<p>Next year I'll be a Junior! Time to decide my major! I am seriously thinking journalism but a little worried what I can get out of it? After all, it is a known as a "soft" degree, right??</p>
<p>What does everyone think?</p>
<p>Are you curious about people and the world around you?</p>
<p>Do you have a good grasp of grammar? Can you spell? (seriously!)</p>
<p>Those would be a good start if you want to be a journalist.</p>
<p>Got those qualities already. What else??</p>
<p>Maybe a better question is what you could contribute to the profession, rather than what you would “get” out of it. </p>
<p>Journalism is a calling. </p>
<p>You will work long hours for little pay. You will work nights, weekends and holidays. You will be expected to report for work during floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and any other natural or man-made disaster.</p>
<p>You will be expected to cover boring municipal meetings and write crap to “feed the beast” (the beast is the daily/hourly/weekly product).</p>
<p>You will be constantly criticized by those you cover and those you don’t cover. You will be blamed for bad headlines (which reporters don’t write).</p>
<p>When you graduate, you will be competing with tons of others who had fabulous summer internships and planned their careers before their junior years.</p>
<p>Other than that, no day will be the same, you will be educating your readers/listeners every time you write, you will have a ring-side seat to the biggest news of your locality and a fascinating opportunity to learn learn learn. </p>
<p>If you are not writing for your college paper already, hop to it.</p>
<p>Are you a journalist? You must be!!</p>
<p>With a name like Lois Lane, I’d believe it!</p>
<p>Being a journalist can prepare you for a wealth of possible careers, but it depends on what kind of journalism degree you get. Is your school offering an actual Journalism degree, or one in Mass Communications? Once you have a journalism degree, is there any sort of specialization or emphasis?</p>
<p>My school lets you choose between Print (Newspaper/Magazine), Broadcast (Radio/TV), Public Relations, or the General degree. I’m a Print person myself, but I’ve gotten a lot of experience with “New Media” (online), too, and I’m gearing up for a career as an editor.</p>
<p>A journalist isn’t always someone who works for a newspaper, magazine, or radio/TV station though. What would YOU want to do with your degree once you have it in hand? Any career dreams? Any reason why Journalism sounded cool to you in the first place?</p>
<p>The title of this thread should be “What can a journalism education prepare you for?” </p>
<p>Just sayin’.</p>
<p>(And it just goes to show how annoying former journalists – well, reporters – can be about proper grammar.)</p>
<p>Heartily seconded.</p>
<p>I Also would like to become a Reporter…im more towards entertainment news reporting…What would i have to get a degree in… broadcast journalism??</p>