There is this misconception that a degree will guarantee you a job...Uh wrong. Very seldom has any kind of tertiary qualification guaranteed anyone a spot in the corporate (and by corporate I mean the hussle and bussle of working life) world, except of course in cases where you had a service contract. Journalism is no different. Going to J-school to get schooled in the art of writing, reporting and the like with the intent of leaving there and entering a white collar job is on the part of the graduate nothing less than a dream of being that flashy reporter on the evening news, whom they idolise. Nowadays, 'Webwork' is what defines journo's and if you think that writing is all your job will entail, I'd say becoming a novelist would be in your best interest because the fact is that journo's need to be able to get 'down and dirty' too get to the 'nitty gritty' of things.
Going to "Ivy league" schools means nothing for your career, entering "Top Programs" gets you nothing but a pat on the back. These so-called, "Top programs" are likely to be as old as my mothers 1980's hairdo. The fact is experience speaks volumes for your disposition. Employees of large, cosmopolitan companies do not have journalism degrees, they have the experience. The people that do attest to the success of these programs are biased in that they are graduates of the aforementioned. Your best bet will be to enter into programs that will teach you to build your own projects and become entrepreneurial and self sufficient.
What may prove to be the saving grace of those entering the world of journalism is their professors. Professors play a pivotal role in the movement of self that occurs within a student. They need to be dynamic and in tune with the world of social media so that they may teach you (the student) to do the same. Some great professors are Joy Rosen and Clay Shirky from NYU or Jeff Jarvis from CUNY- coincidently professors at two of the leading Universities in the journalistic game, according to King Kaufmann (Author).
While it is true that having a degree will assist in getting you into the job market, the truth is that J-school teaches you only the bare basics. Attaining a degree from grad school post undergrad, is a choice that needs to be assessed from an economic perspective i.e. is it worth the time and money? If you have the journalistic experience to go with it- Yes, if not then a program which hones the skills you already have will be your best bet.
J-school is not the only means to learn. In light of the fact that much of journalism is now centered around social media and the web, a viable option to network in and gain expertise is blogging sites or cheaper training options such as Poynter.Org's News U!
If your heart is really with journalism, skip grad school, writing's overrated and focus on your reporting because everyone knows a good journalist serves the 'audience and not themselves'.
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Marked as assignment 4.
ReplyDeleteNOte importance of using own phrases which are also grammatical. E.g. in "skip grad school, writing's overrated" - incorrect use of 's - this is only used in possesive in this context - contraction of "writing is" not allowed in written texts.
Make sure your style fits the genre - here your work still has to be academic writing.