The raw experience of a marketing student 
Bradford Life

I started my journey by deciding what I wanted to do at university when I was 12; I knew I wanted to own my own business.

This led to me choosing business studies for both my GCSEs and A Levels. My parents are both accountants, and I am not very good at maths so I decided that the more numerical skills-based careers weren’t for me.

How I decided to study marketing

At the beginning of my GCSEs, the country went into lockdown. TikTok gained popularity and more information than ever before was available about social media marketing. Because of this, I realised that marketing may be my calling.

In year 12, I did a week of work experience with a marketing agency and since then I haven’t looked back.

For me, marketing has such a wide range of opportunities from the most creative of design to the more statistical-based approach of data analytics. Marketing was a topic I really enjoyed and could see myself doing as a career. 

What other courses did I apply for?

I didn’t only apply for marketing courses when it came to starting my university applications. I also looked at applying for business and management courses at other universities. In the end, I received offers from all 5 of the courses I applied for, so I had options.

After deciding on marketing, I attended some course talks at other universities but I found they all went on about law and economics modules, and I thought “I will go insane if I have to take modules like that”! I looked around other schools and realised that Bradford offered the course content that suited me best.

The marketing course still offers a broad range of modules that give you an insight into business as a whole but it makes it much more appealing to someone who is marketing orientated. I don’t have to do modules on law or economics and I am so glad because I really enjoy it.

Semester 1 recap

I have only completed semester one but I know it is the right course for me.

My first semester was really good. I'm starting to get my results back and I'm really proud of myself for what I have achieved!

My first semester consisted of eleven weeks of focused course content. It included modules in responsible management, marketing, accounting and finance, international business, people, work and organisation, and data analytics and artificial intelligence. I had a lecture, tutorial, lab or seminar for each and I found them really interesting and enjoyable. It wasn’t difficult content so it was clear you didn’t have to have studied any of the subjects before, but the course went more in-depth.

Outside of my course, I got many other opportunities, including being a course representative for first-year marketing. The opportunities offered for students are amazing no matter what course you are doing. It's so important now that it is more common for people to get a degree, it is now much more about the other things you do.

My favourite parts of the course

1. The like-minded individuals I have met and the motivation of those I am studying alongside to get my degree.
2. The variety of course modules.
3. The relevance of the course modules in the modern world.

Career opportunities

I hope to go into marketing after I finish my degree but I still have yet to decide which specific sector I want to go into.

From research, I have made a list of some potential careers I could go into:

• social media manager
• brand manager
• digital marketer
• PR specialist
• SEO specialist
• event manager
• sales representative

All of these different careers can be achieved using a marketing degree. There is something for most people and their skills.

Tips for marketing students

Here are some of my most useful tips for marketing students:

• Attend all lectures and tutorials and make notes so you can draw from it later.
• Save all the resources you receive to your personal account so you can access it after you've graduated.
• Grasp every single opportunity offered to you with both hands. This can give you many skills and items to add to your CV so you are a desirable candidate.
• I would also think about creating a portfolio of projects you have done for when you apply to jobs and start it now so it is easier to create.

Are you interested in studying BSc (Hons) Marketing? Find out more about course content, entry requirements and how to apply.