<p>I'm an Econ major at UCLA (I am accepted as transfer). I'm still at an exploration period (meaning I'm still trying various courses to see where my real interest lies), and I realized that I really love writing. Not the creative writing style, but analyzing things with words (sort of like Editor). So I've decided to pursue either a double-major or minor in any program that develops writing skill, and I looked at some of the options for me. I do not plan on switching my major because I have another plan for econ major. Communication Studies seemed to be the best program for me but due to the unit cap and the difficulty of fitting the major requirement into my limited schedule, I looked at some of the minor programs. </p>
<p>Some of the options were: </p>
<p>English
Linguistic
Political Science</p>
<p>Which of these three do you think will best prepare for me for journalism career? Do you know any other minors/programs for journalism career prospect?</p>
<p>A lot of wannabe journalists at ucla are english or poli sci. english might be litlte better NOT linguistic at all.</p>
<p>really the only way to prepare for journalism is join the daily bruin.. and man it's a great education in journalism. it kills you, but it also teaches oyu a lot.</p>
<p>experience for journalism is going to be immeasurably more important than a minor. do the DB, get outside internships, etc. </p>
<p>If you do feel like you need a minor, English is the only one that would even come close to preparing you for journalism out of those you listed, and that's only because you'd be writing A LOT (there are one or two interview classes offered in English, the rest is going to be more literature based). Linguistics is strictly about, well, linguistics (which isn't terribly applicable to journalism) and I can't imagine Poli Sci helping unless you specifically want to go into political coverage. </p>
<p>But really, practical experience is the best thing you can do for yourself. The competition for DB depends entirely on what section you're applying into. A&E is the most sought after, other positions are less competitive. Previous experience is helpful but not entirely necessary to get a position on the paper. I'd also seriously look into getting an internship position at a small publication in the LA area. That's really the best preparation you can get.</p>
<p>I think everybody should be careful before downplaying political science! First off, either English or political science are the best minors if you're planning on a career in journalism; linguistics is probably not a good choice.</p>
<p>I am a political science major, and MOST people in journalism have degrees in communication, English, or political science. Poli sci is more than just learning about politicsit involves extensive critical thinking and writing skills, which is why you see poli sci majors in a variety of fieldsincluding business.</p>
<p>So all I am saying is before writing political science off seriously consider it! People (employers, etc.) want to know that not only are you skilled in your academic area, but that you have essential critical thinking skills and are able to understand the politics of the world you work in!!!</p>
<p>And English may be a good choice as wellpeople with degrees in English are also seen all around the world </p>
<p>It's tough to get into the Bruin but not impossible. A&E and News are the most sought after as Allie said. A&E has a 30% acceptance rate, News 40% (for this year). Getting into sports, copy editing, or TV news is not hard at all - if you show an interest, you're in.</p>
<p>ah i see.
well thanks everyone so much for your comments and suggestions.
so I guess it's really not necessary to pursue any extra degree afterall...
that makes everything lot easier :)</p>
<p>liyana, all departments recruit twice a year, beginning in fall. some do winter for the second time, others do spring. copy usually does winter.</p>
<p>as has been said earlier, the best prep for journalism is experience. Work on the DB, and haunt the career center to find jobs or internships. A summer as an intern at the LA Times or NBC is going to jump out on your resume!</p>
<p>But if you are interested in a minor, I'd say get one off the beaten (journalistic) path. History, poli-sci, etc. majors are a dime a dozen in journalism. As an econ major you should understand that you need something that gives you a competitive advantage. A minor in a science field means your someone who can talk to people in hi-tech. Maybe its not your end goal of what you want to do in journalism, but your first goal is to get hired. Another useful minor would be in a foreign language; spanish lets you cover a huge immigrant community, many others would be useful dealing with multinationals or working abroad.</p>
<p>well the majority of the opinion-givers here seems to suggest poli-sci and English major, which makes sense.</p>
<p>Just a question to anyone with experience in DB, how time-consuming and work-intensive is it to work there? How many hours per day should I expect to contribute for DB activities?</p>
<p>you're more likely to be hired for journalism if you have a specialty. so like, if you really want to do financial reporting, your econ major will obviously give you a leg up. even if you don't minor in something more specialized, dhl, it'd be wise to think about what kind of journalism you're into so you can start preparing for it. people who graduate knowing only that they want to do <em>something</em> in the field tend to have a much more difficult time landing a job.</p>
<p>The important thing is to learn how to write. And this is best done by writing a lot and learning how to consider all the elements of writing. English would be best for this. However, if you actually want to be a journalist, you'd also be well served by Poli Sci classes.</p>
<p>If you feel you are well on your way to being a good writer, you might reverse this recommendation -- minor Poli Sci with English classes.</p>
<p>dhl: Daily Bruin is a great place to work, and also a horrible place. It depends primarily what department you work for. A&E, Viewpoint, and Sports are pretty laid back in terms of pace. You're not expected to write more than once a week, and you usually have at least a c ouple days advance notice while working on your stories. Copy editing and news are hellish. News particularly abuses its writers, keeping them on tight leashes and deadlines. News is long, dirty hours with no positive reinforcement. If you do a good job, silence. If you make the slightest mistake, there's hell to pay. And copy editors stay till 1 am every night, enough said there... ALSO, most (not all!) senior staff at the Daily Bruin are pretty cold and heartless. This is for all departments. It is not a friendly place by any stretch of the imagination.</p>
<p>All that being said, there is no better preparation for real journalism than the Bruin. It's one of the best college newspapers in the country, and has the 3rd largest readership of LA county. The fast space, long hours, cold bosses, and virtually no pay (and literally none if you're not a senior staffer) will get you ready for any newsroom. I can't think of a better place for an aspiring journalist to be. Also, by being a journalist at UCLA, you learn so much more about the campus. You learn how things work truly, and get your feet deep into the campus. Journalism is a cruel, heartless, low paying gig, and if you like it, then the Bruin is the real world.</p>
<p>But if you're not into journalism... well, you can spend your time doing more beneficial and heart warming extracurriculars. Or at least stick to A&E or Viewpoint .</p>
<p>somehow the fact that the bruin is a 'cold and heartless' atmosphere doesn't surprise me in the least. i don't know why i get that impression, but alas. </p>
<p>it is a good experience though, and will certainly give you insight into whether or not journalism is REALLY for you. </p>
<p>hell, i was involved in publishing in nothing anywhere near as intense as the bruin and i got over the hours, the politics, the drama, etc reeeeaaallllly fast.</p>
<p>I've met a lot of people on campus from different groups. Most are decently friendly. DB is the only place where social norms apparently don't exist (that being said, there are many nice people as well, it's just the prevailing culture)</p>
<p>IMO Journalism sucks, if you're going to work that hard and be belittled that much, you might work as well work at a law firm and make 150k instead of 25k (or zero at DB).</p>
<p>Sounds really exciting!
One thing for sure is that I won't ever get bored :)
I'm not much into A&E because I myself is not much of an "artsy" or "entertainment-like" type of guy. What I'm really into are politics and economics (no surprise there) and I've always felt passionate about expressing my opinion on political and social issues. I think either News or Viewpoints will best suit my interest. But from the description of the work environment, the News section looks... hellish. It sounds as if I'll have to give up my leisure time to DB and need great deal of self-motivation to keep myself from falling from all the belittling I'd have to go with. I'll look into Viewpoints section if possible, but I'm guessing as laid-back and "easier" the environment is, the competition for that position will be as fierece as A&E position, correct?</p>
<p>anyway, thanks for your comments.
If I ever get in, I'll at least stay there for a year before deciding whether journalism is really THE job for me or not.</p>