A week in the life of a third year journalism student...

Hey everyone, 

How are you all? 

I always get messages and questions about my studies and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share my every day life as a third year journalism student with you all.

My weeks are not that hectic at the moment due to only just going back and Covid but they are about to get extremely busy. So I thought I'd share with you what my week has consisted of from September 28th to October 2nd.

I hope you enjoy this little insight into my life and get a taste of being a student journalist if that's the career path you want to go down.

So, here is my week in the life diary...

Monday 28th September (work placement/newsdays) - all day

Mondays are my work placement days this semester. So, these are the days in my diary where I schedule in work experience. I have a date booked in soon to work alongside journalists at LancsLive, which I'm so excited for! 

In a couple of weeks I am also taking part in two news-days; planning and broadcast. These are exciting days that are organised by my university. If you want a really practical course, I definitely recommend UCLan because they offer all the best practical aspects to my course. 

(picture taken in second year pre covid)

Today I have had a free Monday, so I've looked into my dissertation topic and completed some reading. I also did some shorthand which isn't mandatory in my third year but I'm looking to get my 100wpm so its an important aspect of my year. 

I haven't done much for the rest of my day. I had a look at story ideas for Thursday and then had a chilled one. Of course once the year gets busier, I won't have much free time available!

Tuesday 29th September (disseration meeting) 1-3pm

Dissertation meeting day! I've sat and brainstormed all my ideas for my 8000 word dissertation and my feelings for my dissertation are constantly changing! 

One minute I feel like I have found a topic I absolutely adore and then I sit and worry so much about my final year and my diss counts for a lot of the final grade! 

(Today's outfit)

So far I am really enjoying studying a dissertation. I have always said I will do a diss if I go to university, so here I am, studying and reading lots about women in journalism. 

This is the only lesson I have today but again I like to sit and chill once my online classes are over and then get some shorthand done. That's a key piece of advice; do at least 30 minutes of shorthand a day to keep your speed up!

Wednesday 30th September (work experience module classes/newsroom classes/nctj portfolio class) 9 - 1pm

Today has been my favourite day of the week so far! This morning my university set up a really engaging Teams conversation with Tanni Grey-Thompson. I loved it. The insight I got from listening to Tanni's experience as a Paralympian was golden and I will endeavour to report in the fairest way I can.

(Today's outfit)

I also had a really great CV class today. I think it's really important as a student journalist to have an up to date CV to share with employers and work experience companies. We are in such a competitive industry and the advice was great.

Thursday 1st October (news-day) - 9:30 - 4

News-day! Thursdays are our news-days so we have to find a story idea, interview people who relate to our stories and write our articles up. 

I went back to uni for the first time today and it was so odd, the whole place was so quiet but the Covid measures are phenomenal. 

(Today's outfit - little bit more professional as its a news-day)

This week I wrote a story with some of the lovely girls on my course about the lockdown measures in Liverpool. I really enjoy the practical news-days because it is so realistic to what newsrooms are like across the country.

Friday 2nd October

My day off! 

This is a good day of the week because it gives me chance to update my diary, find more stories for the coming week and also get some work done. I've been spending all my time on my shorthand and dissertation which is worth it. But I can't lie, the rest is great.

So that's my week. Slow and steady and I feel great about this coming year. I am actually not feeling nervous or stressed yet which is a nice feeling after constantly worrying throughout the end of my second year.

UCLan is the place to be if you want to study journalism. I don't know what I would have done if I picked a different place to study! The staff are so accommodating, caring and have the best advice. The course is rewarding and so practical so you never get bored and the assignments are actually somewhat enjoyable if you can find a good story to portray.

I'm thinking of doing an updated version of this in January so you can see how different my diary is then! But for now, I hope you've enjoyed getting to know what my timetable is like in semester one! Each year is so different in terms of timetable, so although this looks like I don't have much on, I do! 

If you need any advice on studying at UCLan please let me know, I'll be more than happy to help!


Love always,

Chloe xxx

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