Getting a masters degree?

Beer fills other needs for me.

 

you rule, forever.

 

I sit five feet away from a woman who has a master's from Columbia. I didn't go to school beyond community college, but I was answering the phones at a 75,000-circ paper when I was 19. Got my first byline for a 6-inch feature on an amateur boxer a month after I started.

I'm pretty certain my experience was more valuable.

Five feet away from me in another direction is a man who quit school at 18 and has gone on to be the editor of seven newspapers and has a tidy seven-figure salary.

I do think that the connections you make at big-time J programs are extremely valuable. On the other hand, the connections I made early on have proven to be pretty important.

There was a point where I really had to pay and work harder for not following through on my education, but I accepted it as penance for being a slackass when I was 21.

 

PHINJ,

There's a point, though, at which you'll top-out. That's what happened to me. I made it about as far without an education as I was going to make it.

That's why I had to get out and finish my education.

 

I don't think you succeeded BECAUSE you didn't have an education, though. Education isn't inherently bad. It's inherently good. If we're generalizing, I'd bet the average Columbia alum has a more promising career arc than the average non-Columbia alum. Exceptions don't prove anything.

 

I didn't say that education was inherently bad. However, Columbia grads are likely to be successful because they are smart, motivated people who would have succeeded had they not gone there.

The point is that a master's in journalism doesn't convey some special, advanced knowledge like in other fields. If you're a potential employer examining the credentials of a 35-year-old doctor or lawyer, the fact they went to Harvard would be extremely relevant to the training they received. That's not the case in newspapers.

 

Good point. But would they have succeeded to the degree they did? I don't know. I think it's a pretty prestigious stamp to have on your resume when it comes to the elite newspapers like the NY Times, WaPost, WSJ, LAT, etc.

 

If they're driven enough, I think yes. The degree doesn't make the journalist. The person makes the journalist.

 

Seven figure salary? Is he sitting on a throne? Are you counting the numbers to the right of the decimal point?

 

Seven-figure throne-sitting salary editor exposed!

 

But Columbia's training is clearly top-notch. Look through their booklet some time. Impressive lineup of teachers as well as classes. Going there is more than just a piece of paper.

And though the degree doesn't make the journalist, editors at those papers look at it as credibility. It's like a short-cut in judging talent.

But, yes, it's definitely a self-selecting group.

 

However, you can get duds and Jayson Blairs in any J-school. You can also get brilliant journalists in any J-school.

I know some editors give a second look to the top-tier J-schools. I personally give a closer look to anyone whose total package warrants it. It may be someone from Columbia. It may be someone from Podunk U who majored in English.