Nottingham Trent student spent nearly £30k for a degree in content creation

A student from Nottingham Trent University spent her degree learning how to become an ‘influencer’. Destiny McGowan, 21, graduated from NTU in July with a degree in content creation.

The course launched at NTU in 2022, and teaches students how to create content for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Students also learn how to build audiences, work with brands and make money from social media.

According to the BBC, Destiny now creates fashion content on her own social media accounts, and makes videos for other people. More recently, she has worked as a TikTok live-selling host.

Destiny has not revealed exactly how much she earns, but she says she is already making money from content creation. For her, the degree was not simply about becoming an influencer. The course also gave her access to equipment, technology and industry contacts.

She said: “I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, so for me the course was about the transferable skills that I believed I would gain,

“The incredible people I’ve met through panels that the university hosted would take someone five to 10 years to get to that place”

Destiny, via Instagram

A three-year degree costs UK students around £9,790 per year. UK content creator Knightenator, who has more than 100,000 followers on TikTok, says she doesn’t think she would have taken the course.

The 31-year-old has been making gaming and travel content since 2015. Today, it is her full-time job, with most of her income coming from deals with brands she promotes.

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She said: “Honestly, from my experience, I don’t think companies would care too much if you had a content creator degree,

“If you have the drive to want to become a content creator, the tips are out there, and you don’t need to commit to a three-year degree.”

She added that aspiring creators can learn by watching other people’s content and finding their own niche.

According to Jacky Gurr, course leader and senior lecturer for content creation at NTU, most students on the course are not actually aspiring to become influencers. Instead, students learn skills that businesses and organisations increasingly need.

She said: “Those skills absolutely can be taught. Students learn how to plan and produce video content, develop campaigns, understand audiences, analyse performance data and adapt strategies based on that data.”

The course also covers monetisation and the commercial side of the industry. However, students aren’t guaranteed success.

Gurr said: “So much of being a successful influencer is about luck, and we can’t teach luck or personality.”

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Featured image via Instagram and Unsplash.