Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Graduating into Uncertainty: Encouragement for 2020 Media Grads

04/02/2021

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

0 Comments

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
LINK: https://creativecow.net/graduating-into-uncertainty-encouragement-for-...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

06/12/2025

Survey: M&E Embraces Horizontally Integrated Media Archiving Approach

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...

06/12/2025

Czech TV Deploys LiveU Solutions in 10 OB Vans

HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...

06/12/2025

NATAS Celebrates 76th Technology & Engineering Emmy Award Honorees

NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...

05/12/2025

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and Regionally

2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...

05/12/2025

SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio Data

SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...

05/12/2025

Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Scalable Production System with Ross Video

Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...

05/12/2025

Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD Split

Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...

05/12/2025

FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championship

FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...

05/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the Future of the Viewer Experience

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...

05/12/2025

Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast for World Cup Draw

Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...

05/12/2025

As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ever

As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...

05/12/2025

ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows for Championship Week

ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...

05/12/2025

Sorry, Baby, Peter Hujar's Day, Among Sundance Institute-Supported Projects Nominated for 2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards

It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...

05/12/2025

Surprised by Your 2025 Wrapped? Here's a Look at How the Data Comes to Life

Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...

05/12/2025

Celebrating Spotify's GLOW, RADAR, and EQUAL Artists of 2025

In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...

05/12/2025

Wi-Fi 7 - Go Beyond Speed to Deliver Security, Trust and Value

In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...

05/12/2025

Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. in Deal Worth $82.7 Billon

LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....

05/12/2025

Gracenote Launches New CTV Ad Platform

NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...

05/12/2025

IAB Tech Lab Releases Deals API

NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...

05/12/2025

Nielsen: NFL Thanksgiving Games Score Big Audiences

NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...

05/12/2025

Iris Cloud-Connected Camera Control Platform Now Available

NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...

05/12/2025

Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. in Deal Worth $82.7B

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....

05/12/2025

Iris Cloud-Connected Camera Control Platform Is Now Available

NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...

05/12/2025

FCC Approves AT&T's $1 Billion Acquisition of UScellular Spectrum

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...

05/12/2025

The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars

The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start. December ...

05/12/2025

Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee

Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...

05/12/2025

A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exclusive series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms lands today

Friday 5 December 2025 A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...

05/12/2025

Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Action Thriller 'TYGO'

Back to All News Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...

05/12/2025

Give Back Fridays with a twist is back for 2025!

Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head. In the autumn we were approach...

05/12/2025

2025-11-06

Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...

05/12/2025

The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025

The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025 Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player #LateLateToyShow...

05/12/2025

RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes

RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...

04/12/2025

ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux

ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...

04/12/2025

ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux

ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...

04/12/2025

Young Journalist finalists looking to the future

Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...

04/12/2025

SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be a Game-Changer for Live Sports Production

SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...

04/12/2025

SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Content & Strategic Communications, Harvard University

SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...

04/12/2025

Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Sports Storytelling

Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...

04/12/2025

London to Riyadh: DAZN Brings the Boxing Glamour to New Production Levels for Benavidez v Yarde in Saudi Arabia

London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...

04/12/2025

Analysis: Paramount Bets on the Battering Ram' with Champions League Play

Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12 Print ...

04/12/2025

Space City Home Network Launches SCHN+ DTC App for Astros and Rockets

Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...

04/12/2025

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Sports Media Supply Chain

SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...

04/12/2025

New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolution Taking Place in Sports Broadcasting

New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...

04/12/2025

Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and Regionally

Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm Print This Sto...

04/12/2025

Cutting Through Rocks ( ) Shows the Difference That One Person Can Make for Change

(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...

04/12/2025

SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video editing talent

SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...

04/12/2025

L3Harris Supports NOAA's Million Mile Journey to Safeguard Earth from Solar Storms

Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...

04/12/2025

Gracenote launches new CTV ad platform making program-level targeting a reality

Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...