There seems to be no shortage of misconceptions about what you can do at 16 in terms of jobs.

The way school sets it up as college, then university as precursors that are necessary to go into your chosen field. However, this isn’t always the case. I’m Lola Crossman, and I am a trainee multimedia journalist at the Basingstoke Gazette and Andover Advertiser.

I’ve always been glued to the news, I even argued about Brexit in 2016, seven years ago, at the age of nine. I knew how important it was to cite your sources when making a point, I learned that lesson when at seven-years-old my teacher dared to tell me “Truro isn’t a city,” and the next day I walked in with the pages printed from Wikipedia.

Out of all the March sisters (from Little Women), I am a Jo; an older sister, a lover of novels, and fiercely independent (or stubborn). I spend my time watching video essays on niche subjects like the lore behind Indiana Jones’ hat. I buy more books than I read and am slightly scared of dogs.

I found myself suited for journalism, better at writing than talking, and the need to know everything about whatever subject I was interested in just confirmed that.

As much as I enjoyed academics, I felt ready to move on and progress beyond working in a classroom, thus I joined the young reporter’s scheme, and what started as a series of lectures turned into an interview and luckily for me, a job.

I’ll admit there are some frustrating elements, namely being the only one sentenced to public transport as at 16 you fall into the strange gap of being granted independence without the tools to take you there.

Being a teenager in a job where most people have been to university means a lot of comments that I look awfully young. However, I love it. It’s difficult and pushes me in every way imaginable, but it’s a joy to learn from people so experienced in their craft, and I am quite enjoying being thrown into the deep end. I am still learning a lot; a job doesn’t always mean you sacrifice learning.

I would recommend the young reporter’s scheme to anyone who has an inch of an interest in journalism. Plus, it’s a nice bonus to get paid while learning.