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I have a number of different positions arising out of a Cultural Studies degree. I have worked
for a youth media organisation, doing a number of roles from logistics, to eventually becoming
vice-president. I've worked for political organisations, most notably GetUp!, and I've
also worked for the City of Sydney in the Media and Communications team. This kind of
variety isn't dissimilar to most of my cohort who also graduated with Cultural Studies degrees.
They've gone on to work in jobs involving social media, corporate communications, policy
and governmental work, in the cultural and creative sectors, you name it they have probably
done it!
Cultural Studies is not an ordinary arts degree, it focussed on contemporary cultures and contemporary
phenomena, which is a degree removed from the kinds of arts degrees you do where you
focus on old books and literature or old art, archaeology, those kinds of things. What this
meant was that it prioritised critical thinking skills and gave me room to draw my own conclusions,
to take initiative, and to think for myself.
It took those skills that it was teaching us and allowed us to apply them is settings
that are not dissimilar to those that are found in a professional environment. This
meant that rather than studying a career with a body of knowledge, that may or may not have
been relevant to the position I was applying for, I had a whole tool set of skills, collaborative
work, project work, critical thinking skills, analytical skills, ability to take knowledge
that I already had, and apply it again, and again, and again to new situations, to reassess
and to think about what was happening, that meant I was incredibly attractive as a job
candidate, but also as a potential employee, because this tool set meant that I could do
a job well, I could do any job that I really wanted to, well. This kind of skills set more
than knowledge about a particular area, a particular part of culture or media, its this
particular skill set that means that you are able to eventually develop a career in the
cultural and creative industries, and its these tools that are employers are looking
for, and its these tools that I believe got me the jobs that I've had.