_{On Friday The University of Gloucestershire held an Alumni Day for the Journalism course. This was a chance for former students to come back and talk to current students about life after university. The panel featured a wide range of former students who have all found work in journalism. It was certainly eye opening and was also encouraging to see so many ex-students who have been in my position enjoying successful careers post-graduation.}

_{The panel all worked in a wide variety of journalism fields and they, along with university lecturer and host of the talk, Erika Barnes, kept stressing that we are very fortunate to have so many different avenues of work to go into within journalism. One avenue that has often excited me has been the magazine sector having really enjoyed the second year magazine module. So it was great to hear a former student who now works in the industry, Rosie Webber, tell us that “the magazine sector still has a bright future”.}

_{Another interesting takeaway from the panel was how many of them felt they got hired in their current jobs because of the work experience they had done before and how important having that experience it was for their careers. One of the more experienced members of the panel Dan Whitehead who works for Sky news told us “do as many work experience placements as you can and keep your industry contacts warm”. I have lined up a number of work experience opportunities in the next few weeks and it was interesting to learn just useful these placements can be. A lot of the panel spoke about the relationships they gained through work experience and the hard work and enthusiasm required.}

_{With the university course drawing to an end it can be quite a scary time. For the last three years we have been living in a bit of a bubble and have not yet had to make those big career decisions. There are a number of different fields to pursue as a journalist and each require you to putting yourself out there and taking up new challenges such as moving to a new city and starting a new job, which, as the panel acknowledged can be daunting. Sometimes in the past I have let my fears perhaps overwhelm me. During university life we are always told to say yes to everything. However looking back over my university life is not something I have always done with regards to my course and probably missed out on some really great opportunities because of it. The advice from panel member Harriet Dalwood to “Let go of your fears and think what’s the worst that can happen?” was invaluable and highlighted just how important having the confidence to put yourself out there and not to fear rejection. It is something I am going to have to improve if I am going to get anywhere in this industry.}