…an Online Community and Social Media Manager. If you had asked me three or four years ago about the role of Online Community and Social Media Managers I could hardly have given you an answer. It was not on my personal list of possible jobs after graduation.
I studied Political Science, Modern History and Media Science at the University of Bonn. I chose these subjects purely out of interest. I didn’t have any concrete occupational area on my mind when I decided to study these subjects. I have always been interested in Politics and History. When other people were reading exciting novels I read just another non-fiction book on the Cold War, the Chinese Revolution or about the life of Gustav Stresemann. So in hindsight I can really say that I enjoyed my studies (except for the exams of course!).
University of Bonn. Photo taken by Flickr user Ariane Middel and published under a CC BY 2.0 license.
If you study Political Science it also makes sense to do an internship abroad or to study at a university abroad. I completed internships at the NATO in Brunssum (the Netherlands), at the German embassy in Washington, DC and at the Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) in Brisbane. Nothing seemed to be more appropriate than a job as a consultant/ speaker/ contributor to an international organisation or maybe at an NGO in Germany.
As a graduate in Social Sciences in Germany it is not a matter of course that you get a good job right after graduation. Many articles have been written about the Generation Praktikum (generation internship). Guess what I did after I had graduated?
I started an internship with the Bertelsmann Stiftung (Foundation) at the beginning of 2011. I applied for this internship because the project futurechallenges.org seemed to be a very interesting experiment because of its goal: raising awareness for global problems with the help of a worldwide blogger network and via social media. I started to assume the role of an Online Community and a Social Media Manager although at that time I didn’t know that such a „profession“ actually exists.
Today I’m working as a freelancer in Online Community and Social Media Management and I still enjoy it! I especially like the opportunity of communicating with people from all over the world. I also like the fact that in Social Media it’s more about the content than about your position within a company or an organisation. It’s interesting what you have to say and not (only) what you are. I know this may sound a bit idealistic but it’s true in a way.
What will be next?
To put it bluntly: I have no idea. It could be that in five years time (the popular question in a job interview) I will still be doing what I do today. However, it could also be something else. But what I know is that I would study those subjects once again if I had to choose. It’s important to be satisfied with what you’re doing and if you’re always open to new ideas and inspirations most of us will get a job that matches our interests – sooner or later.
Blog Carnival
Now if you studied Political Science what’s your job today? Does it have anything to do with what you’ve learned during your studies? Would you study Political Science once again or would you choose anything else?
It would be nice to read about your thoughts on this. We could make a collection on „I studied Political Science and today I’m working as…“. This could be interesting for other Political Scientists or for Political Science students. I’m looking forward to reading your posts! I will link to all your posts and publish a summary.
