Some good thoughts are offered in this piece by a journalism student about the value of studying journalism.
The printed word is not what it used to be and never will be again. But journalism will live on and jobs will be there. I don't expect a boom per se, but it will get better as online news and revenue from it continues to grow.
If a student feels that call to journalism, he or she should pursue it. Making less money is better than making more and settling for something you don't love to do.
Follow the link above. It's worth your time if you are considering journalism.
It's definitely not the same as it used to be. Print is slowly dying, and if you are going to move forward, you need to embrace the Web 2.0 and digital changes.
ReplyDeleteJournalism jobs are becoming hard to come by as Baby Boomers are not willing to retire because they lost their 401k in the stock market or don't have a retirement plan at all. With that said, some Baby Boomers still treat you as some young kid who just graduated, even if you are 30 and have years of experience.
You should also consider how much you have to repay in student loans before taking on a career in journalism. You should aspire to be great but know you are likely not going to get a job at the New York Times or on a major network news program right out of college or in two years from graduation.
Before entering the field, you should consider whether you want a family or not. Some places (they are rare) you can have a career in journalism and a family at the same time. This especially comes into play if you are woman as women are typically the primary caregivers of their children and not every organization is willing to work with you and your family's schedule and needs on this. It's not easy to do both or be allowed to do both as you have deadlines, meetings and breaking news to cover and then a family who needs care for illnesses, plans on the weekends or anything else you want to do with your time. Journalism is a big time commitment and not a lot of pay.
I might sound cynical, but I have been there and want to make sure everyone has all the facts before taking on this career selection.