<p>Which major do you guys think is better? I'm an English major, but sometimes I hate that I didn't just go with my original plan and major in Journalism.</p>
<p>Journalism would be better.</p>
<p>Journalism is better if you want to be a journalist. That's about it.</p>
<p>What do you want to do?</p>
<p>hmm, I've actually heard that news agancies would rather hire English majors than Journalism majors... that Journalism majors only learn to write by a certain formula, while English majors are more well rounded.</p>
<p>Just my two cents, take it worth a grain of salt.</p>
<p>I've googled this topic before. There's a lot of stuff out there.</p>
<p>Journalism is a waste of a major, since journalism majors tend to have horrible reputations and aren't the first preference of hiring for news media.</p>
<p>I wonder why. That sucks big time.</p>
<p>if you want to be a journalist you can do it with ANY major. In fact the media is flooded with apps from kids who majored in journalism or english but have no other knowledge to bring to the table (and who are frightened by math/science). If you want to look like the rest of the herd pick those majors. What really jumps out is a kid with experience in the media (writing for the school paper, summer job at a paper, intern in television, etc) but majored in something that gives them an ability to understand the world out there. A science major, a poli-sci major, someone who is fluent in another language.</p>
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I wonder why. That sucks big time.
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<p>There are some threads here on CC about undergrad and grad journalism school and people point to articles that were written clarifying why either could be a big waste of time.</p>
<p>The journalists I've known who have done really well have advanced degrees in things like economics, politics, international relations often on top of liberal arts degrees like English or History. </p>
<p>What kind of journalism would you like to do? Sports? Just start doing it. Business? Write for your college newspaper and cover other stuff -- since college newspapers don't have bus. sections that I've seen -- and learn the rhythm of a daily.</p>
<p>If you do English and a second major like biology or economics you can get some background in an area that you might like to cover as a journalist.</p>
<p>Good luck. </p>
<p>Oh, the one thing I remember from one of those journalism school threads is someone quoting a newsroom hiring chief saying if he saw "journalism" as someone's major that his/her resume went into the trash.</p>
<p>The other thing: don't forget about other media. Film, TV, etc....</p>
<p>BedHead, where are you getting this information from? That's really, really sad that this hiring chief would be so narrow-minded. Sounds like he's doing a ****ty job if he's not paying careful attention to the prospective's clips and other experience (and possibly even second majors). The Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, etc. recruit at my journalism school. So I wonder what paper this hiring chief works at, too.</p>
<p>I think a journalism major can be beneficial, especially when it comes to getting experience (that's often what most classes are focused on). But alone, it's not worth much. It needs to be combined with a major like economics, political science, history, even math or chemistry. Anything, really. And also a plus if you are fluent in another language, like Spanish (especially if you're interested in work for a paper in a place like Miami, Los Angeles, etc.)</p>
<p>So, I don't think you can really say that there is a "better" major of choice here. Neither one by itself is a /great/ choice. I think being an English major who is interested in the news and gets experience at school/local papers is a good option. And then being a journalism major with other skills is also a good option.</p>
<p>^^^^</p>
<p>You could be right....</p>
<p>Here's a thread that has the opinion of a few. And imbedded in this thread is a link to another that could be useful....</p>
<p>How easy is it to get work as an overseas stinger? And, is this a good stepping stone to breaking into journalism?</p>
<p>At my school (NYU), journalism majors are required to have an additional second major . [Mine's neural science--for now atleast] I figured this double major requirement was the case in other schools as well...</p>
<p>BedHead, you were saying it would be beneficial for students interested in journalism to be knowledgeable about science. Are there any particular fields that would be particularly useful?</p>
<p>I think it would be beneficial if students got some kind of certification in the writing of Science and Environmental issues or something like. It's easier to familiarize yourself with science rather than go pay for classes you're unsure about.</p>