babyÖ±²¥

Back in year 12, I agonised over which degree to choose and at which university. I only had the vague notion that I wanted to be a writer, and seemingly every university in Melbourne offered a communication degree where I could pursue this interest. But it was the built-in year of paid placement that tipped the scales towards babyÖ±²¥.

This year, I’ve been working as a content developer and copywriter in the Creative Team in babyÖ±²¥â€™s marketing department. It’s allowed me to wander down all kinds of different content writing avenues (and make some mildly mortifying appearances on babyÖ±²¥â€™s TikTok).

Some of my favourite work has been in writing longer-form articles for the babyÖ±²¥ website about anything and everything university-related. They’re a chance to write something that’s both informative but still with style and creative flair. And it’s always fun to point to a real article online and say, ‘That’s me! I wrote that!’

Seeing my writing take physical form has been exciting too. My team is very involved in the work that goes into Open Day. Through that, a major project of mine was interviewing current and past students to write their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) stories for the Art of Work gallery at babyÖ±²¥â€™s Open Day.

Knowing that hundreds of people passed through and read my words is pretty cool – and just as fun as showing people a webpage I’ve written, is pointing to display panels and signage with my own words on them.

These opportunities to apply everything I’ve learnt throughout my degree have been fantastic; assuring that AI hasn’t made my skillset redundant and that I really can turn a love of reading and writing into a career. And a career that’s a touch more nuanced than the aspirational (but not impossible) ‘world-famous novelist’.

Most importantly though, this placement has taught me what it’s like to be a professional. Meetings, timelines, stakeholder management, quarterly planning, emails, collaborating with colleagues and all that jazz. A much-needed reality check that working life does not involve chipping away at an essay in front of the TV at 11pm!

I’ll tell everyone who will listen to add a year of placement to their degree. This liminal status of student and professional is a rare opportunity I’m sure I’ll only get once. Already eight months in, I know there’s still some revelations on the road ahead before my time here wraps up.

I’ve also been lucky that the team I work with are so supportive. I’ve been given the space to make the stumbles of inexperience, but also the trust of a real writer with a valued perspective. It definitely feels like a special thing to have had a gentle and supported entry into working life, while still having a year of real experience and work to include on my resume and in my portfolio.