I Don't Know What To Do

[bk1]

OK. Maybe you can help me (because I don't know what to do and my family is not helpful).

I got into a master's in Journalism. Journalism is something that I wanted to do since I was a child, but there are two problems: 1) I am not sure if I am doing Journalism just because I am "holding onto" something from childhood or I really have a passion for it and, 2) THIS IS THE REAL MAJOR ISSUE - Journalism is not a stable career. It is very competitive. The program that I got into is not a "prestigious" program, either. I would hate to spend a hundred thousand on a master's in J, only to wind up an audio editor at some small-town radio station forever and earning $20 000 annually.

I got into a master's in education to become a high school teacher. This is a stable career, but I would probably always wonder "what if" I did Journalism.

I got into a second bachelor's program in English literature so that I could teach high school English. (My undergrad is not in English).

Any advice? Please be thorough.

[firefly85]

I'm not sure if I will be totally helpful, but as a former journalist I'll try. I didn't go to J-school so I don't know that much about it, but I did write a daily paper. I too thought I wanted to be a journalist, although not as strongly as you probably. After graduation I kind of fell into because it was one of the few jobs I could find. Anyway long story short the stress of the daily paper was too much for me and now I'm planning to go to school for IR, but I digress. I think only one or two people I worked with out of about 12 reporters had a graduate degree (one of them might not have even been journalism, but English or something). So I personally believe that work experience can be more valuable than a J-school degree.

Now that aside, if you got good funding for your degree I'd say go for it, but don't go into debt for a J-school degree because it can be hard to make a lot of money in the field (especially now). I'd say look for work experience in the field, internship or job or freelancing (I'm not sure what type of journalism you're looking for) to at least get something for your resume and to see if you really would like it. Especially try to get training in multi-media (video, websites, blogging, etc) because that's really where things are going.

Anyway that's my two-cents, test out your dream career, that way you won't be spending thousands on a degree but will be getting experience. Then if it doesn't work out you can apply for Ed programs again (or something else) and switch fields without wondering "what if?". Hope that helps! PM me if you want to discuss it more.

[highered_3]

The truth is, you don't need a master's degree in journalism to become a journalist. I've applied to grad programs in journalism mostly because I want a master's degree very badly for personal reasons, and as an aspiring journalist, it's the most relevant thing for me to study right now (although I got my B.A. in English and one day in the future would like to teach English, also).

So if I were you and really uncertain as to whether journalism is the career for me, I'd accept the offer for the education program. Because you can work towards a journalism career at the same time (maybe a part-time internship, or dabbling in journalism-related extracurriculars at your school, or gaining experience by writing for online publications) on the side, or try your hand at it after you graduate. If it falls through (either you find out journalism isn't for you, or you can't get work), then you have your education background to fall back on.

Have you had any journalism experience in the past?

[stigMPA]

Unless it's an elite J School, I would strongly advise that you dabble in some freelance journalism work before taking the leap. You can pick up most of the basics on the job and you'll learn if the profession is right for you or not. The field is enormously unstable now and always hyper-competitive.

Then, even if you still want to go ahead with a graduate journalism degree your admissions packet will look much better.

Have you considered a degree in another field? Presumably you can already write well; you'd serve yourself well to have something to write about. Expertise in a particular area is the kind of thing that can set you apart from the multitudes graduating with journalism degrees every year.

[highered_3]

Unless it's an elite J School, I would strongly advise that you dabble in some freelance journalism work before taking the leap. You can pick up most of the basics on the job and you'll learn if the profession is right for you or not. The field is enormously unstable now and always hyper-competitive.

Then, even if you still want to go ahead with a graduate journalism degree your admissions packet will look much better.

Have you considered a degree in another field? Presumably you can already write well; you'd serve yourself well to have something to write about. Expertise in a particular area is the kind of thing that can set you apart from the multitudes graduating with journalism degrees every year.

Definitely.