| Hi There Nicola,
Nice to see some one else from Manchester on here! You are right that there aren't as many opportunities up here, but that could all change as the BBC new media centre is moving to Salford Quays in the next couple of years. Having said that, there are a number of things you can do, you don't say explicitly what your interests are (sound design, SFX creation, sound editing etc), the reason I ask this, is because there maybe other opportunities working in areas such as computer game sound design, website and new media companies etc. If this is the case, then you will find that there are a number of companies around the Manchester area and in the North West. Failing that, there is also London. But London is expensive!! So if you have financial back up, I would suggest contacting all the places in London, but failing that I would say it is tough working in London and trying to live at the same time.
It may also be worth contacting all the local film makers (and plenty of student film makers in Manchester) and building a strong showreel working on low budget productions (plus you have the current benefit I assume of using your Uni's studios, which means that your out lay out be minimal.)
If you have any more question, please just shout.
All the best
Neil |