I've got a degree in 'independent study' with a concentration in media, culture and postmodernism. What else was I supposed to do? :)
Jonesy
· 2 years ago
In high school, I was set on becoming a veterinarian. I was taking all the required sciences, and even had a student employment program job with the S.P.C.A. to work with the Vet-Tech. I was also on track to go to the University of Guelph and focus on farm animal medicine.
But I had to take options (another word for electives) in order to finish my diploma. Out of curiosity and availability I took video production, enterprise & innovation, and marketing. They blew me away and set things in motion.
The enterprise & innovation class covered the very basics of starting a business, particularly the planning and research aspects. The marketing class covered the basics of creating a marketing plan, and segued nicely into the enterprise & innovation class’s focus on research and planning. Finally, in the Video class I learned to film and edit video, adding music and dialogue as well. My Video class project was a simple 28 second commercial which I also used for my enterprise & innovation class project. (Two birds with one stone!)
Anyways, by now I was hooked. But I didn't realize it was marketing that fascinated me. It was the attractiveness of business in general that took me into post secondary. It was there that, as part of a management education, I took more in-depth courses on the fundamentals of business. Then it happened.
I took a public relations course and loved it. I even ran for, and succeeded in getting, the PR coordinator seat on the student's union. Interestingly though, public relations was part of the management curriculum, not the communications curriculum. So I became a marketing management student.
Public relations was what got me interested in marketing related work, via media releases and advisories to drum up awareness. But after becoming a marketing student, and taking courses in advertising and market research to name two, I finally realized what eluded me in high school - I love strategic planning! Right from idea generation, to research, to creative, to implementation and control. And marketing was the umbrella for it all.
Thank God too! Because I was a hair away from a Finance degree. Get too creative there and you go to jail!
Heather Yaxley
· 2 years ago
This is interesting - one of the questions that students of PR often ask. In my case, my dad saw a job advertised for a PR Officer for Peugeot in Autocar (a consumer car magazine)and thought it would be interesting to me (although neither of us knew what PR was). I was working as a research analyst studying the industry (having got that job because I had good communication and IT skills - from studying for a secretarial diploma after a degree in psychology). Once in PR, I realised it was the career for me - so nearly 20 years (and several career moves) later, I am still passionate about the profession, have become freelance to teach PR and remain devoted to the motor industry, running the Motor Industry Public Affairs Association (www.mipaa.com). And, my secretarial skills and the degree in psychology have all proved useful in PR too. A mixture of chance, good luck, application and hard work.
Ryan
· 2 years ago
Noah - that's odd. I have almost the same degree.
Those are both interesting stories. It seems that very few people take the direct route into PR. I'm not sure there is one, honestly.
Duane Brown
· 2 years ago
I wanted to be a lawyer or a therapist as a kid and since those were shot down, $60,000 for UofT anyone. PR seemed like a good field to give me what I enjoyed about those areas. I interact with people, read oh how do I read, be creative and just know that the rules can change and no two clients are a like. I think I like the challenge more then anything.
I went to college and got that diploma, and now I get to run my own company and wake up each day ready to take on a new challenge and push myself as far as I want to go with no limits in site. Oh yeah, I did some PR stuff in high school. I just didn't know what it was at time.
Stella Jato Unit
· 2 years ago
First, I wanted to be a psychiatrist. So I took psych in Uni. Then, I decided to become a pilot. So I took flying lessons and changed my major to human kinetics. When I realized I didn't really want to be a commercial pilot, I dropped my HK major and tried to find a new one. I had taken communications classes as electives during my first year and aced them. I figured I could start there. After graduation, one thing led to another and I ended up in a PR firm (I had a bit of a journalism background and had worked in communications and marketing as a student). I discovered I was really good at it, I didn't mind the long hours, and I actually enjoyed it. As chance would have it, PR was in the cards for me.
I think a lot of people find themselves accidentally falling into PR and growing their careers in that direction. If you've got talent and you like what you do, it'll happen for you, too.
Keelan Green
· 2 years ago
Ass backwards is how I got into marketing.
My degree is in finance. When I finished it at Acadia University, I stayed there (in Wolfville, Nova Scotia) for the summer. When I returned home to Ottawa, I stumbled on a three-month job in the communications branch at the Department of Finance. I guess I had a knack for communications and performed well, as they offered me another contract, followed by another and then a term. I stayed there for about three and a half years and worked on several federal budgets, economic updates and a variety of international ministerial meetings (G-7, G-20, Western Hemisphere) that Canada chaired and hosted. This meant a lot of international and domestic travel. This was a great opportunity that taught me a lot.
After that, I took a job in the CIO's branch at Treasury Board working on communications for Government On-Line. I was there for 6-months when the person that hired me left for Thornley Fallis. 6-months after that, she suggested that Thornley Fallis hire me.
The rest is history. I've now been with Thornley Fallis and 76design for almost 5 years. I started as a Consultant, then moved to Senior Consultant, then Account Director, and I'm now Vice-President of the Ottawa Office.
Kelly
· 2 years ago
I actually went straight into PR!
Well it started like this - I finished high school and took a one-year general arts and science program with a concentration in communications and media. I knew that was the area I wanted to go into, but not sure from there.
In that program, we had a career planning class, where we chose an area in media/design and researched it, our choices were like journalism, advertising, graphic design, theatre, broadcast journalism and PR.
I really couldn't make up my mind, because nothing seemed right to me. SO I randomly chose PR because, honestly - I didn't really even know what it was!
Anyway I fell in love - it was like they took all the certain tasks I was interested in and called it PR! I took a two-year PR diploma program at Algonquin College (Great program btw.), got some great experience during the program with local charities, on-campus jobs, and finally landed my current job right after graduation where I've been ever since. And I've loved every minute of it!
collin
· 2 years ago
When I was 6 I wanted to be a helicopter pilot.
When I was 18, I wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but couldn't afford it, so I studied animation
When I was 20 I took my first job in marketing
I made Creative Director at age 28.
I am now 32, and I want to be a helicopter pilot.
Pretty soon I will be able to afford it.
Bhavna
· 2 years ago
I just graduated with a BComm Degree- Major-Marketing. I have account executive experience but am looking to break into the world of PR. I have the skills that most people think would be great for PR but not the diploma to go along with it. Most of the jobs in Toronto require some PR diploma/certification and experience, I don't have either but i do have natural skills and volunteer experience that numerous ppl have told me would predispose me to a career in PR. Most of you seem to have gone the unconventional route, any suggestions?
All Comments
But I had to take options (another word for electives) in order to finish my diploma. Out of curiosity and availability I took video production, enterprise & innovation, and marketing. They blew me away and set things in motion.
The enterprise & innovation class covered the very basics of starting a business, particularly the planning and research aspects. The marketing class covered the basics of creating a marketing plan, and segued nicely into the enterprise & innovation class’s focus on research and planning. Finally, in the Video class I learned to film and edit video, adding music and dialogue as well. My Video class project was a simple 28 second commercial which I also used for my enterprise & innovation class project. (Two birds with one stone!)
Anyways, by now I was hooked. But I didn't realize it was marketing that fascinated me. It was the attractiveness of business in general that took me into post secondary. It was there that, as part of a management education, I took more in-depth courses on the fundamentals of business. Then it happened.
I took a public relations course and loved it. I even ran for, and succeeded in getting, the PR coordinator seat on the student's union. Interestingly though, public relations was part of the management curriculum, not the communications curriculum. So I became a marketing management student.
Public relations was what got me interested in marketing related work, via media releases and advisories to drum up awareness. But after becoming a marketing student, and taking courses in advertising and market research to name two, I finally realized what eluded me in high school - I love strategic planning! Right from idea generation, to research, to creative, to implementation and control. And marketing was the umbrella for it all.
Thank God too! Because I was a hair away from a Finance degree. Get too creative there and you go to jail!
Those are both interesting stories. It seems that very few people take the direct route into PR. I'm not sure there is one, honestly.
I went to college and got that diploma, and now I get to run my own company and wake up each day ready to take on a new challenge and push myself as far as I want to go with no limits in site. Oh yeah, I did some PR stuff in high school. I just didn't know what it was at time.
I think a lot of people find themselves accidentally falling into PR and growing their careers in that direction. If you've got talent and you like what you do, it'll happen for you, too.
My degree is in finance. When I finished it at Acadia University, I stayed there (in Wolfville, Nova Scotia) for the summer. When I returned home to Ottawa, I stumbled on a three-month job in the communications branch at the Department of Finance. I guess I had a knack for communications and performed well, as they offered me another contract, followed by another and then a term. I stayed there for about three and a half years and worked on several federal budgets, economic updates and a variety of international ministerial meetings (G-7, G-20, Western Hemisphere) that Canada chaired and hosted. This meant a lot of international and domestic travel. This was a great opportunity that taught me a lot.
After that, I took a job in the CIO's branch at Treasury Board working on communications for Government On-Line. I was there for 6-months when the person that hired me left for Thornley Fallis. 6-months after that, she suggested that Thornley Fallis hire me.
The rest is history. I've now been with Thornley Fallis and 76design for almost 5 years. I started as a Consultant, then moved to Senior Consultant, then Account Director, and I'm now Vice-President of the Ottawa Office.
Well it started like this - I finished high school and took a one-year general arts and science program with a concentration in communications and media. I knew that was the area I wanted to go into, but not sure from there.
In that program, we had a career planning class, where we chose an area in media/design and researched it, our choices were like journalism, advertising, graphic design, theatre, broadcast journalism and PR.
I really couldn't make up my mind, because nothing seemed right to me. SO I randomly chose PR because, honestly - I didn't really even know what it was!
Anyway I fell in love - it was like they took all the certain tasks I was interested in and called it PR! I took a two-year PR diploma program at Algonquin College (Great program btw.), got some great experience during the program with local charities, on-campus jobs, and finally landed my current job right after graduation where I've been ever since. And I've loved every minute of it!
When I was 18, I wanted to be a helicopter pilot, but couldn't afford it, so I studied animation
When I was 20 I took my first job in marketing
I made Creative Director at age 28.
I am now 32, and I want to be a helicopter pilot.
Pretty soon I will be able to afford it.