After a month of college the one question popped into the back of my mind was, did I make a mistake coming to Canada? Is it really worth it?
The start of my student journey:
My journey began when I got an admission in the Post Graduate Certificate of Digital and Content Marketing program for the January 2024 intake. This being my first course, I have planned everything and flew to Canada in the last week of December, 2023 with a lot of dreams to succeed.
And I, already being in the field of Digital Marketing, wanted to explore my passion towards it here in Canada. I was excited when I received an email from Todd Rich, the program manager regarding the orientation program and attended it. I got to know all the information and the student benefits that we are receiving as a student and what the college has to offer. All of the speakers of concerned teams have explained really well regarding the security, student support programs, immigration concerns, etc.
Initial months of college:
Classes began on January 15th, 2024 where I met a lot of amazing people in the class from various parts of the globe and have also met people who already had work experience and exchanged knowledge regarding the subject. I slowly started interacting with a lot of people in the class and started hearing about their challenges regarding survival in these extreme winters and their hunt for part-time jobs. I tried too. But, due to the winters there were no hirings going on and people started getting depressed as it’s a new place, no known faces, no one to share thoughts with, no earning, and no proper accommodations.
After a few months, I lost my job due to lack of projects where I was supporting remotely as a Digital Marketing Consultant for a freelance company back in my home country. After all of this and relating it to my life, that’s when I felt, “Did I make a mistake coming to Canada? Is it really worth it?”
But, amidst all these chaotic things that are happening around I would like to talk about the brighter side i.e., my college experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in college after being in a professional career for 4 straight years. Let’s talk about what you need to know about a few important areas before you start your Digital and Content Marketing program at York University SCS.
My thoughts on overall college experience:
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Instructors:
The instructors that taught me in the class were industry experts I would say. They have a very good exposure in the area of Marketing. Mainly Dorris and Tim had a very practical approach through in-class activities and debriefing in addition to their teaching sessions made the approach very clearer. However, all of them were super friendly and helpful overall.
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Curriculum:
The curriculum for a few courses like Business in the Digital Age, Fundamentals of Digital Marketing, Marketing for Search Engine and Social Media is good enough to understand the basics, but I felt it could have been a bit more deeper in subject and in better understanding. As I am already in the field of Digital Marketing, I felt few of the modules as already known and haven’t really learnt anything more. So I feel, it would be better if the curriculum could let the students dive more deeper into the subject as this comes under continuing studies.
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Student support:
I heard York has various ways of supporting students, like mental well-being, career guidance, food support, etc., I personally have been to the food support and they give really good items every week. It’s important for an international student to have such support when he is trying to juggle between surviving and studying.
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Events/ Groups:
This is the saddest part I feel. We didn’t have any kind of events, groups, or engaging activities so far. We always go to the neighboring college to look out for any events, food stalls and sometimes just to watch different kinds of stalls. Looking at it makes me really sad as events are one of the important factors for networking. You will meet instructors and students whom you didn’t know and what they might bring to the table. And at the same time students who are having a hard time will also feel they belong to the University. This should be implemented in our campus too, so that the building doesn’t feel deserted whenever we enter it.
Advice for the future students:
I would suggest the upcoming students to be prepared for the practical knowledge share that the instructors have on offer. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to run through the teaching sessions, assignments, in-class activities which you won’t feel important when you are doing them. But you’ll later realize that it gave you a practical approach when you are up for handling real-time projects.
It’s really worth the effort you need to put into this course as you learn a lot and you will understand Marketing from the basics to the digitalization of your marketing efforts. You might have the doubt about the curriculum being not so great but how come I am saying it’s worth it! Yes, Digital Marketing is really an interesting field when you roll up your sleeves and get into real work.
Wherever you go to learn Digital Marketing, you need to put your effort too. Get into the subject yourself, get the help from instructors, make good use of the internet to get the information you need and get the work done. It is a thing where you need to use the logical approach of your brain and put your creative muscle to work.
Look at the brighter side, you are not alone. We got this.
All the best peeps!
