Engineering vs. Journalism

College Search & Selection
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<p>First of all, sorry if this is in the wrong place (first time here). My question is wether to fully commit to journalism as a major (and attend Mizzou probably) or major in Engineering (at Wisconsin probably) and minor in journalism. What I really want to do is to be in journalism but good jobs are far and few in between. I'm not in it to get rich but I also don't want to be poor for 10 years until I possibly get a good paying job in journalism. On the other hand, majoring in it at Mizzou would increase my chances of at least getting my foot in the door for jobs, right? </p>

<p>For engineering, I always score extremely high on standardized tests for math (haven't taken the ACT yet because I'm only a sophomore). Civil engineering does interest me, just not as much as journalism. Wisconsin has a good engineering school and because I live in Illinois which has a tuition deal with Wisconsin, I would pay in-state prices making it cheaper than Mizzou. Not to mention that I'm told they have a respectable journalism program.</p>

<p>So should I commit myself to journalism and take the risk by going to Mizzou or have something to fall back on but possible decrease my chances of success in journalism by majoring in engineering and minoring in journalism at Wisconsin? Getting in to either school shouldn't be a problem with my grades and testing.</p>

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<p>I’d go to Wisconsin in this scenario, all things considered.</p>

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<p>This is ironic: I’m in a similar situation right now, so I don’t know how much input I’ll be able to give you. However, I noticed in your post that you said that because you “live in Illinois which has a tuition deal with Wisconsin” it would be cheaper. Unfortunately, this is not true. I live in Illinois as well and I recently visited UW Madison. During their tour and information session, they made it clear that Wisconsin has no reciprocal deals with Illinois, only Minnesota, so you would be paying full tuition.</p>

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<p>Also, if you live in illinois, you could just try UIUC, which has one of the better engineering programs.</p>

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<p>

Spend some time shadowing engineers and talking to them about the job to see if you would like it. As a 10th grader what you’re asking isn’t a decision that needs to be made this year; in fact it shouldn’t be made this year. Take the time to explore the areas, and to consider other possible interests. No sense closing doors any earlier than you have to.</p>