And then I found the online course with The British College of Journalism. I did not think too much before enrolling, and I did not really expect a lot. What could I possibly learn that I did not know already?
And yet… The course was carefully structured and organised in an engaging manner. The most important thing for me was that the course offered real, very practical advice for wannabe, enthusiastic, but chaotic journalists like me: how to prepare a pitch, how to approach editors, and which publications are more open to freelancers.
In my last year at university in Milan, Italy, I started a university newspaper called The Student. It was the only newspaper in English at my university. It was also a hopelessly amateurish effort - and I loved every minute of it. But soon enough, it became apparent that I was not getting the reception and support I had been counting on. After only three issues, I had to drop the whole thing.
At least now, at 24, I finally knew what I wanted to do in life: to be a journalist. The question was: how?
The competition in journalism is fierce, and things change fast. It’s a profession that requires infinite dedication and an ability to constantly reinvent yourself. When you work as a waiter, a project manager, or a kindergarten teacher, you know what to expect. When you are a journalist, every day is different.
I did not have opportunities served to me on a silver plate. I looked for opportunities to write across Europe. My first article, for which I was paid, was a story about Santa Claus for a Finnish newspaper, a country I had never visited. Unfortunately, I never got the money because I made a mistake when I wrote down the bank account. I must have been too excited, I guess.
After university, I applied for training schemes at The Times, The Economist, The BBC, and other big media outlets. As a foreigner and as someone who did not go to an elite university, I knew, of course, that my chances to make it there were rather slim, but I hoped somehow that my enthusiasm would transpire from the cover letters I wrote.
Meanwhile, I kept working jobs that I could not stand (you know, for rent, food and all that), writing the occasional article for the most unlikely newspapers every now and then, just to remind myself that one time I had dreamt of becoming a journalist.
And then I found the online course with The British College of Journalism. I did not think too much before enrolling, and I did not really expect a lot. What could I possibly learn that I did not know already?
And yet… The course was carefully structured and organised in an engaging manner. The most important thing for me was that the course offered real, very practical advice for wannabe, enthusiastic, but chaotic journalists like me: how to prepare a pitch, how to approach editors, and which publications are more open to freelancers.
Before, I used to think that making it as a journalist was the inevitable result of talent and that it would happen naturally, simply because a person has the right skills and another doesn’t. The Professional Freelance Journalism Course taught me that writing and finding assignments can be done rationally, with method.
Even before completing the course, I wrote an article for an online newspaper and got paid for it. True, I got only 10 euros for it, but one has to start somewhere…
Now I have been a full-time freelance journalist for three years. It’s not always easy. But when I think of the people who go to the office every day, to prepare yet another presentation or work on the monthly marketing report, do I envy them? Not even for a second.
