Good evening from Sydney!
New neighborhood and a different class style
After three weeks in Sydney, and two weeks in this program, I am starting to get a feel for the location I’m residing. While I am taking classes with CEA CAPA, I am staying on the University of New South Wales’s (UNSW) campus, both of which have taken some adjusting to.
The UNSW campus is quiet compared to Pitt’s campus. In some ways I like this, that there is a calm throughout the day as I come and go from my apartment. Although South Oakland, where I live off campus at Pitt, isn’t chaotic 24/7, there is certainly more noise and activity than UNSW’s residential area. I’ve realized that I like a little more chaos, as the quiet sometimes feels lonely.
If there’s any loneliness from the peace on campus, it never lingers. One thing I love about Sydney is how accessible public transport is. Whether I take the Light Rail, a bus, or a train, I find it simple to navigate my way around. Being able to “tap on, tap off” between different modes of transportation makes it easy to explore different neighborhoods, and find more of the hustle and bustle that I enjoy.
My class with CEA CAPA has the most difference in size. While most of my classes at Pitt are large lectures or mid-sized classes, the International Finance course I am taking here has only seven students. The class was daunting to me because of its three-hour length, but that’s proven to go by much quicker because the small class size allows for more personal learning. My professor likes to interact with us, asking us questions about things we’ve done while being in Australia, and giving us recommendations of places to go to. Breaking up the lessons with conversation makes it easier for me to digest the lecture, which is something considerably harder to do with a larger class like at Pitt.
Adjusting to an industry
As mentioned in my introduction blog, I am working with AusBiz Media as an Editorial and Digital Marketing Intern. Working under my supervisor Michelle, I’ve learned a lot about publishing and the factors that go into it.
I may be studying Finance and Accounting, but this internship has given me so much marketing experience as well. Writing an article doesn’t stop at the research and composition, but also involves careful consideration of the audience receiving it. Upon constructing my articles, I’ve learned about Search Engine Optimization (SEOs), which must be done to ensure that right audience can find your piece. For example, I worked on an article about the Big Tax legislation in Australia, and needed to add tags, proper focus keywords and phrases, and other elements to ensure that anyone interested in this topic could access it.
It’s been exciting to see my name amongst published work. To get there, I needed to push my skills to adapt to the structure of publishing. There is a very quick turnaround between receiving a new prompt, researching the topic, writing the story, working on revisions, and developing a good SEO analysis, and there are other marketing steps that follow. In the two weeks I’ve been working with AusBiz, I’ve gotten an introduction to all of this, sometimes all in one day. Sometimes, I’ll leave the office and think about how much I got done, and it shocks me; if this was a school project, I might’ve been given weeks to complete it.
To succeed in this industry, I think you need more than just time management skills. To work on numerous topics and tasks within a single work week, you need to learn how to pivot. There were times I would be writing something, get another assignment to complete ASAP, and still need to finish the other piece by the end of the day. If I couldn’t switch directions and understand how to revert to the original mindset, I wouldn’t have been successful in my tasks.
Along with this, communication is vital. Everyone always says to ask questions in your internship, and to me it seemed like a no-brainer. Then, I started working, asking question after question, and I started to feel embarrassed to say something again. However, I’ve learned that I’d rather speak up and be a small disturbance than complete something and have done it incorrectly. In an industry where there’s no time to “take your time,” ensuring that everybody involved is on the same page is that much more important.
I look forward to continue working in this industry—I’ve gotten great insight into my potential future, and I am continuously grateful for all I am learning!