Is media studies a glamorous career path, or is it a demanding daily life with a hint of creativity? What is media studies career?
Studying: read, think, write!
A career in media studies is a term with a touch of irony. The main task? To study and research what people are watching, listening to, clicking on. At Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, you learn to analyse media and audiences – from TV to TikTok. You write academic articles, frequenting conferences where each PowerPoint slide has more content than your fridge in a session. You lead the way in research grants – I’m exploring Bishop Adam Lepa’s religious media education, for example.
Didactics: professor or star teacher?
Your day consists of lectures, exercises and hours of consultation with your students’ master’s aspirations. It’s a creative challenge: how do you convey semiotic theory so they don’t fall asleep? Didactics is the heart of the job – you teach, but you are also constantly learning yourself, because students are always surprising you (sometimes with a question, sometimes with a meme).
Bureaucracy: Excel instead of dreams
Organisation is the third pillar. Participating in committees, laying out plans – all to keep the institute running like a well-oiled machine. The words ‘please send in the attachment’ have become your refrain.
Blogger among researchers
Fourthly – popularisation. This is why I blog, talking about media studies with a wink. Sometimes I feel more like a digital storyteller here than a researcher.
New cycle of posts. In search of answer: what is media studies career?
With this post I am starting a series of weekly columns. Here I will share thoughts and experiences from the world of media, teaching and academia. Seriously, but also with a dash of humour – because without it, it is difficult to understand this extraordinary world.
What is media studies career? Stable but interesting
I chose media studies after working in the media for several years. I was looking for an intellectual challenge, peace and stability. Is it a career? More like a demanding job. But one that brings satisfaction, development and the joy of sharing knowledge.