The Struggles of Young Adults entering the Media Industry 

After leaving sixth form, I completed my A-Levels and was left deciding what path I wanted to take in my future career. Looking around me, my peers had their future decided and their Universities/Apprenticeships selected, whilst I was still stuck in a spiral of decisions I need to make. When I brought up my concerns to teachers/parents, I would be fed back with the reply, 

“Don’t worry, you’ve got time.”

This didn’t give me the immediate calming affect which was intended. In my eyes, this added to my worries. Having time helps, but thoughts of wasting it was added stress. Eventually, after weighing up my strengths and interests, I finally made my decision. I’ve always been interested in writing and entertainment, so pursuing a career in these strengths would be ideal as well as enjoyable. This led me to the idea of production. I watch television day to day, but I also write my own ideas and short plots in my spare time. So producing would be a fantastic fit for me! After doing my research of the average candidate, it perfectly described my character and skills. During more added research of production pathways, I discovered Journalism. During my A-Levels, another strength of mine was research projects and comparative essays. Factual writing presented my skills as a whole, including my extensive analysis and research. Journalism roles brings this into play, so after further research decided this was another possible path for me to take. As a whole, a role to portray my writing either factually or creatively was the best for me. 

So, now it’s decided. A little later than others, I finally have made the stressful decision of where my life will take me. Now, it’s just finding where to start. I have been through the internet, up and down looking for advice and opportunities, but unfortunately, I was left a little bit stuck. Finding apprenticeships was the first task. So far, very few have been advertised, and ones I have applied for are extremely competitive and have thousands of applicants. Either way, the waiting game begins to find out if i am successful as the start date is September for most. So, in the mean time, building a portfolio with experience of previous work would be extremely advantageous, so I began the search for any work experience or beginner roles to increase my chances of being a successful candidate. This is when I discovered the vicious cycle: 

To gain experience, you must have experience.