A woman has revealed how she spent £30,000 to graduate with a degree in how to become a successful content creator – and says there’s more to it than picking up a camera.
Destiny McGowan is part of a generation that centered their viewing around YouTube videos, rather than television shows.
The 21-year-old used to tune in to the likes of Zoe Sugg – aka Zoella – as well as large families, such as The Grimwade Family, who boast 1.18m subscribers sharing videos about their daily life with eight kids.
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Becoming a content creator wasn’t on the books for Destiny as a child, but, over the years, as her interest – and their popularity – only grew, it started to seem like more of a viable career choice.
But picking up the camera was only half the battle; the skills needed to engage and make a full-time living from it wasn’t something she had under her belt.
So, she enrolled at Nottingham Trent University, paying £30,000 in total, to earn a degree in Content Creation.
“To those who think my degree is a waste of money: I hope my work speaks for itself,” the content creator and live e-commerce host from Nottingham told What’s The Jam.
“I understand that the course won’t be for everybody and that’s absolutely fine.
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“But I think the people who are genuinely drawn to it and can see the value in what it offers are exactly the people it’s designed for.
“I absolutely believe the degree was worth it.
“For me, the value of university wasn’t simply the qualification; it was the access to professional equipment, facilities, lecturers, mentorship and industry connections.
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“It’s important to recognise that everybody’s journey is different and I wouldn’t suggest that somebody needs a degree to become a successful influencer.
“But I wanted to develop my knowledge and skills – it was an investment in myself.”
Destiny, growing up, has always had an entrepreneurial mindset.
Being raised in a creative household meant that dance, music and fashion were encouraged in her daily life.
And so when she saw regular people, not celebrities, posting about those topics, she became hooked.
Soon, it inspired her to build something of her own one day.
She said: “I think that’s why I was drawn to content creation; it gave me a way to bring my different creative interests while developing skills that could eventually support my own business.
“I loved how people could document their lives, share their experiences and turn everyday moments into something more.
“My family and I would experiment with making videos and coming up with different content ideas just for fun.”
As Destiny was unable to get access to professional, industry-standard equipment on her own for things such as filmmaking, photography and media production, she began doing research.
She came across the course, which landed in 2022, and costs £9,790 per year for UK students.
It’s also on offer at Brighton University and at Arizona State University in the US.
Destiny said: “I had originally been accepted onto a dance degree.
“But as I watched my friends getting excited about their university choices, I realised I didn’t feel that way about what I was going to study.
“I started wondering where there was a course that would allow me to explore more of my creative interests – and this course immediately caught my attention.”
Its modules aren’t focused on just picking up a camera.
While offering a “hands-on experience”, it focuses on modules including business, digital marketing, media production, psychology and sociology.
It also delves deeper into emerging technologies, such as AI, and the ever-changing legal and ethical considerations when making and distributing content.
For Destiny, this meant she would learn transferable skills to apply across different industries, rather than just one.
In September 2023, she joined 19 other students on the course.
She said: “The course wasn’t designed solely to teach us to become influencers.
“It gave us opportunities to do so much more than that.
“One of the biggest things I learned was just how many different careers exist within the creative and digital industries.
“It helped me realise I didn’t need to restrict myself to just one area of expertise.”
Destiny graduated in July 2026 and while she won’t disclose exact earnings, the skills learned are bringing her a full-time income.
It’s also helped her to increase her online views, with one video racking up 200,000 clicks and another with 50,000.
She says that influencers, or content creators, could benefit from the course – even if already successful.
And that, in the future, the degree will become more popular and available across other universities as the digital era continues to develop.
She added: “People are often surprised when I tell them I’ve studied Content Creation at university, mainly because it’s a relatively new course and not everybody is familiar with what it involves.
“I find that people are usually quite intrigued and want to know more about what I’ve actually studied.
“Sometimes their initial understanding of content creation is quite different from what the course covers, so it’s interesting seeing their perspective change once I explain it.
“I’ve also met people who’ve told me they wish they’d known a degree like this existed.
“When I speak to business owners and people working in creative industries, they often recognise how useful the skills are, particularly in areas like branding, marketing, photography, video production and social media.
“I’ve even found that conversations about my degree can lead to professional connections and work opportunities, which has been really encouraging.
“What appealed to me about Content Creation was that it brought all these different areas together.
“I didn’t have to choose between the creative side, the technical side, or the business side.
“I had the opportunity to explore all three.
“For me, social media success isn’t necessarily measured by how many followers or views I have, but by how many work opportunities I can create and the impact I can make.
“My biggest takeaway: ‘Everything is content. Everyone consumes content.’”
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