Dan Ingham and Ste Owen

In November we recieved a talk by Ste Owen and Dan Ingham who both graduated from Stockport College in 2007.They have done placements at Thoughtful and The Chase and now have steady jobs at very contrasting agencies; with Ste working at McCann Erickson and Dan at the more independent Mark Studio.They came into Uni to talk to the 2nd and 3rd year students about their achievements and what we should expect once we leave University.

Dan and Ste emphasised that whilst we are students we should make the most out of all oportunities that are given to us as well as making use of the college facilities and use what we have to the max. We are lucky at college to have a photography studio and a screen printing room whereas at a design agency all you would really have is a mac and a printer. I think it is some of these facilities that we regularly take for granted. They both expressed how important it is that we go to college everyday as we get to interact with other people rather than sitting working from home. One thing about working in the industry is that by interacting with each other it allows ideas to bounce off one another. They also told us that by the time we leave we will be fighting off competition from 15,000 and more other graduates who want the same jobs as we do, so now is the time to get noticed. They felt we should be contacting agencies, entering competitions and attending events.

The advice they gave was really helpful and it was nice to see that not one but two people who have been through the same experiences we have so far have managed to get so far in their career. It just goes to show that if they can do it then so can we!