Madeleine Pearson

Doing an MA was never solely about getting a job for me, since I was already working full-time and had already worked for a publisher. My circumstances meant that moving to London for entry-level jobs and internships really wasn’t an option so I felt an MA in Publishing would help prove my commitment to the industry, and perhaps give me an edge in job applications.

I started my two-year MA in Publishing Studies via distance learning back in 2015.  By the time I finished my master's, I had moved even further away from London (to Manchester), where vacancies at publishers are quite rare, and I have no doubt that my MA contributed to me landing my current role. The MA with Oxford Brookes really rounded out my knowledge of the publishing industry. My job as Digital Content Manager at Manchester University Press is very Operations-focused and a lot of the business knowledge I use is what I learnt with Oxford Brookes.  

The course covered some practical publishing skills but what was most valuable to me was learning about business models, profit and loss, production workflows, commissioning and sales strategies, and marketing (I quote my Brookes-acquired knowledge of Gartner’s Hype Cycle at every available opportunity!). The people I reached out to for my dissertation research on open access monographs are the same people I come across regularly in my daily work today, so that was also a great opportunity to get a head-start in knowing the industry sector I was interested in. Above all, even though I’ve met very few of them face-to-face, my tutors and supervisor were helpful, friendly, and inspiring!