Graduating into Uncertainty: Encouragement for 2020 Media Grads

Graduating into Uncertainty: Encouragement for 2020 Media Grads

data-src=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/145204/600faf67e1d3e-bpthumb.jpg data-srcset=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/145204/600faf67d0980-bpfull.jpg 2x class=lazyload avatar avatar-80 photo height=80 width=80 />

Kylee Pe a February 4, 2021

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So you're graduating into a pandemic and a recessed economy. Hoo boy. As a Spring 2009 media program graduate, I have a feeling what's going through your head right now and yeah, it's not great is it? I'm sorry about this timing. It sucks.

When I graduated in 2009, the economy was tanking. We could see it coming like some kind of slow-moving train wreck throughout our senior year. The housing bubble burst and media jobs as we knew them were evaporating and being completely re-written. Postings that would have been appropriate for entry level were being targeted and filled by mid-career professionals - for entry level pay, so we were all equally screwed. To top it off, the H1N1 pandemic was lurking in the background. We were lucky though. It never came close to the impact COVID-19 is having, but we weren't allowed to shake hands on stage at graduation. (I remember the brief conversation around if commencement would even happen, but it was just rumors. To live through the end of my senior year in COVID is not imaginable to me.)

data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma-1024x828.png alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2402759 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma-1024x828.png 1024w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma-300x242.png 300w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma-768x621.png 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma-624x504.png 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002528/Diploma.png 1084w data-sizes=(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px />

I'm not going to begin to draw direct comparisons to say I had it just as badly as you did. I think you've got the worse deal now. After four years, you can't even celebrate your achievements with so much as a brunch with friends. Many of you had your senior projects derailed completely. I watched a number of student capstone presentations virtually which was really cool but also weird. We're all stuck inside, watching the country argue over something as simple as wearing a mask. The entire film and television industry is shut down. Nobody has any real idea of when things will be safe enough to resume work, and nobody believes things will ever truly go back to what they were before the pandemic began. You're entering the workforce when the majority of that workforce has more questions than answers for you.

I went to a career counselor near the end of my senior year when I saw the writing on the wall for the economy. He laughed and told me to go to grad school. I am not passing this advice to you unless grad school fits your career path as you see it now. I'm adding this just to remind you that the established adults in your life can be unhelpful idiots too.

data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic-988x1024.png alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2402760 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic-988x1024.png 988w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic-289x300.png 289w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic-768x796.png 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic-624x647.png 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002613/Flip_phone_pic.png 1468w data-sizes=(max-width: 988px) 100vw, 988px />For a good example of how quickly the world changes, note this picture my mom took on her flip phone at my graduation in 2009

I was really lucky when I graduated because I had found a job through a former student. It was a video producing job in an industry that thrives when the economy drops and people get desperate: trucking. I had an opportunity to work on my skills and my network while I had a 9-5 job producing corporate videos. I hope all of you have this kind of luck and opportunity soon.

It's a bummer of a time to be transitioning from one stage of life to another. If you're anything like me, you have been impatiently waiting for that degree to get conferred so you can get to the real work and live your life. But now the world is paused.

As someone who graduated into a strange time with a terrible economy, I feel like I have a uniquely parallel experience that might be able to help you a little. You will come out the other side of this having learned so much more that you'll be able to pass on. But I hope in the mean time, this offers you some comfort, encouragement, and real practical advice you can act upon.

1. Keep Learning

data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University-836x1024.png alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2402763 data-srcset=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University-836x1024.png 836w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University-245x300.png 245w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University-768x941.png 768w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University-624x764.png 624w, https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/04002809/University.png 844w data-sizes=(max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px />This was my building at IU, Informatics. I wanted to be done learning when I graduated, but then I realized I just wanted to be done learning

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