MSc in Advertising – A bumpy ride

I first started a blog about 3 years ago, but after a mishap with my web hosting I lost the majority of my posts as well as other content. It was partly my fault as I never made backups, but needless to say that I have since switched hosting.

I promised in my previous post that I would start posting on a regular basis. That  of course never happened, and no wonder consider the year I’ve had.

Last year I applied and was accepted into the MSc in Advertising in DIT. I had asked around for information and advice about the programme, and I already knew it was going to be full on. Indeed the workload was what I expected and more. I had a part time Freelance job when I started and ended up quitting as I did not have enough time to complete assignment and work without being in a constant panic. The first semester finished with a bang, with several assignments to be handed in before the Christmas holidays, and a Dissertation Proposal due in the New Year, right before the exams. I wrongly believed semester two would be easier, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. With assignments piling up and over 30 hours of lectures weekly, I continued running around like a headless chicken.

I might pause for a second, and fast forward to now, as I don’t want to bore anyone who might be reading. After an extremely tough year, full of assignments, knowledge, experience, friendships, fights, my first pitch for AdGrad ’16, and a summer of studying, researching, interviewing, transcribing, and writing, I have officially completed my Masters.

I submitted my dissertation yesterday along with my fellow students, and could not be happier, more proud, and more relieved. I am still in denial that it is all finished, but I’m sure I’ll realised soon enough that the dissertation I have been working on for the last few months is finished.

I decided to write my dissertation on a subject that I’ve always been interested in, music in advertising. I did my undergrad thesis on this subject, looking at how advert music affects the consumer. In the dissertation for the MSc I decided to take a completely different approach, and researched how it is selected/created and placed during the creative process. Its title is:

“Choosing the Right Music for the Job at Hand”
An Exploratory Study on Music Selection in Advertising

It has been a long and bumpy ride, but looking back I don’t regret my choice in doing this course, and I am happy to have completed it. Now all that is left is anticipation for the dissertation results, and the lack of job. Let the job hunt begin!