ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳

Back in year 12, I agonised over which degree to choose and at which university. I only had the vague notion that I wanted to be a writer, and seemingly every university in Melbourne offered a communication degree where I could pursue this interest. But it was the built-in year of paid placement that tipped the scales towards ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳.

This year, I’ve been working as a content developer and copywriter in the Creative Team in ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳’s marketing department. It’s allowed me to wander down all kinds of different content writing avenues (and make some mildly mortifying appearances on ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳’s TikTok).

Some of my favourite work has been in writing longer-form articles for the ºÚÁÏÂÛ̳ website about anything and everything university-related. They’re a chance to write something that’s both informative but still with style and creative flair. And it’s always fun to point to a real article online and say, ‘That’s me! I wrote that!’

Seeing my writing take physical form has been exciting too. My team is very involved in the work that goes into Open Day. Through that, a major project of mine was interviewing current and past students to write their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) stories for the Art of Work gallery at Swinburne ר’s Open Day.

Knowing that hundreds of people passed through and read my words is pretty cool – and just as fun as showing people a webpage I’ve written, is pointing to display panels and signage with my own words on them.

These opportunities to apply everything I’ve learnt throughout my degree have been fantastic; assuring that AI hasn’t made my skillset redundant and that I really can turn a love of reading and writing into a career. And a career that’s a touch more nuanced than the aspirational (but not impossible) ‘world-famous novelist’.

Most importantly though, this placement has taught me what it’s like to be a professional. Meetings, timelines, stakeholder management, quarterly planning, emails, collaborating with colleagues and all that jazz. A much-needed reality check that working life does not involve chipping away at an essay in front of the TV at 11pm!

I’ll tell everyone who will listen to add a year of placement to their degree. This liminal status of student and professional is a rare opportunity I’m sure I’ll only get once. Already eight months in, I know there’s still some revelations on the road ahead before my time here wraps up.

I’ve also been lucky that the team I work with are so supportive. I’ve been given the space to make the stumbles of inexperience, but also the trust of a real writer with a valued perspective. It definitely feels like a special thing to have had a gentle and supported entry into working life, while still having a year of real experience and work to include on my resume and in my portfolio.