When I first heard about the DCI apprenticeship program, I had no idea what the concept of apprenticeship even was at the time. After exploring further what it entailed, arranging life and work around learning, I decided it was the right path for me since I needed to amp up my digital marketing skills. Here’s my top 5 reasons for why I chose the apprenticeship path and why you might consider taking the leap too!
Check out the video below for a summary or keep reading for the full story!
That was a brief one minute summary of all the reasons why I chose to be an apprentice, here’s a more in depth explanation:
- It’s all about immense growth - everyday I get to jump forward and learn. I’m adding new skills and accelerating my career trajectory!
- Great investment of my time and resources - I need to keep pushing my skills and this big investment of my time and resources for 12 months is already starting to yield positive ROI.
- The network of industry experts is invaluable - I know marketing influencers and experts who I can reach out to for help with a task or have any questions. Who knows, down the road my huge network could lead to a new job!
- The customizable curriculum was one of the huge selling points for me since I can adjust my learning goals based on my interests.
- I love being part of a revolution - the first digital marketing apprenticeship in North America. It’s a great feeling to build something from the ground up and teach others the importance of continuous learning, especially in the field of digital marketing.
My background
I graduated from Trinity University with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Upon graduation I was applying to jobs and interviewing but didn’t get the jobs I wanted and the jobs I did have offers for, they weren’t the right fit. I continued to job search for a few months and at the same time started my own design agency because I love team collaboration. Starting an agency, doing freelance work and collaborating with a team was the perfect way for me to build marketing experience, since I didn’t have enough.
I didn’t learn all the skills in college for a job in digital, so I realized I needed more experience.
My agency was just me and a few designers and we had a few clients and created content for their websites. I was learning on the fly - telling a client I can do something and then figuring out how to do it immediately. That pressure to learn a new skill was great for my skill development, but it also taught me that there’s so much I didn’t know and that I needed a structured training environment. I never felt truly confident using my marketing skills because it was all testing and hoping that it worked. Then out of the blue I heard about the apprenticeship program and knew almost immediately it was the perfect opportunity for me - intensive marketing skill development paired with an entry-level job best suited to my skillset.
What is the best part of the apprenticeship?
Not only do I enjoy growing, I enjoy seeing my fellow apprentices grow. I feel like I’m part of an army - It’s a mission filled, purposeful, and strong team. It’s rewarding being able to bounce ideas around each other and grow with one another in our careers.
With the apprenticeship, you keep learning and learning and you realize how many more things there are to learn, which is exciting for me.
What skills/mindsets do apprentices need to succeed in the program?
Time management and prioritization are a must. You will develop it in the apprenticeship because it is a lot of work and you need to be able to handle several projects at once. I’ve learned to reverse engineer tasks to figure out how much time/if I have time to get things accomplished.
Apprenticeship is for you if you want to grow fast, and don’t want to have to job hop to learn all the skills you need. Working and learning at my job on top of all that I’m learning through cohort sessions is amazing and I can’t imagine doing this on my own. Sometimes I get home from a long day of work and then there’s more studying I need to do to earn a certification and there’s all these goals and expectations and sometimes it’s a lot, but over time it pays off drastically. There’s a big investment of time and resources at the beginning, but I know that I’m already experiencing exponential career growth in just 12 months. I welcome the challenge of long days of work and studying because it equals rapid marketing skill development.
Digital marketing changes so fast and you must keep learning to keep up or get ahead. When something stops growing it starts dying.
What have you learned so far? How do you know that your skills are improving?
I know marketing automation, but I’ve learned more about copywriting and creating content; email copy is an art and was a big breakthrough for me. I’ve also picked up more about CTAs and conversion rate optimization - I like figuring out what makes people convert. I now also know how to set up marketing campaigns that are measurable and think in terms of numbers and KPIs. Branding and design are also learning highlights for me since I didn’t know anything about that before the apprenticeship.
There’s still so much to learn during the rest of my 12 month apprenticeship and I can’t wait!
In sum, apprenticeship is the perfect way to develop the marketing skills to succeed long term in your career. Whether you’re like me and didn’t learn all the skills you need from college or you only know one area of marketing and want to expand your skillset, apprenticeship could be the right fit for you. Learn more about the DCI model of learning and apprenticeship program or start your application today!
