Brodie Childs

“The main reason I decided to do my masters at Edinburgh Napier was because of how vocational it is”

The main reason I decided to do my masters at Edinburgh Napier was because of how vocational it is. I’m 27, I don’t just want a degree, I want a job. That’s something I really like about the course, is that from day one, they say good grades are nice, but we’re aiming to get you a job, we’re aiming to get you a portfolio, connections, and get you straight out into the world of work and straight in to a role.

“I was with a really diverse group of students”

The thing that was a big surprise to me was the really diverse group of students. There were people from many different backgrounds, people working in advertising; people who had come straight out of university; and people like me who hadn’t really been doing anything.

“All of our tutors are people with lots of experience in industry”

All of our tutors, they’re not from traditional academic backgrounds, they’re people with lots of experience in the industry. They give us loads of feedback, they give us advice, and we have a mentorship programme through the university.

“I learnt to manage my workload, to get a little bit done each day”

The toughest part of my masters was just getting used to the workload. If you’ve got a lot of projects on at once and they all have quick deadlines it can be quite challenging. But really, what helped me, was just realising the bigger picture, and just focusing on smaller things - one day I might only get a little bit done, but as long as I get a little bit done each day, that’s good. It’s just the way of approaching each bit, isolating each individual bit and thinking, I can do this in an hour, I can do this in an hour, I can do this in an hour, and then all of a sudden, you’ve done seven hours of work!

“The course has a wide support network and close industry ties”

There’s a really wide support network for this masters course because it has such close industry ties. All the mentors we get are working in the industry, and we get to meet loads of people working in the industry right now and they’re all really generous with their time. Of all the people I’ve got in touch with, no one has said no. They’ve all made time to speak to me and give me advice. My mentor is the deputy creative director at the advertising agency, Punk. He’s made loads of time for me. I’ve been to see him 4 or 5 times, I email him probably once a week and he’s given me some great advice.

The tutors are great, they give loads of help, they’re so knowledgeable and they make so much time for us. And my course mates as well, we all get on with each other, we’re all good friends.

“Doing a masters has been the best decision for me”

If you’re thinking about doing a masters it’s definitely been the best decision for me, I don’t see any reason why you wouldn’t want to.

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