Hey guys, it’s Jackson from the E-Business (E-Marketing) programme. As it is near the end of my Semester 2 at Newcastle University, in today’s blog, I think it’s high time to chat about how I plan out my future career path and how I will achieve my goals using all of the resources I have.
Setting My Future Direction
After months of exploring and reflective thinking, I have mapped out how I want my career to look like in the future. With my studies in the E-Marketing programme here at Newcastle, I aim for positions like product manager, project manager, or digital marketer after I graduate. Besides, as a freelancer who began producing content before I started my master’s degree, I have always been intrigued about the idea of becoming a digital content creator and running my own studio and business as an entrepreneur in the future. Based on these intentions and my passion for tech products and digital services, I currently plan to work in a tech company for 3-5 years to gain some industry experiences before starting my own business. Well, these statements above might initially sound quite ambitious, but I am committed to this vision and it is undoubtedly how I see my future. In order to pursue my future vision and achieve my goals, here’s how I am going to use the resources I have available to execute my plan.
Utilizing Newcastle University’s Award-Winning Career Service
To begin with, one of the reasons that I chose Newcastle University for my master study in the first place is because of its highly integrated career service. Whether you have no clue about career planning or you are already experienced in applying for jobs, the Career Service website is a great place to return to. It is where I constantly refer back whenever I need some guidance or support. Services such as 1-2-1 CV Consultation or Career Conversations really helped me in honing my preparation for the job application. I once booked a meeting with a CV checker simply through the “My Career” website to go through my resume bit by bit, and it really helped me in exemplifying my past highlights and adjusting my wording to better fit the current recruitment environment.
Accessing the START UP Service for Entrepreneurs
Being thrilled by many tech start-ups and stories about overcoming their challenges and achieving their goals step by step, I have kept exploring and finding business opportunities based on what I have learned in one of our E-Business module, Digital Start-up with lean innovation. With the aim of starting my own business, I really benefit from the START UP team in Newcastle University’s Career Service. Having zero experience in Entrepreneurship, I attended many START UP seminars that guided me through from the very beginning phase such as Start-up 101 to detailed coaching such as ways to get funds. I also get to follow their Instagram account to keep an eye on their latest information on Entrepreneurship. It helped me tremendously to get the right mindset of being an entrepreneur and make me understand what is ahead in the journey.
Developing Through Programme Module Resources
Gladly, in the E-Marketing programme that I am studying, most of the classes are practical skill-oriented with many real-world case studies and hands-on projects. Modules such as Digital Start-up with Lean Innovation require us to develop a digital business proposal from scratch and pitch our ideas with the aim of getting funded by investors at the end of the semester. Though quite challenging, it really did take me through the entire start-up process and offered me a good sense of being a budding business owner. It also made me realize what role I could take in a company, and what skills and knowledge I currently lack but will take action to build up.
Making Use of the Continuous Support offered by the University
The experiences above have taught me a great lesson about the knowledge gap I need to fill. It’s reassuring to know that you don’t have to fight alone after graduating from the University as you equip yourself with the entrepreneurial skills gained through life experience. This is because one other great advantage of the Career Service is that they offer advice and support to graduates for up to 3 years after graduation. Knowing that someone will still have your back is always reassuring, allowing you to explore, ideate, and iterate more fearlessly.
Keeping on Lifelong Learning
Besides the resources I can get on campus, I am also planning to extend my learning into different areas such as LinkedIn Learning, Coursera and so on. As a student at Newcastle University, it is really fortunate that we are provided with free access to all the courses on LinkedIn Learning for a year. Aside from the Marketing, Information Systems, and Information Technology expertise that I am acquiring on the programme, there are so many facets of Entrepreneurship that I haven’t been able to touch on yet. Therefore, I intended to keep enriching myself in Data Analytics, Business Management, UX Design, Basic Programming, Finance and Accounting and more. Also, I aim to keep on refining my storytelling, visual production, photography and filmmaking skills in order to strengthen myself as a content creator.
Building a Career Around What You Love
In our undergraduate studies, we widely explore the subjects we are enthusiastic about. While at postgraduate, we focus in on what we love and make every effort to build our careers around it. It is important to set clear goals for ourselves to ensure we keep going in the right direction and build systems that allow us to evolve and grow. Reflecting on my goal of starting my own business after 3-5 years of graduation at the beginning of this blog, it might still sound like a fantasy or daydreaming. Still, with lots of hard work and commitment and a little bit of luck, I strongly believe I can achieve my goals – as long as I have the right mindset, utilize the right resources, and execute my plan the right way. And without a doubt, you can too!
Well, here’s the end of today’s blog, I hope my experiences on planning my future career path could somewhat be helpful to you. See you next time, bye!
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