Going back to school?

I'm a year out of my undergrad and applying to grad school mass communications programs. Looking to teach journalism and PR and whatnot, write on the side. I love the feature stories but don't like the day-to-day coverage of things, sports and otherwise, as much as I thought I would.

I'm also applying to an MFA in nonfiction creative writing program, figured I could use that to teach, also. Who knows.

Unfortunately I got a late jump, as I didn't decide I wanted to do this until the end of October, so my GRE scores weren't stellar and I only had time to research a few schools to decide where I wanted to apply. That, and I'm all too aware of how many former journalists are snapping up those teaching gigs. But who knows. Anything's possible.

(Maybe less possible now than 10 years ago, but hey possible is possible.)

 

In my state, and many others, you pretty much have to have a master's to keep your teaching certificate. That being said, I have my teaching certificate and have no desire in the least to return to teaching high school.

If I had to do it all over again I'd probably go into accounting or something in the medical profession. My wife is a registered nurse and nursing as a profession is pretty much the exact opposite of journalism -- it's growing, they're hiring and they treat/pay you well.

 

Accounting. I'm studying it right now.

 

As I understand it, school systems will help you out in going through a master's teaching program while you're working. It buffs up their "highly qualified" or wtf-ever teacher numbers, so it's to their benefit. You will start out with more money if you have one but, as was said about, a lot of starter teacher jobs are like starter-anything jobs. They want 'em young and cheap.

 

When I was looking into it, there was a Master's of Arts in Teaching. It would have let me teach in a school system while going to school, but I still would have started at the lowest level of pay because it was done by years of experience in teaching.

 

It wouldn't be easy. That's partly why I've been so reluctant to start, as I should have a year ago, probably.

I'm at a point that I know that I will probably have to do something else, though. It doesn't matter that, no matter what else I do, I see and think of myself as a reporter, not as whatever other role I happen to be in because I can't/don't feel like generating enough freelance stuff anymore.

I've been through hell the past two years, however, and I've had enough. I will have to walk away from newspapers if one of all the regular jobs I've applied for in the past 21 months doesn't come through soon.

I have only survived because of my family, and I will lean on them again if I have to make a wholesale career change. I own a condo that I lived in for 17 years before I had to move out and rent it out -- or else, risk losing it -- last year, and I have been living with a family member, rent-free, since then, because any money I make, my family wants me to use on myself and my bills instead of giving it them. It is something I've been assured they can do, at least for the time being.

I do have a part-time job that I use to supplement freelance work. All told, it amounts to maybe half of what I earned in my last regular journalism job. Even though that paid less than $40,000 a year, I'd feel wealthy right now if I were still making as much as I did then.

If I go the medical-field route, as I'm considering, I will have to take longer than the two years that the supposedly two-year program requires to go through it, and work very hard to complete that work, and maintain another part-time job, as you mentioned.

I just don't have the luxury of asking how I'd do it. I'd just have to, it's as simple as that. Whatever it takes, and all that...

 

Libraries are the biggest wastes of space in schools today.

Hopefully they are teaching new librarians will not be having stacks of books, but gaming labs and other technology-types of features in the library.

Actually, they are already called "media centers."

 

I know where you're going with that, but it still makes my knee jerk in anger. I want so much to disagree with that.

That said, I think J-School should pay more attention to the many cities/counties cutting their library hours and cutting staff all over the country. It's not a very stable industry right now, as some on this board can attest.

 

Kids just do not walk through the tacks anymore. You look up what you want on a computer, then get your book.

If they do flip pages in a book, the books can be filed in a different way with a different retrieval system, or the kids will just upload the book onto their Kindle.

Plus, the gaming systems like the Wii are changing everything.

 

Rough climate aside, I'd still go into teaching — not journalism, but science (or, that failing, social studies/geography). I'd love to get kids doing more critical thinking and show them the PB&J of science.

 

Oh, sorry Luggy. I meant if I could go back to school, that's what I would do. I already have a Masters in Journalism, and I can't afford to go through another few years of schooling again.

I played piano from kindergarten through eighth grade, then did marching band/symphonic band throughout high school and at UConn. Music had been a huge part of my life until I graduated, but now it's going on 10 years since I last picked up an instrument. Over the past six months I've found that I really miss it, and lately I've been going up to UConn to use one of the practice rooms and try to re-teach myself the piano.

If I were to go back and study jazz and orchestra history and/or theory, I would ultimately hope to be a college professor somewhere teaching that.

 

A few thoughts on law school and paralegal studies.

--- 35 is definitely not too late for law school, I'm in now and a good portion of my class is in their 30s.

--- The ability to write quickly, cleanly and clearly is very highly valued in both law school and for paralegals.

--- Law school is not a license to print money. Law firms are laying off people left and right, both lawyers and paralegals. That said, if you're fortunate enough to go to a top law school, or be in the top 20 percent of your class at a "lesser" school, you're very likely going to have a chance to get a very nice job. Paralegals are always in demand IMO, and the training takes a lot less time.

--- It's a lot easier than you think to go to law school for free. Take a practice LSAT. If you score 157 or above, you can get into the 160s with practice and probably go for free. You may not be going to Harvard, but you won't be carrying six figures of debt.

--- At this point I know more than a half-dozen former journalists in law school. They all seem to be enjoying it. Three of them are in second year and have good summer jobs lined up with law firms (which often leads to an employment offer).