This question is for my 19 year old son who is a sophmore at the University of Kentucky. He is currently enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences (GPA 3.50). He started as an English major, switched to a Sociology major and now hasn't got a clue what he wants to do. He is being pushed to declare a major by his advisors and, at nineteen, feels he's being pressured into deciding what he will "do with his life for the next 50 years". He loves college, but hates his classes, most of which are taught by TA's that don't speak english in any manner that he can understand (this is no exaggeration, the university stresses only graduate and research areas of the school, not undergrads, they are left hanging). He's a natural and gifted writer, is a disc jockey and director at the school's radio station and writes for the school newspaper. He's been told by his advisor (in the same college) that a degree from the college of arts and sciences will give him the most latitude in employment, but neither he or I are that sure of that. Can anyone impart what opportunities are out there with a degree in journalism from the college of communications? I feel he could teach, write, work in government, work in entertainment and media. He's was voted most likely to win a Pulitzer prize by his class mates as a Senior in high school. He wants to enjoy his education, not dread it as he does now. Please, help me help him, any ideas and encouragement would be welcome. Thank you.
I don't know about the degree, but... He might want to consider trying to get an internship with NBC or the like over the summer (apply soon). I mention NBC only because I have seen them recruiting for internships, but I am sure others do the same. This would give him a big resume-boost and maybe help him decide.
If he's going into Journalism, I strongly recommend that he go to a B&M school. If he wants to be a "REAL" Journalist - seriously respected in his field - U of MO - Columiba is top-notch. I worked there in the late 80's and it is the top rated J school for a reason. There are no DL options that teach at this level.
Re: I don't know about the degree, but... If I could piggyback on cmt's comment . . . It is my understanding that in the field of journalism it is the internship that makes/breaks programs. Some programs have great connections, some more or less throw the student out the door and say, "Go get yourself an internship!" The connections you make, not to mention what you learn, are invaluable for future employment. I mention this specifically because none of the DL journalism/communication degree programs that I have seen provide any internship opportunities. They seem geared more for people who already are working in that field. As a sidebar, it seems like your son is pretty unhappy at his school. He may want to consider a transfer. Jack
My son is not looking for a DL journalism degree, only switching to the college of journalism within the university. But I thank you for the info on internships. He was recently one of five students chosen to go to New York City at the university's expense to attend a 5 day seminar on journalism and media (he met Yoko Ono and the editor of Rolling Stone magazine, can't remember his name), anyway, this was a very exciting trip and I think he could find internships if they aren't provided. I just thought someone here maybe had a journalism degree and could give some info on careers utilizing that degree.
Ahh.. J-school graduates go on to the careers you might expect, but also: marketing advertising writing public relations training investgations And other assorted communication-related jobs. One thing - few get rich in this field. A person with a journalism master's makes less than I did right out of high school with some computer skills. Still, if he loves it....
Although programs vary, most journalism degrees are a liberal arts degree with a required minor (the intention being that you will gain some expertise in at least one subject on which you might write), plus some "technical" course on publication or media makeup and management. I've worked in the field of journalism for 15 years, and it seems that most of the J-graduates who leave newspaper work go into such jobs as public or media relations, technical writing, teaching or — and don't say you weren't warned — law. These are fields that particularly value interviewing, researching and writing skills, and they also tend to offer higher wages than journalism (although I know lots of editors with salaries equal to attorneys). But, based on your original message, I personally would avoid spending time in a journalism program at any school where courses are taught by people who "don't speak English in any manner that he can understand." Lastly, if I were to do it again, I would skips the journalism degree and instead major in business or political science, then minor in journalism. I'd still be in the same line of work, but I think I'd be "more smarter." Good luck, Dan
Thanks Dan. The kid was actually leaning toward law in the beginning of college after being in the National High School Mock Trial Assoc. Went all the way to the state finals defending a "mock" murder defendent in real courtrooms in front of real judges(won 5 out of 6 decisions!). Went to work in a law firm as a runner (still there) and found that real lawyers have "boring" jobs, this was announced to me last month. Now he doesn't want to be a lawyer, so maybe he's just working backwards from your experience. I have suggested political science on several occassions, no response from him. At least I'm not facing the financing of a 40,000 law degree anymore.
I went to a liberal arts school and concentrated on music and philosophy, with no particular clue what to do thereafter. However, music journalism -- i.e., criticism as it is practiced in newspapers, magazines, and on radio -- coalesced into my career after college, and continues to be a big part of my life. From this grew other types of paid writing also. How? Because I wrote and broadcast in college as much as possible, gaining experience and a level of comfort with deadline work, but equally because I was developing an expertise in musicology. The rest was just getting a few breaks to prove myself. My advice for your son is to keep doing his work at the school radio station, a great training ground, and to continue writing regularly for a college paper or magazine. Together these will form his apprenticeship: he can make his journalistic mistakes and be forgiven, and he'll have a great time at it. College radio stations and newspapers are excellent non-academic learning environments in the US and Canada. At the same time, I would encourage him to avoid j-school for now and instead pursue another major that interests him. If within that major he can carve out an area of knowledge that is a bit specialized, or offbeat, this would be even better. A fine entree into some branch of journalism or paid writing is a specialist's knowledge coupled with a generalist's use of language. Overall, I quite agree with Dan's post. Peter
I went to a liberal arts school and concentrated on music and philosophy, with no particular clue what to do thereafter. However, music journalism -- i.e., criticism as it is practiced in newspapers, magazines, and on radio -- coalesced into my career after college, and continues to be a big part of my life. From this grew other types of paid writing also. How? Because I wrote and broadcast in college as much as possible, gaining experience and a level of comfort with deadline work, but equally because I was developing an expertise in musicology. The rest was just getting a few breaks to prove myself. My advice for your son is to keep doing his work at the school radio station, a great training ground, and to continue writing regularly for a college paper or magazine. Together these will form his apprenticeship: he can make his journalistic mistakes and be forgiven, and he'll have a great time at it. College radio stations and newspapers are excellent non-academic learning environments in the US and Canada. At the same time, I would encourage him to avoid j-school for now and instead pursue another major that interests him. If within that major he can carve out an area of knowledge that is a bit specialized, or offbeat, this would be even better. A fine entree into some branch of journalism or paid writing is a specialist's knowledge coupled with a generalist's use of language. Overall, I quite agree with Dan's post. Peter
Thanks Kristian - I do think that working at the radio station, and being paid as a director there, and at the law firm is giving him enormous training at the age of 19. He's already starting to do research and comparisons of depositions at the law firm and is hiring and training the student dj's at the college station. At the newspaper he writes but also is a copy editor (not paid). His two roomies are majoring in partying and can barely scrape up the rent every month. However, he feels that his college classes have been a waste, are not challenging (other than trying to translate the broken english of the instructors) and is so discouraged right now. Thank you for all the input.
My advice is to declare a major in the subject he enjoys most without making a definate career choice at 19. He will likely need graduate school anyway when he does have a better idea want he wants to do with his life. The subjects he enjoys now will lead to careers he will enjoy in the future.
Can You Really Teach It? Hi: I came across your post about your son. Tell him not to feel bad. My advice is for him to follow his passion. I didn't go to college...I went to Syracuse And I've been working in the TV News biz for a realtively long time. You can't really learn news reporting in a classroom. You can only learn from experience. That's to be distinguished from writing & production techniques which can be taught in a classroom. In any case, my belief is that it should be illegal to major solely in journalism or communications or television or some such discipline. A minor...OK. A dual major...maybe. But he should take the opportunity to see what he can learn in college and to have some fun. If he wants to go into journalism or some other form of media, the major matters a lot less than what he gets out of the classes. And he'll get the most out of things he enjoys and that capture his interest. The intenships are also very useful...IF you get the right ones. He's on the right track seeking them in NYC. (Although he'll have more hands-on opportunities in small markets). We just lost our intern...a gem...from the U of Ohio who helped me a great deal with a piece that happened to air this morning about a Pentagon official with a degree from Columbus U. If he has any questions about the business, I'd be glad to talk to him. Feel free to drop me an email. And by the way, when I was in college, I learned the most from working at the college radio station. I also had a ot of fun and made good friends. Good luck, --Allen Allen Levine Consumer/Investigative Producer Good Morning America ABC 147 Columbus Ave. 5th Floor New York, NY 10023 212-456-5955 [email protected]
