Andreas Sommer, B.A.
Current job:
Producer of the MrWissen2go Geschichte channel
Studies in Mannheim:
History
Highest degree:
Bachelor's degree
Career
I completed my bachelor’s degree in History at the University of Mannheim. During my studies, I was actively involved with the student radio station radioaktiv, where I gained my first journalistic experience. At the same time, I pursued and completed additional vocational training in journalism at the ifp Institute for Vocational Training in Journalism in Munich.
This combination not only provided me with a solid foundation in journalism, but also gave me the opportunity to complete internships at major media organizations, including Süddeutsche Zeitung in Munich, GEOlino in Hamburg, and ZDF’s children’s news channel logo! in Mainz.
Through these experiences, I quickly realized that I wanted to continue working in the field of accessible yet high-quality educational media. My focus on history was initially secondary—I could just as easily have imagined working in the natural sciences, politics, or other fields.
At the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, a fellow student at journalism school told me about a working student position at my current employer, objektiv media, which I successfully obtained. There, I began by creating Instagram posts for the Terra X channel. At that time, I was in the first semester of my master’s degree in History at the University of Mannheim.
About six months later, I was offered a full-time position at objektiv media. Over the following months, I contributed to various projects, including Terra X and Terra X History on Instagram, klima:neutral on YouTube, and SWR Faktencheck. Eventually, I took on the role of producer for the MrWissen2go Geschichte channel. In addition, I oversee other Terra X web projects as both author and producer.
Tips for starting your career
My studies in Mannheim laid the foundation for my future career by fostering academic and thorough research, precise writing, and a critical approach to sources and information. They also allowed me to explore different disciplines within the humanities and journalism.
The international academic calendar at the University of Mannheim proved to be a real advantage. On the one hand, it opened up excellent opportunities for exciting internships, as I was often able to apply outside the usual time frames. On the other hand, I also experienced how challenging it can be when studies and vocational training overlap for several weeks.
Fortunately, I could always rely on my lecturers’ understanding when I needed to postpone a deadline. This experience taught me valuable lessons not only in academic content, but also in organization—especially open communication, self-management, and working effectively under time pressure. These skills remain essential to my everyday work as a journalist.
Relevance of the studied program
Things turned out far better than I had ever expected. When I was asked in my job interview where I saw myself in five to ten years, I replied: “I would love to work for Terra X someday—that would be amazing.” I never would have imagined that only two years later, my first Instagram posts would be published there.
I have never been the kind of person who plans everything in advance. Instead, I’ve always seized every opportunity that came my way and approached new challenges with full commitment. That also meant making decisions that felt risky at first—such as leaving my master’s program when I was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
This approach has proven to work for me. I’ve always tried to stay optimistic and think big. There were many situations in which I initially doubted whether I could meet the demands—but it was precisely these challenges that helped me grow.
My advice: take every opportunity that comes your way, and don’t shy away from tasks that make you feel uncertain. If you realize that something truly suits you, it’s worth pursuing. After all, you’ll enter professional life sooner or later—and you’ll never feel entirely ready for it anyway.
Credit: objektiv media / Sven Sajak