After my recent post, I thought I would discuss issues that were raised when considering what to do after a degree.
I went through this whirlwind spiral of decision making, opportunities, financial concerns, job loss and if I am going on the right course. All I knew for sure is that I wanted to carry out my commitment to art and that is what I did.
One thing I want to make are in this blog post and this is the most important thing to say and be aware of, is to communicate! I did not know what direction to go in and what course to go on because I did not communicate with my lecturers and other tutors, I thought I could do it on my own and that I knew everything, but I didn't. From thinking near the end of my three-year degree on how I could further develop my skills in the art industry, I decided I wanted to go into teaching.
I have volunteered in primary schools as a mentor to grasp experience on what it would be like and I knew that although the children were lovely, my passion was not in teaching primary and secondary pupils art and design. I wanted to teach higher education in colleges and specifically universities. To do this I thought I would take part in a PGCE course and from asking the wrong people about this, I thought the only way to do this would be the PGCE in secondary education.
The plan was to do this course and then apply for a masters in fine art, this then lead me to higher education roles (without being informed that I would need a PhD)
After being accepted and choosing this course as my firm choice, I decided to speak to another tutor to talk about my career plan. What I didn't expect was for that tutor to help guide me in the correct direction and steer me away from losing out on years of education doing a course that would still provide an amazing experience, but would help me pursue my career goal.
I did not know that there was a course called a PGCert and it is a course mainly taken after a masters degree. I did not know that a PGCE in secondary education would not develop my career in higher education to becoming a lecturer without the PGCert or PhD. There are so many stepping stones to get to your goal and you need to grasp as much information as you can, that meaning you also need to communicate with not just one but several people to ensure you have the correct information in hand.
After being guided to the correct person to talk about all of this, I emailed away. I was honest about how I was feeling and what I wanted to aspire towards and I gave as much information I could. After further discussion, I contacted UCAS and explained the situation to them, I emailed lecturers and course leaders to inform them of my interest in a Fine Art Master degree, facilitator role and volunteering opportunities that may arise.
The keyword in all of this is 'Communicate', if you don't communicate with others and get your interests across then you will take fewer steps towards your career goal and any goal you have.
After contacting the most lovely and helpful people, I now know that I am going in the right direction, I plan to have an interview and am determined to get onto that Masters course and I plan to experience and develop my experience as much as possible, not for others but for me to grow 🌱
Advice to anyone reading this, si to not jump into something quickly because it could be wrong and it could have a little or great effect on what direction you are trying to go on. Don't lose your passion for working towards your interest but don't panic if it takes a while to get there.
Keep being passionate, creative and positive and communicate with others, thank you for reading :)