“The variety in the work I do is great. Everything has fast turn-around, which means I'm constantly talking and testing as well as coding, so I'm not staring at a screen all day. I love being creative through logic and seeing something I build come to life. Agency-land is lots of fun too!"
It was enrolling in a Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies in Web and Interactive Design that Amy credits as helping her secure a job in an agency. Her initial expectations were to “…spend a year being crammed full of
information, produce some beautiful portfolio work, and get a job at the end"
“These expectations were definitely met. Media Design School grads seem to be pretty sought after out in the real world!" says Amy.
“I found that having a qualification from a school with a great industry reputation made a huge difference when I was job hunting, and afterward, with other companies hunting me down with offers!"
“I found that I was well prepared for my job and my boss was surprised with how much I knew, how quickly I worked and how well I could handle pressure - all things I picked up from Media Design School."
Amy attributes her industry readiness to her favourite tutor, Interaction and Media Design lecturer Ramon Thackwell. Any says that she loved his “straight-up attitude and thoughtful criticism, his enthusiasm for web, and the fact that he had real world experience and wasn't just teaching from a curriculum."
Now that's she's well and truly immersed in the industry, Amy says that she'd recommend Media Design School to “anyone who is wanting to get into web development or design and who is willing to work hard."
Amy's top three pieces of advice for aspiring GDCT students:
- Commit to working hard. Grab any opportunity to do real-world work as well as your schoolwork. It was a full-on year for me but it was all worth it. And the Bluestone Room's just around the corner when you need to play hard, too!
- Get to know your classmates. They'll be your industry connections when you leave.
- Expect that you'll always have to keep learning - the web industry is constantly developing and changing and no matter how well your study prepares you, you'll need to find your own passion and motivation to keep up.
