Hi, my name is Ciaran Sneddon and I am a graduate from Fife College where I studied from 2011-2014. Nowadays, I am the Deputy Editor for several magazines, including the Royal Photographic Society Journal and the Arts Society magazine, as well as the Managing Editor of Legion Scotland Today, which is aimed at Scotland’s veterans community. I’m currently shortlisted for Writer of the Year at the PPA Scotland awards, the print industry’s top ceremony.
Previously, I worked as a writer for The Week Junior, a current affairs magazine for 8 - 14 year olds which is the sister title of The Week. Like The Week, we would break down the biggest stories and provide context and analysis for our readers. From there, I stepped into the Assistant Editor and Features Editor role at The Week Junior’s Science+Nature magazine. Last year, I was named one of the PPA’s 30 Under 30 for my achievements.
I studied a couple of different courses at Fife College, both at the Glenrothes and St Kirkcaldy Campuses, including media and then specialising into journalism. Whilst I was at College I was lucky enough to do some work experience at local newspapers including The Courier, which actually led to one of my first jobs. There are great connections between the College and the local press, and these are the perfect gateways to a career in journalism or the media.
The course at Fife College also led to me getting into the University of Sunderland where I was able to top up my HND over the course of a year and turn that into a full degree. From there, that is where my career started.
I credit a lot of my career now to my time at Fife College, both in terms of the excellent teaching that we had and the connections to the local media industry that, as I say, got me my first full-time job, and additional opportunities. The Ian Rankin Scholarship springs to mind, as I was fortunate enough to be one of the winners during my time at College.
I used the money from the scholarship to help fund a weekend masterclass at The Guardian newspaper in London where I got some really interesting insights into the world of freelance writing and feature writing which has been very helpful for me.
The media landscape today is hugely diverse and varied, and to forge a successful career you need a wide skill set. Having had the opportunities to try my hand at camerawork and radio production at College, I joined the industry with a head start. That radio grounding has helped me drive forward the production for several podcasts, including the multi-award winning The Week Junior Show and Mysteries of Science, and now for the National Trust for Scotland’s Love Scotland with Jackie Bird podcast.
Fife College was definitely the most important stepping stone for me to get into the career that I enjoy. It got me into local journalism, which then led to opportunities at a national and international level. The connections that I made through my College course, and the skills that I learned are still very useful today.
