Going back to school - what to learn?

[J.Makarov]

Hello everyone,

 

I want to address my question to those in mid-career who went or are currently thinking about going to grad school.

 

Here's my story. I graduated from Moscow State University, Faculty of Journalism in 2010. That is the top j-school available in my country (Russia). My major was international journalism. I also minored in new media.

 

Immediately after graduation I took a job at a pretty large media outlet (state news agency) and went on a long-term dispatch to Tokyo. So, the past four years I spent covering events in Japan and East Asia in general. This has been quite an experience, but recently I started to reflect on the ways to somehow move my career forward.

 

The question I want to ask fellow journos is - do you think that going back to school is a good investment of time and money and, more importantly, is it a valid reason to take a break in reporting career?

 

If yes, then what, in your opinion, is the best thing to learn at grad school for a mid-career journalist in these days?

 

As for my opinion, I don't see much sense in going to a j-school again unless there is a program with strong specialization. I feel a strong urge to go for another field. For instance, I've been thinking about getting a degree in international affairs or political science (thus pushing further in my major). It also seems to be a good idea to enhance new media skills through training in computer science or statistics. Well, there is a whole range of choices. I just wanna know what would you choose and why.

 

The issue is not very urgent. I think that if I decide to apply for grad school, I will probably do it two or three years later from now.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.