Closing J schools.

[Drip]

This guy thinks closing the door on J schools is the answer. What do you think?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-sine/close-the-j-schools_b_232174.html

 

[RickStain]

Absolutely, yes. It's completely irresponsible to be pumping out thousands of graduates per year when there are dozens of jobs to choose from.

 

[zebracoy]

Absolutely, yes. It's completely irresponsible to be pumping out thousands of graduates per year when there are dozens of jobs to choose from.

Give me a break. You think they'd ever close down automotive schools with the state of that industry?

Survival of the fittest.

 

[RickStain]

Absolutely, yes. It's completely irresponsible to be pumping out thousands of graduates per year when there are dozens of jobs to choose from.

Give me a break. You think they'd ever close down automotive schools with the state of that industry?

Survival of the fittest.

Do automotive schools teach you to make cars? I did not know that.

 

[zebracoy]

My brother went to a trade school owned and operated by General Motors with the intent of sending him into the business of building cars - which he has now done for 20-plus years.

Sadly, that will end this fall, but that's another story for another time and place.

 

[DisembodiedOwlHead]

Brilliant. English departments also should turn away prospective majors and graduate students since there are very few jobs practicing professional English these days. Same with history. Really off-target and shallow column.

 

[RickStain]

Brilliant. English departments also should turn away prospective majors and graduate students since there are very few jobs practicing professional English these days. Same with history. Really off-target and shallow column.

English and history are not meaningfully comparable to journalism.

 

[WriteThinking]

What? Fredrick hasn't checked in on this thread yet?

 

[RickStain]

Brilliant. English departments also should turn away prospective majors and graduate students since there are very few jobs practicing professional English these days. Same with history. Really off-target and shallow column.

I don't think the bachelor's in English is too valuable, but you can always teach Comp 101 at community college with a master's in English.

 

[Stitch]

Business schools provide little value as well, but the writer of the original column thought they were pretty great.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

There are tons of worthless majors out there... Unfortunately, journalism is every bit as worthless as communications or philosophy. I used to make fun of all the athletes majoring in sociology, but I would kill to be able to switch my degree and Masters to Soc rather than journalism.

 

[mustangj17]

They should let much fewer people in. Schools should also work on degrees where you train for a few different careers. You can longer have a degree that is only good for one thing. I feel like I am qualified to teach english or be in advertising or PR, but since I don't have a degree in those fields, employers won't give me a chance.

 

[Starman]

I told my J-school this about five years ago, when they sent a letter hitting me for contributions.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Business schools provide little value as well, but the writer of the original column thought they were pretty great.

Who here would trade their journalism degree for a business degree right now? I sure as hell would.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I used to teach a bit at a local J-school, but a couple years ago I told them I couldn't in good conscience do anything that would encourage kids from going into a field that will be extinct in a matter of years.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Who here would trade their journalism degree for a commercial driver's license right now? I sure as hell would.

 

[DanOregon]

J-schools will stay open as long as there are people willing to pony up the tuition. But I imagine j schools aren't getting a lot of help from the industry these days. I could see a day when the curriculum is rolled into a "government" or "Public policy" school.

 

[rpmmutant]

I have an English degree. Without it, I couldn't be a substitute teacher. I could have majored in anything and as long as I have a BA, I could be a sub. It is valuable and it has given me options now that my journalism career has become at best a freelance pursuit. I could become a lawyer, a copywriter, a teacher. I have decided to pursue a teaching credential and hope the freelance assignments don't run out before I complete the credential program.

 

[rpmmutant]

A friend of mine once told me the one thing a college degree tells potential employers is that you can set a goal and achieve it. I still believe it doesn't matter what you major in as long as you can complete your degree. That said, I never found a journalism degree to be that valuable. I had a newspaper job long before I had a bachelors degree. And the best journalists I know majored in something other than journalism or communications. The best ones majored in political science. Oddly enough, English majors were in the minority at the papers I worked at.

 

[Bullwinkle]

There are tons of worthless majors out there... Unfortunately, journalism is every bit as worthless as communications or philosophy. I used to make fun of all the athletes majoring in sociology, but I would kill to be able to switch my degree and Masters to Soc rather than journalism.

What would you possibly do with a sociology degree? Teach, maybe.