Saturday 31 December 2011

The Early Life Crisis

I've been thinking a lot lately about my future.

I am currently in my final year at university and subsequently I have a set of paths that I could follow come June when my time at Reading comes to an end.

Path number one is routine. It's normal. It's fairly bog standard. It would be the easiest route to take. Path one involves me getting a regular job, either on a graduate scheme or otherwise. I've begun applying for many graduate jobs and whilst the temptation of earning £25,000 a year plus is appealing, it isn't exactly the life I hope to lead. In a nutshell, I'd be 'selling-out' were I to take on a full-time, bog-standard job post-university.

Path number two is risky. It's potentially going to break me in a monetary sense. It's my dream though. This dream is to try and break into the media. A career in journalism, writing or anything in that ballpark is what really gets me going, it is the great hope I hold. My week long work experience at ShortList magazine taught me that this is the type of job I'd love to have, but it comes with two difficulties. It doesn't pay well, whilst it will be fairly difficult to break into.

Path number three is the back-up. It's the average option. It's not exactly exciting though. This path involves doing a masters degree. Ideally, I'd like to do a year long masters in Journalism, but again this comes with two drawbacks. I'd be fully committing to wanting to break into the media, whilst a masters costs a hell of a lot of money. My main motivation for studying for one more year would be due to the desirable lifestyle of being a student.

There we are. This is my life dilemma. The worst thing is that it is a pretty huge call that I will have to make. To make matters worse, I have only around four months left to make the call and I'm still very much in the dark.

Follow me on Twitter @Alex_Harris1991

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Wednesday 28 December 2011

The ShortList Magazine Work Experience

Where have you been? What have you been doing? Why haven't you been updating the blog?

One question at a time, please guys. I've been busy, very busy. Well, I say very busy, I mean I haven't been busy every single waking minute of the past month but you get the idea.

University finished for the term and I headed back home. After doing some christmas shopping, going to see Kele live and going to my cousin's christening, I spent the week on work experience at ShortList magazine. If you haven't heard of ShortList then that is likely for two reasons, either you aren't a man or you don't live near London.

So, I had to get up every day at around 7 o'clock, a time I hadn't seen for many, many years then head to the train station and make my way to Holborn. Despite staying clear of any illness at university, I picked up man flu on the first day thanks to the many ill and weak people on the tube.

I worked out today that the amount of time I worked would have equated to around £240 on minimum wage. As I sit here writing this, I have to say I really want £240.

However, on the positive side, it was a really insightful week that made me realise that a career in the media would make me happy. Also, I will soon be a published writer, whilst I got to spend one afternoon just looking at pictures of half-naked women. It was a win-win.

There we are, thank you ShortList for the work experience and thank you Holborn McDonalds for keeping me fed all week.

Follow me on Twitter @Alex_Harris1991

I've also started my own YouTube channelwhy not subscribe?