Graduate school options

[WaylonJennings]

Just wondering if we could get a little discussion going on the merits of different routes. Obviously everybody is different in their passions and goals, etc., etc., but just want to see what everyone thinks as I ponder the next 30-40 years. Let's just assume for argument's sake that you can get into one of these:

Option A
A journalism masters at Columbia, give it one more ride and go for the big, big, big time.

Option B
Law degree at a big-name, top-10 school

Option C
Law degree at a lesser school, but on full scholarship and done part-time so you can keep working in this business

Option D
MFA creative writing program

Option E
MBA at a top-10 business school

Option F
Start on the PhD route in something like English or political science, etc., etc.

Option G
Get really crazy and try to become a doctor

And, of course, Option H - ride this newspaper wave until it kicks you off.

 

[Joe Williams]

Option G would be the most worthwhile use of those next 30-40 years, if you can handle the science. And the blood.
Option E would give you the most options after this set of options.
Option T, if you had one, would be nice.
Option O, also, would be a good one.
Option U, likewise.
Option T, one more time, for sure.
And what does it spell?

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Option G would be the most worthwhile use of those next 30-40 years, if you can handle the science. And the blood.
Option E would give you the most options after this set of options.
Option T, if you had one, would be nice.
Option O, also, would be a good one.
Option U, likewise.
Option T, one more time, for sure.
And what does it spell?

I hate to say it, but I agree with everything he just said... In these days you have to be insane to go into journalism... You'd be better off selling albums or VHS tapes door-to-door...

 

[WaylonJennings]

Option G would be the most worthwhile use of those next 30-40 years, if you can handle the science. And the blood.
Option E would give you the most options after this set of options.
Option T, if you had one, would be nice.
Option O, also, would be a good one.
Option U, likewise.
Option T, one more time, for sure.
And what does it spell?

I hate to say it, but I agree with everything he just said... In these days you have to be insane to go into journalism... You'd be better off selling albums or VHS tapes door-to-door...

OK, but I'm already relatively established, that's the thing. I think that's where it becomes tough - late 20s/early 30s, you seem to be on a decent trajectory. Too old to give it five more years, still too young to say, "I gave it my best shot and it didn't happen."

 

[forever_town]

Options A, D and F are the ones that would appeal to me personally the most.

Having said that, if you're already in journalism and you already have contacts, what more good would a journalism master's do you ESPECIALLY if you have a BA or a BS in journalism? I'm not saying you do, but if you did, there'd be no value to it because you'd already know what they teach the graduate school kids.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Options A, D and F are the ones that would appeal to me personally the most.

Having said that, if you're already in journalism and you already have contacts, what more good would a journalism master's do you ESPECIALLY if you have a BA or a BS in journalism? I'm not saying you do, but if you did, there'd be no value to it because you'd already know what they teach the graduate school kids.

Yeah, but then you can teach after your paper folds or you're forced to take a buyout in a few years... ;D

But, other than that, graduate school for journalism will seem completely worthless...

 

[WaylonJennings]

Options A, D and F are the ones that would appeal to me personally the most.

Having said that, if you're already in journalism and you already have contacts, what more good would a journalism master's do you ESPECIALLY if you have a BA or a BS in journalism? I'm not saying you do, but if you did, there'd be no value to it because you'd already know what they teach the graduate school kids.

1. Teaching.
2. Taking reporting to the next level. When you look at what people at the NY Times or other Pulitzer-winning papers do - the guys who spend a year doing one investigative story or serial narrative - oftentimes those are people who come out of a place like Columbia. I don't think it's just about the piece of paper.

 

[forever_town]

Yeah, but then you can teach after your paper folds or you're forced to take a buyout in a few years... ;D

Actually, now that you mention it ...

Personally, I get a lot out of helping my interns and reporters develop as journalists. A LOT. I had a high school kid who started working with me in late July/early August and he made a quantum leap in his journalism writing from his first story for my paper to his second. I'd sent him one detailed e-mail with feedback and suggestions and he seemed to learn a lot from it.

Maybe that's one thing I should think about doing...

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I have my Masters and have been offered several teaching gigs, but I can't in good conscience teach journalism when I would want to tell the whole class to run as far away as they can from the business...

 

[WaylonJennings]

I have my Masters and have been offered several teaching gigs, but I can't in good conscience teach journalism when I would want to tell the whole class to run as far away as they can from the business...

So are you in it for good?

I've logged an LSAT score for safekeeping, and I'll tell you, every day I ponder what the right direction for the future is. I want to be a writer in one way or another. The exposure you get from being a columnist is such a daily charge - I don't know if you can replicate that. On the other hand, we know all the downsides, as well.

I know we've had a million of these threads, but I think they're usually separate. An MBA thread. A law school thread. etc., etc. I wanted to kind of toss them all into the fray to see how they stack up.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'll bet half of the writers my age (33) are beginning to explore other options... If you had asked me a year ago I would have said I'll retire in this business, now I don't think that will be the case...

 

[Walter Burns]

Waylon, I'm nearly in the same boat. I'm coming up on 30, been doing this full-time since I was 21 and am starting to realize that I have no connections, so I'd probably spend my career on the fringes of the big time.
I'm thinking of applying to a big-ticket journalism grad school (Northwestern, Columbia) in the hopes of developing some of those connections, or getting an MFA in creative writing so I could teach.
Either way, I want to spend a little more time honing my craft. Here, it's feeding the beast daily, and I haven't turned out anything of which I'm really proud for a long ******* time.

 

[BYH]

I have my Masters and have been offered several teaching gigs, but I can't in good conscience teach journalism when I would want to tell the whole class to run as far away as they can from the business...

Bingo.

 

[leo1]

as for C, you're kidding yourself if you think you can do a good job as a law student (and subsequently a lawyer) and remain in the business. sure, you can cover a few games a week but that's all.

 

[dargan]

Is there any way you could incorporate a master's in history to the journalism, specifically sports writing, industry? The only thing I can think is getting out of journalism, teaching history and coaching (which I would like), or getting a doctorate in history and teaching some sort of it at a college.

 

[earlyentry]

Waylon, I'm nearly in the same boat. I'm coming up on 30, been doing this full-time since I was 21 and am starting to realize that I have no connections, so I'd probably spend my career on the fringes of the big time.
I'm thinking of applying to a big-ticket journalism grad school (Northwestern, Columbia) in the hopes of developing some of those connections, or getting an MFA in creative writing so I could teach.
Either way, I want to spend a little more time honing my craft. Here, it's feeding the beast daily, and I haven't turned out anything of which I'm really proud for a long ******* time.

Wayne, what do you consider the "big time." You're young IMO, there are plenty of opportunities to make the neccesary connections to move up the ladder. Your nine years into journalism, keep plugging away!

 

[WaylonJennings]

Waylon, I'm nearly in the same boat. I'm coming up on 30, been doing this full-time since I was 21 and am starting to realize that I have no connections, so I'd probably spend my career on the fringes of the big time.
I'm thinking of applying to a big-ticket journalism grad school (Northwestern, Columbia) in the hopes of developing some of those connections, or getting an MFA in creative writing so I could teach.
Either way, I want to spend a little more time honing my craft. Here, it's feeding the beast daily, and I haven't turned out anything of which I'm really proud for a long ******* time.

Wayne, what do you consider the "big time." You're young IMO, there are plenty of opportunities to make the neccesary connections to move up the ladder. Your nine years into journalism, keep plugging away!

Thirty isn't as young as you think. If you have a family, particularly, you have to make some hard choices. "Plugging away" sounds great - when the going gets tough, the tough get going, etc., etc. But you have to make some hard choices about your future at this age, and that includes a very sober look at what you want for the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years and beyond, both on the field and off, so to speak.

 

[earlyentry]

Agreed. While the salary you were making at 25 seemed great, maybe at 30 it hasn't changed all that much; but the bills did. Also, if you're planning to get married or already have a family, I'm sure reevaluating your career is understandable. I just happened to make a positve post, but with obvious holes in it.

 

[accguy]

I would say B, C or E. I agree with Leo (how's that bar studying going?) in that trying to do both would be hard. But going to a slightly lesser law school on scholarship would be all right as long as it is in an area in which you'd like to live.

I have a golf buddy who is a lawyer and is about mid-30s. He went to a very regional law school, but he's at a good firm and is making between 150K and 200K.

MBA would give you more options, but there may be fewer guarantees than law school.

 

[STLIrish]

Been starting to have these kinds of thoughts myself lately. I'm 28, doing this for as long as I can remember. Recently jumped from mid-sized to metro and, while I still love the job, this ain't exactly the land of milk and honey either. And I can't see where good this whole business goes in the long run.
If I was picking I'd give serious thought to C, not really to keep a hand in the biz, but b/c I would get a free ride and could therefore do the kind of law I want to, not the law that pays off law school. That way I could maybe preserve some of why I got into journalism in the first place -- the freedom to kick ass in the name of making the world a better place -- even if I couldn't do satisfying journalism any more.