Just saying hi

Hello potential readers!

I just wanted to say a few things about this blog, what it'll be about, and what I hope I will achieve from it. I'll just something about myself first - I am in my final year at University of Warwick studying English, and when I'm not spending my time as hermit hunched over my desk avoiding my essays, I am finding a better way of answering the question to 'what are you doing after you graduate?' (currently, the method is to stick my fingers in my ears and start shouting 'cant hear you', and that has done a marvelous job of covering up my lack of future plans). The vague hope to is to get a job, and to be more specific, a job in journalism.

There are the usual responses I get when I tell people that I think I want to be a journalist: usually its a head-scratching and puzzled look that goes with: 'but don't you know that journalist (add publishing to this) is a dying prospect?' No. The print version is dying, thank you very much. And studying English, I will get two other responses: 'but don't you want to be a teacher?' or a more scathing: 'ah, you mean you're heading for unemployment?' (I should probably talk to nicer people). Also, I've noticed during my studies here is that I seem to have more of a chance of going onto a law-conversion degree or become an accountant despite the fact that I haven't done any maths since my GCSEs and when I help my 12-year-old brother, he's usually the one explaining what quadratic equations followed by telling me to get out of his room. But there you go.

Yes, the print form of journalist is dying, and yes, its an incredibly competitive career. It is, on a closer look, filled with Oxbridge, white, middle class graduates with the top jobs going to men, so there comes up another hurdle. I'm going to go form the naive strategy of believing there is a fair and just process of getting jobs and that as someone will always need to write the news, journalism is always going to be there. I've had some work experience, and future work experience so far so, shockingly, my degree has actually meant I've done more than leave my bed at midday and enjoy my four day weekend with Friends re-runs and from time to time reading a book. This blog is two things: one, admittedly helping me have some experience of blogging on my CV (a very small part of why I am doing this), and because I hope to help anyone else out there in my position - offering advice, tips and reflecting on my own experiences 

Thanks for reading!

(There's a third reason why I'm writing this blog. I have an essay due in tomorrow. I don't want to do it. I'm just going to cover up the little date at the right-hand-side of my laptop screen)