Journalism Major or Grad School?

Agreed 100%. I've said this before and will say it countless times. I was once told, "What's better, going to Columbia and covering crew or going to big state U and covering their Division I championship teams?"

 

My advice -- avoid grad school like the plague. Find yourself a quality sports editor at a smaller paper and learn the ropes there. You will learn the same things that you would in grad school, gain invaluable experience and not have the student loans hanging around your neck. The key is to find a shop where you can learn on the job. There are plenty of excellent editors out there who are better than most of the professors you're going to meet in grad school. That's your best bet.

 

I went to a no-name undergrad school 20 years ago but spent five years working at a large daily while in that school with some of the best writers in the business and while my job was being in charge of covering preps in a 22-school area, they also threw me pro baseball, pro football, pro hockey, Olympics, college assignments, etc. -- I would not trade that time for time at Syracuse for that experience (although my wife is a Syracuse alum and might resemble that remark). And I wouldn't waste a nickel on grad school unless I wanted to teach journalism or went back to get a law degree or a degree in some other industry.

 

Sportschick,
Seems we answer this one a lot. She's right.
But, if you go to grad school, get an MBA.
So, at some point, if you find yourself with a couple of kids and there are no more newspapers or you find yourself 10 years out of school covering Area 51 for a 3,112 circa paper you still have a choice.

 

If I had it to do over, I would not have gotten my undergrad in journalism. I'd have gotten it in a specific subject, probably business, and either minored in journalism or learned the business by doing.

That said, I love grad school (also in journalism), and would like to give SC thanks for her shoutout to UT.

Best thing you can do, all things considered, is pick the best school you can, and learn the journalism stuff by working, not by sitting in journalism classes for four years.

 

Exactly. You're work should get more exposure, or you could open yourself up to stringing opportunities for good papers. Plus you'll be working alongside some good pros and you'll see how they handle pressers and interviews and if you're smart you'll pick their brains a little bit for some advice and be able to establish some solid connections.

 

I attend the University of Kentucky and I'm in my second semester of journalism classes. I took Journalism 101 first semester, which was mostly ethics and basics. I'm in a second level class now, and it's pure writing. No tests, no quizzes, nothing. But I have to write at least a story a week, which isn't much to an average journalist but is a ton for a college freshman with four other classes and very few connections.

And all of the J professors I have talked to have said "no" to grad school. They told me to sign up for the newspaper, which I did, and write as much as I can now. Judging by this thread, I got the right info.

 

Journalism is wasted on the young ...

 

if you're in a position to go to grad school without it burdening you financially, by all means do it. it will give you an out when you burn out on newspapering in 15 years and you'll have the option to teach. options are good ... so is grad school if you can do it on your folks.

 

I learned so much from the professors I had who were burned out on newspapering. But somehow I ended up working for mainly newspapers anyway.

 

Your second question...no.

Well, it depends on what you mean by "good job."

If by good job you mean one that pays around $20K a year and requires you work around 100 hours a week, then yes. A four year degree will help you land that kind of "good job."

The sad part is, after about 10 years, your pay has only increased to $25K per year, if you're lucky.

Newsprint journalism is a dying medium.

 

I'll echo SC. When I got out of grad school, my annual salary was less than the cost of one year of tuition/expenses.

When my brother gets out of law school, his annual salary will be double the cost of one year of tuition/expenses.

It's not worth the money when you won't be making any.