12 May A millennials ‘fuck you’ to tradition – Written Piece – Jordan Platt
(Below is my written piece for Advanced Cross Platform Journalism, written solely by me, Jordan Platt. I wanted to produce a creative, informative, inspirational piece informing 18-24 year olds of their options, or just to simply encourage them to chase their goals without hesitation. The language used was to ensure my audience related to the piece).
Shared here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1532884370076061&id=100000635398784 and here: https://twitter.com/jordandplatt/status/862825479224557571
Work hard, play work hard. A millennials ‘fuck you’ to tradition.
We’re told constantly, as students, as creatives, that a degree is a must. No one will pay you attention without that piece of paper. But is that true? Isn’t industry experience just as valuable? If not more so?
From Sir Richard Branson to Steve Jobs, and Julie Burchill, there are many people at the top of their game, and killing it, who have done so without a degree. Nerve, charisma and a hell of a lot of talent have pushed them further than any degree could of. And do any of them regret not attending University? I bet not.
Now, I’m not saying don’t go to University, don’t get a degree. You do you. I just want to shout from the rooftops the point, a point that is never made to young people, that there are options. You have options. No one person follows the same path to accomplishing their goals, so don’t feel as though you have to.
Being a creative in the 21st Century can be difficult, we’re put down constantly for being passionate about ‘dying industries’, but with the ever-growing list of people wanting to contribute creatively, new life is being breathed into creative industries on the daily. From TV, to social media, to even traditional print media, as long as you’re willing to work hard, and I mean work hard, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to, no matter what route you decide to take to get there, whether it be an academic one or not.
From apprenticeships, to paid internships and using contacts to get your foot in the door. There are a tonne of different routes we can now take in order to become who we want to be creatively. Start a blog, boot up your camera and make a goddamn YouTube video. Find what platform is right for you and get yourself out there. You are the driver of your own freakin’ vehicle, so drive it towards what success means to you.
And if University is the route you choose to take, then go for it! Just know that work experience is just as important as an education. Sophie Tighe, Snapchat Editor at The Sun, said the following about whether a degree or industry experience is more important “I think it is a mix of both experience and education – journalism is made up of skills that need to be learnt as well as having first-hand experience.” But when asked whether having had work experience at The Sun would favour a person when you’re looking to hire, she went on to say, “it’s not favouring as much as it’s having worked with someone previously, you’ve already got a sense of what they’re like as an employee.”
I say, as millennials, it’s about time we scream a big fuck you to tradition, and create the life we’ve always dreamed of, our way, because isn’t that our right? As the cliché goes, you only live once. So live it well.
If you want to gain work experience during achieving your degree, much like the path I’ve chosen, the National Council of Training for Journalists (NCTJ in short) provide great advice on how to do just that.
Written by Jordan Platt.
