert
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Self-employment
The state of working for yourself as a freelancer or owner of a business where your the employer.
pros - you are your own boss, more flexibility
cons - work alone, lack of employment security, no set salary
you can gain self employment by setting up your own business. or if your looking fro freelance work you can look through various job sites.
Example of freelance avert
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Further training
Any level of training, at educational establishments and for variable lengths.
pros - different length courses
cons - likely to have to pay
you can gain further training opportunities at colleges or universities or other education establishments or even with your employer.
Example of further training courses
University Courses
University of Brighton - photography BA(Hons)
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the university is set in a creative culture that has a high track of producing award winning graduates.
the university has an emphasis is on the creative exploration of photography as a contemporary art practice and we encourage and support students in exploring their own creativity. currently the fees are £9,250+ not including living and travel costs if any.
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University of Kent - Media Studies BA (Hons)
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the university has modules in areas such as filmmaking, photography, arts criticism, screenwriting and curating as well as the old and new media and how they influence. you also have an option to study abroad giving you a chance to make connections and conacts for when you go out into the industry.
currently the fees are £9250+ not including living and travel costs if any.
Falmouth university - GUEST SPEAKER
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Falmouth University is a university that specialises in courses with creative subjects such as photography, performing arts, creative writing etc.and in those subjects you can specialise further such as fashion photography or dance etc. the university offers courses for underaduate, postgraduate, short and flexible (online). you are able to have the option of study abroad where you can make connections with others from around the world and different cultures. as university costs a lot you are able to pay through bursaries/funding, parent contributions, working part time or student loans. many universities have alumni and partners that provide work experience for students or end up being offered employment at the end of the course.
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you should visit or look at 5 or 6 universities so you can get a feel for each one of them as its where you'll be studying for the next 3 years. when you visit you should as well as questions about what you wish and if the lecturer has any experience in that field. you have to do whats best for you which doesn't always mean a top university
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apply for as many universities or graduate jobs as possible and its better to do it earlier than later
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you can be successful if you work hard and go the extra mile
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knowing its right for you, choose something your passionate about and enjoy as lecturers will see that even if you haven't got much experience or lacking in certain skills you can learn them on the course
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you shouldn't go into something because of the money
University for the Creative Arts (Rochester) - BA (hons) Photography
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UCA has 4 campuses Rochester, Canterbry, Epsom and Farnham.
the course has different opportunities and course connections that can benefit students like visiting lecturers, studio visits and annual exhibitions. a selection of the contacts are Getty images, Burnham-Niker (leading photographer’s agency, association of photographers etc. their are two large photographic studios with digital workstations as well as film processing and photographic printing facilities black and white rooms. currently the fees are £9,000+ not including living and travel costs if any.
Louis Mason - GUEST SPEAKER
louis mason was a speaker that came in to talk about advertising and how he got into the industry he started out as a college student and now worked for different companies producing adverts for them such as Cadbury.
Job Advert Analysis
I have analysed two job adverts from the site Linkedin where you have an online professional profile where you can gain jobs from. both of the jobs are within the media industry with the first a multimedia technician and the second a graduate campaign specialist.
Skills SWOT Analysis
Strengths
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I think my strengths are coming up with ideas that include the specific theme as well as having photographs with a nice composition and different angles because i have a good eye. i also think im good at working with different focal lengths and using visual language on shoots.
Opportunities
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I think the opportunities are that i can experiment with my camera as well as learning new skills including studio photography. as well as being able to build a portfolio from the work and images i produce which will be useful to show employers.
Weaknesses
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I think my weaknesses are using the studio and setting up the studio for when it comes to the shoot and how the light settings can change the photos. i also think i need more practise when it comes to editing photographs after shoots so i can make the final images better and lastly i think i need to remember the camera settings when shooting so i can spend more time actually shooting.
Threats
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I think the threats are having the lack of experience when it comes to doing professional photoshoots etc. another thing which would link to the above would be the lack of connections i have with people in the industry.
i think i could improve my weaknesses by using the studio more so i can practise and get used to how it works and feel more confident when using the studio. i think when it comes to the editing photographs i just need to practise and hopefully I'll get better as i finish each shoot making my images come out even better and be improved further. the last weakness could be improved by learning the exposure triangle more thoroughly or find an easier way of remembering the important settings. i think for one of the threats i could improve by making connections with people in the industry through work experience.
Contacting Professionals
Here i have draft messages to send out to photographers asking if they would give out career advice. i contacted Jordan matter photography who specialises in dance and headshot photography, Craig Payne photography who is a equine and events photographer and Lovelane photography who is a family and lifestyle photographer.
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