What creative careers are open to you, if you study a creative writing degree?
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If you're scanning the web for book editing and publishing courses, or the best creative writing courses in the UK, and you've come across Bath Spa's creative writing degrees, you may be feeling two things. Excitement at the thought of studying something you're passionate about, and anxiety about what job you're going to get after you graduate.
We get it. Truth is, unless you’re J.K. Rowling, writing a novel may not pay the bills. So what creative writing degree careers are open to you if you're passionate about writing? And what other important skills can you learn on your course that will open the doors to a range of creative careers?
Whether you'd like to explore a range of writing styles, or you have a particular interest, such as creative writing for children or studies in travel writing, you may be wondering how your degree will lead you into a creative career that you love.
“There are those assumptions that people make that you come along and you only think about script or poetry, or novels, and that the only thing you can ever do with a creative writing degree is write a novel. That's not true,” says Lucy Sweetman, our Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing in our latest podcast.
“And we know it's not true because of where our graduates end up. That might be marketing jobs or PR, or social media advertising.”
So what skills do you learn on our creative writing degrees that can open up so many opportunities for you?
First things first. You'll learn how to be a great writer. And workplaces need great writers.
“We all read way more text on the screens that we hold in our hands,” Lucy says. “People need writers who can string an excellent sentence together, who know how to tell a story, who can keep you in suspense, who can make you care about something. Our creative writing degree is broad enough to help you develop those skills by the time you leave us.”
If you're an international student and English is not your first language, we have free English language support available, with passionate tutors to help you develop your craft. On top of that, our creative writing degrees will teach you a range of other transferable skills that employers love.
“There's a broad range of skills, knowledge and expertise that you can pick up through your creative writing degree,” Lucy says.
“You learn the discipline of writing, you learn the craft of writing, you learn how to work with other people, you learn how to run your own creative projects. And you have options across the board in terms of collaboration with other arts students.”
At Bath Spa, we'll also provide you with opportunities to learn a range of creative media skills, alongside your degree, including communications and new media. So when you graduate, you can go into a range of jobs, including creative advertising careers and creative digital media sector.
We also give you the chance to do a Professional Placement Year as part of your Undergraduate degree - this will help you to get your 'foot in the door' and expose you to a range of industry contacts, broadening your network.
You can connect with Lucy on Twitter or listen to her full podcast. You can also find out more about our Research Centre for Transnational Creativity and Education.