For Carson Kennedy, training in a Certificate II in Information, Digital Media and Technology at VU Polytechnic has helped him to discover a love for IT and to set him on a path for the future.
Like a lot of people trying to find a career trajectory that they are passionate about, Carson wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do after finishing school. Although he had always been good with spreadsheets and enjoyed IT, Carson was bouncing around between short courses in customer service and searching for jobs. A recommendation from Whitelion to try a course at VU Polytechnic gave him the push he needed to start a course that he truly enjoys.
“Through high-school and onwards, I didn’t care for the work. I dropped off. This course is a turning point, I really enjoy this type of work. It doesn’t feel like study, it feels like a passion.”
Carson’s favourite skills that he has learnt so far include audio editing, creating podcasts, photoshop basics as well as currently working on a film to spread awareness about a chosen topic and practice video editing.
Although he only started the course in January this year, one of the greatest opportunities and successes Carson has been given is the chance to present to staff from Microsoft. Four staff members from Microsoft visited the Polytechnic to provide an invaluable opportunity for the students to hear about the day to day work of IT professionals, as well as get some very useful career tips. As part of the visit, the students also gave presentations on a wide range of IT topics.
Choosing to discuss the topic of “why we play video games and how they fill three psychological needs”, Carson had two weeks to come up with a strategy to present that didn’t include reading from notes. Although initially nervous, Carson felt eager at the time of the presentation to discuss the relevance of his information and believes that the whole process has helped him to develop essential, human-cantered skills in communication.
“It felt good to stand up without notes, to make eye contact and to speak clearly. I even managed to use some humour. It felt fluid and natural without notes. I definitely feel more confident about speaking in public now and adding my own style.”
Although Carson has “zero idea what job to do in the future,” knowing that there are so many options in in digital media technology means there’s a whole world of opportunity out there. Currently he is thinking about doing a Certificate III in Information, Digital Media and Technology and is encouraged by the enthusiasm and effort of his teacher.
Interested in training in technology? VU Polytechnic offers a range of courses.