Careers in journalism

College Majors Journalism Major
1

Hi,

I’m a student interested in being a journalist…Unfortunately tho, both my parents come from science backgrounds, and are mostly pushing me towards science-related fields. While I love science too, I have equal inclinations in some other fields which they never let me fully explore. I’ve always thought journalism to be a pretty amazing and glamorous field- especially investigative journalism- and I’d like to know more about it.
In school (I’m a gap year student), I loved English, history, chem and bio- I used to hate maths right till my last 2 years of HS, after which I started appreciating it more. (I still suck at it tho, which has led me to think that I don’t have much aptitude for science ). I’m a good writer, and I’m more the type who likes finding out the ‘why’ things work/happen instead of the 'how’s. Also, I am a pretty quiet and introverted person, and hate being in the spotlight. Public speaking is a problem, as is speaking out (tho I’m working on that- this is also a major reason why my parents steered me away- acc to them, you need some communication skills to do well in the humanities). Politics, law and international affairs (specially this)and public policy are some special interests of mine due to some of the life experiences I’ve had. I would probably like internet journalism/blogging etc, but not TV/radio. I love travelling. While a salary is not the most important thing to me (I would like a decent one tho), career STABILITY is pretty important. In other words, I don’t want a new job every 3 years, or moving to a new city every 5 years.
My questions:

  1. What are the different fields in journalism? (some descriptions would be helpful) Pay, timings, lifestyle
  2. Based on the description I’ve given of myself, would journalism be a good career for me?
  3. Is a degree in journalism required to pursue it? Also, in the event that I am not able to convince my parents, are there other ways I can continue with my interests, especially in international and global affairs?
  4. What are the career prospects? (growing, declining etc)
    Do keep in mind that I have almost no clue about this field, because I’ve had no prior exposure, so please do keep your answers detailed. I would be extremely happy if a journalist/journalism student can answer my questions.
2

Journalism is not a stable or steady career at all. It’s been dying/transitioning, etc. for a long time–at least the last 15 years–and I think will continue to experience some serious growing pains as we continue to transition into digital/the world where no one wants to pay for news (let alone physical copies of it). Specifically, there will be fewer and fewer full time positions, thus making it a more unstable career over time. But, if you are a) passionate b) good at it c) exhilarated by instability (not always knowing where your next job will be, etc.) and d) from a generally comfortable financial background (ie: your parents will support you at times, especially starting out), then it can be a very fulfilling career.

I can tell you, anecdotally, that I possessed a and b graduating from a top ranked journalism program almost ten years ago, but my complete inability to handle c and no d meant that I did not become a journalist. I work in marketing instead because it provides steady, long term work opportunities and scalable pay but with similar persuasive writing opportunities. My peers who are journalists mostly freelance/do contract work and ALL of them (save maybe 1 or 2) had their parents pay their rent/living expenses for 2-3 years out of college while they interned for either free or low pay in high cost cities. Journalism, IMO, is not a stable industry, and if you crave stability, it will offer undue stress. I was just not built for it, honestly.

Investigative journalism is, indeed, a fascinating arm of journalism but not one that is easy to get into, and not ideal for an introvert. I am also an introvert who has social anxiety (I hate talking to strangers) and found reporting news PAINFUL (and thus focused on features/criticism), so you have to do some real soul searching because investigative journalists generally butt into other people’s businesses and really put themselves out there to get the story.

There are many forms of journalism. Broadcast can be television or radio, and it’s not all on air jobs. Most broadcast journalists end up being producers as opposed to on air talent, so it’s all about learning to package stories in those mediums. “Print” journalism can mean newspapers, magazines or online/digital publications. Newspapers and magazines are dying, and it is not easy to get the scant positions available at the print pubs that are left, at least not right out the gate. You can work your way up to those positions. Digital is booming, though a lot of the work is contract/freelance. There are all sorts of arenas/subjects/specialties you can pursue within journalism–news reporting, sports, entertainment, criticism, lifestyle, science, politics, features… I would say pick the thing you’re best at writing–we all tend to have a niche–and pursue that thing. News, politics and features tend to be the most obvious avenues into investigative journalism, though not always (I’ve seen some impressive investigative features published at Buzzfeed on the entertainment industry).

You don’t have to study journalism to be a journalist, though in some cases it helps–most places don’t want to train you on the job and there are some basics of journalism you can, therefore, pick up in school. But some of your word choices/descriptions sound like you’re in the UK, and it’s a different ballgame there anyway. Don’t major in journalism–pick something to read like English or History. That said, the world needs more competent science journalists, so don’t discount that! (most journalists are crap at writing competently about science!) If you’re, indeed, in the UK you are also at an advantage b/c the print industry isn’t dying as rapidly as it is in the US. Look for work experience at your flagship newspapers and see if you like it. You don’t have to be studying journalism to do one of those work experience rotations. When I did one through my US university, we had several UK kids doing short term work experience at the same time and they definitely weren’t studying journalism. Some were gap year students.

Honestly pay is bleak. Until you reach the upper echelons of the industry–which is rare–you’re making sub-standard wages. The starting salary for a journalist in NYC hovers between 30 and 35K a year… which is what it was when I graduated in 2006. And that’s if you can land a FT job–they’re rare. Honestly I think its criminal how little journalists are paid. Over time, if you establish yourself, and especially if you’re a good freelancer (hustling for $$$) you can earn a tidy sum, but you’ll likely need to a) live with roommates or b) have your parents help support you and/or c) marry someone who brings in a much better salary to balance things out.

So the good with the bad. Study something that interests you–not journalism–but try out some journalism work experience and see what you think. It’s a really awesome profession, but comes with caveats. If it were more stable (or my family was rich), honestly I’d be doing it.

3

Thank you so much for your answer- it was a pretty realistic one rather than simply “follow your passions”. <some of="" your="" word="" choices="" descriptions="" sound="" like="" you’re="" in="" the="" uk,=""> omg I loved that :smiley: No, I’m not from the UK but I spent many years of school in India, which follows the UK spellings/system/whatever. But I’m an US citizen, and I plan to work in the US, whatever I do, and am going to study in the US,so your answer was relevant all the same :slight_smile:
From your description, journalism might not be the career for me either. The thing you said about introverts- and I don’t handle stress well either. Most importantly, my family might back me up, but I don’t want to pursue that avenue no matter what I do. I’m very independent- minded as a person. But I will def try out jobs/internships- do they allow non-journalism majors from the US to work in those? I’ve heard about many people who go your route(marketing)- but I honestly don’t think I’ll like it.

4

@MindCastle15 Aha! that explains it :slight_smile: It was “maths” that threw me off :slight_smile:

AFAIK, you don’t have to be a journalism major to get a journalism internship, though at some competitive internships, journalism/marketing/communications/English majors may get priority. If you go to a school that has a robust careers services department or study abroad programs, they may be able to help you secure a really cool journalism internship regardless of your major. You can also try to target journalism internships at less “sexy” places where you’re not competing with students from the top journalism schools–maybe your local paper, or a specialty publication.

One tip for potentially giving yourself an edge, re: figuring out if you like journalism while you’re in college. Go to a school in a major urban area. It’ll be easier to find internships/work experience in major markets because they’re more likely to have a variety of media. For example, I went to school in Boston, so there were multiple TV stations, magazines, newspapers, radio stations, etc. where I could have potentially gotten experience. The major markets are also more likely to be where the hot online properties are based–New York, LA. Some markets are better for niche publications–National Geo is based in Washington D.C., for example. You might also want to apply to schools that have great journalism programs, even if you major in something else entirely.

5

I have two words for you: Science Journalism. It’s a growing field. People who can explain science in clear, concise language are very valuable in the job market.

You said you are a good student of science and your parents are steering you toward science. To get a job as a science journalist, do this:
–Go to a school that has a DAILY, student-run newspaper [Examples: MIchigan Daily, Cornell Daily Sun, Badger Herald (Wisconsin), Daily Trojan (USC]).
–Major in a science that you like.
–Join the newspaper the first day you get on campus. Start in a general role. Then ask if you can report on science or medical news.
–Get summer internships, using your college newspaper work as a leg-up to get the job,

If you do this^^^you will have a lot of science journalism clips and good experiences that can be the basis of your job search when you graduate.

6

Hmm…Altho I don’t know very much about it yet, what I do know- I don’t think I would like science journalism much…the reason is that I love science for what it is, (really, the medical side actually) but I like journalism mainly for reporting on international/national events, foreign ties- how they interpret events and point them out to the layman… etc etc- I’m doing a very poor job explaining this here, but I hope you catch my drift. I love both individually, but I don’t think I would like the meeting point of those two. I will try out your suggestions tho- oh no, don’t any of the UCs have daily papers? I mostly applied to UCs…

7

Of course they do. Daily Bruin. Daily Cal. C’mon. You want to be a journalist? Investigate. Look it up.

By the way, you can still major in a science and be an international affairs reporter. You can major in anything you want. Maybe do a minor in a language or in a cultural studies dept.

8

Just curious- after all, these are very huge schools, so I’m pretty sure there’s lots of competition…can everybody an anybody contribute to the dailies?

9

If you don’t handle stress well, journalism is not a good fit.

In addition to much of what was listed above about it as a career path, almost all jobs require superior deadline management skills and the ability to work well under pressure. That holds true for writers, editors, photographers, everything. There are jobs where introverts can do well (copy editors, perhaps) but a huge part of the job is meeting new people, asking questions, staying calm in stressful situations.

Also, most journalists are self-directed and driven to discover things. Many of the answers to your questions about the dailies at the UCs can be found online very easily.

10

Bingo.