Finding a new path

Sam Bye

Marketing and technical advisor
Bachelor of Business 2014

Sam worked for ten years before heading to university, and made his decision carefully: “I did some research and found that I wanted a more practical focus, with context and real world experience, and Federation University offered that.” He studied a Bachelor of Business, graduating mid-2014.

His goals were firm before he began his degree: “The whole idea was getting the skills to set up my own business or to go back into a big company and not have any limitation on promotion. Without a degree, I felt as though I could only get so far or I’d be stuck waiting forever for someone to leave their job.”

Two years after his graduation, Sam has achieved both. He is currently dividing his time between a marketing and technical advisory role for a corporate multinational with a commitment to sustainable agriculture, and work with his own company, Bass Brands, which advises on the marketing of sustainable seafood.

It’s a future he wouldn’t have imagined for himself: “Studying at Federation University has given me a huge amount of confidence. I always wanted to go into marketing but didn’t feel I had the knowledge.” It’s not just confidence that Sam has gained. He said, “Now that I have my degree, I can critique plans and strategies and I’m a lot more valuable to an organisation.”

Sustainability wasn’t a field that Sam had considered before he studied at Federation University: “The sustainability subjects were really important. It was something I hadn’t thought about too much before but it really gave me purpose and drove the direction of my career.”

With the wisdom of his work experience, cost was also important to Sam, and “being able to stay in Ballarat made things so much cheaper”. Being able to stay regional had other benefits too: “I’m a country boy, so it suited me. There were smaller class sizes and better relationships with lecturers, it was so easy to get a meeting or a spot in the library.”