“I always wanted to work in the creative industries but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I graduated in 2000 with a media degree and worked in new media, administration and construction to earn a living.

In February 2006, the same month as I was married and became a dad, I enrolled on a course run by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.”

Part 1: Distance learning

As I could not afford to return to university and study full-time, distance learning was my only option.

I chose to study with the NCTJ because after researching the job market it was apparent that employers want you to be: “NCTJ qualified”.

It helped get me more money as an entry-level journalist and more importantly helped me get the job in the first place! When the head of production told me my salary, she said: “you did yourself a big favour by getting the NCTJ qualification”.

Distance learning is hard. When I first started I spoke to a local paper when I was in Dorset and the editor told me that in her experience the majority of people who started these courses never finished them. You have to be dedicated, determined and focused. I had a young family, was working full-time and we were living with my parents!

It was a hard situation to study in, yet it was this combination of factors that focused my mind.

I bought some books to help me study and started ploughing my way through the nine modules of the NCTJ Basics of Sub-editing course.

In the next three months I completed the first five modules. Come May though I took on some extra work to help us move to our own flat. Working 70-80 hours a week over six or seven days meant that something had to give. With my family commitments this meant the studying.

It wasn’t until January 2007 when I started to study again. There were mitigating factors that delayed this, but it’s also hard to get back into studying when you stop. It’s very easy to make excuses too!

However, I had a three-week window of opportunity between jobs that enabled me to finish the final four modules of the course and get some work experience.

I finished the course and achieved a merit.

Though distance learning is the most cost-effective way of studying that does not mean it is cheap. To help you pay you can apply for a career development loan that has a low interest rate – around six per cent. You will need to check if you are eligible for one. At the time I decided to study my bank was offering a nine-month interest-free credit card. I chose this route as it was the best option for me.

The NCTJ course was great. It gave me a strong introduction and covered all the basics. The tutorial feedback on the modules was excellent. I found I learnt as much by reading the marking as I did by taking the course.

A big problem with distance learning is the lack of tutor support. That is not to say the tutors were unhelpful – on the contrary, they were great and are very experienced journalists.

The NCTJ is now attempting to bridge this gap by offering a limited amount of tutor support via the phone to help you through. You should double-check this with them if you are thinking of taking one of their courses.

Tomorrow: How I made the most of my work experience.