Should I get in now?

Is it a good idea to leave for college to earn a journalism degree in the hopes to become a sports writer? The newspaper industry is coming down, but the world will always need sports writers. Basically what I'm saying is this: I'm going to get my journalism degree, and I need to know how hard it will be for me.

 

Get out now. While you can still put food on your table.

I don't really see the need to get a journalism degree, in all honesty. Write for your student newspaper. Cover beats for it. But major in something you can use that will keep you from living in a cardboard box or in your parents' basement.

 

I realize that its hard to make good money, but there are people doing it.

 

If you want to go to college and become a sports writer, fine.

I would also suggest that you get a degree in something other than journalism.

Take some classes, write for the paper, but major in English or accounting or computer engineering or something.

 

I have to say that for someone who will be graduating with a journalism degree in another semester, you guys sure are depressing.

Oh well. At least a cardboard box won't require too much maintenance.

 

The state of the newspaper business is far more depressing than anything we're saying.

It's nice to have the dream, but it's also nice to be able to afford the basic necessities of life.

 

It's bad out there, but this board is a tad more cynical than it needs to be at times (I suppose the industry does that to you).

If you're young and willing to move around, working in newspapers can be very fun. Once you want to settle down, buy a home, start a family, etc., it becomes a tad less fun.

But if you're young enough and have a little mobility, go for it.

 

I haven't started even my first semester of college. I started this thread to get a little advice. If I were to major in something other than journalism, wouldn't a marketing or management degree be better for me if my ultimate goal was to be a journalist with that backup degree?

 

Not to start one of those 'anti/pro education' threads, but most industries won't actually care what your degree says.

If you really wanted to be involved in journalism, get some sort of a web-based background somehow. Be able to shoot video, manage Web sites, etc...

But most of all: Be innovative.

 

And be sure to talk about that innovation with your editor. [crossthreading]

 

I've already built up an online magazine and sold it to a media company. Is that just to put on my resume, or do you actually think I need that experience?

 

Are they hiring?