SurfDoctor needs your advice about his daughter at UCLA.

I asked for opinions a couple of weeks ago about my daughter going for an English major at UCLA where she was just accepted. Now she tells me that she has decided to go for journalism instead. To me, this is no better than an English major. I was hoping for maybe marketing, or something like that. Maybe something in the medical field.

Here's where I need your advice. Do I support her decision to follow her dreams and use (waste?) her time and money to go for a journalism major? Or should I jump in and say "Honey, you are wasting your time and money because a journalism bachelor's will probably not land you a job"? I am torn.

 

I use this handbook. Maybe she can compare it and see where the job and money is. A-Z Index : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics good luck!

 

I would let her make her own choices and maybe she will change her mind...maybe she will become a Pulitzer Prize winner writer/journalist.

Disclaimer - I don't have kids so my views might be different

 

Tell her about my sibling who got bachelor's degrees in Asian studies, Japanese and comparative literature from a large state university but still had to go back to grad school in a different field to get real employment.

Journalism sounds like a nice minor.

 

We often make the important decisions for our children and when it is time for them to make decisions that matter they are ill equipped.

Stop giving advice, how do you know that you are right? What if you are wrong? What happens when a year down the road, after taking your advice, she is completely miserable? Only she knows what she wants to achieve and what has led her to make her decision.

 

I'm only 25 so I don't considered myself to far removed from the point of where your daughter is. From the child point of view I am pretty glad my parents gave me advice about school. With that said, I would NOT force it upon her. You have a TON of more wisdom and knowledge that she doesn't. It's not "ohh ok, she's 18...time for us to leave her alone". Don't take that to the opposite end of the spectrum by "babying" her though.

Sit here down. Tell her your opinion, show her why you have that opinion (stats, or whatever), and then let it go. If she understands and agrees then BINGO. If she understands and disagrees...still a BINGO cause at least she would have been informed. The important part is her understanding.

Students change their major ALL the time. Just cause she starts out as one thing doesn't mean she will continue down that path. That holds true for journalism, english, marketing, and everything else. You would be doing you AND her a diservice if you didn't say something.

 

The best piece of advice I can give is also the best piece of advice I ever received as an undergrad.

Tell your daughter to major in what she desires BUT pick a PRACTICAL minor. For instance, she could be a journalism major, but a computer science minor. Perhaps she could pick an in-demand foreign language as her minor. This would have the additional effect of making her more marketable as an international journalist.

Also, have her go to the journalism department to find out what the job prospects were for the students who have graduated from their program over the last 2-3 years. Doing this will give her a more realistic understanding of what her future options are.

 

Perhaps she could do a double major, journalism and something employable. I had a dual major in college, Biblical Studies and Philosophy and yes I have employers beating a path to my door killing each other to pay me truckloads of money (sarcasm). The only advice I got from my father was that maybe I should take a different second major to fall back on. Well, it has been 20+ years and I really wish I would have take his advice. Let her peruse her passion and dream, but see if she is willing to take a dose of real world common sense. Maybe she could double in Business and Journalism, Information Systems and Journalism. Ultimately, it is her decision because if she does not want to study the subject it will be miserable for all and her GPA may suffer.

 

It sounds like you have received some great advice so far. Is it possible that for her first year she could enroll as an undeclared major while taking her gen eds? I had a friend who wanted to major in one thing, and her parents wanted another, so for the first year she got all of her gen ed credits out of the way while visiting the different departments of interest on campus before making a decision and declaring a major her sophmore year. The best of luck to you, no matter what approach you take. You sound like a great dad.:smile:

 

What Julie said seems like really good advice.

I have 6 kids and so far my 20 year old has not gone to college but decided to do an internship and a drug rehab. This has been a great decision for him. If he goes to school it will probably be at a JC at his own expense. He's pretty much on his own right now and I only Offer advice when asked.

My 17 year old has been told that if his athletic scholarship doesn't come through then he will either go to a JC for a few years and then a state school that we can afford. He will take his general education for the first few years and then decide what he wants to do. He has a 81 average over the course of his high school career at a very tough academic private school.

Each kid is different. I'm Sure one our more studious kids will have a clearer plan for their college education. They may be more decisive than my older boys and I would accommodate that the best I can according to their ability and what is financially practical.

As long as I'm paying I will have a strong say in the situation but not total control over every aspect. If I had fewer kids a school like UCLA might be a possibility. As is stands now that's out of the question for us.

 

I disagree with some of my fellow posters. I'm going to argue this a little differently. I don't mean any offense by this but my take diverges from some of the advice given above.

Your the Dad and you have a responsibility to guide your daughter. She should be able to rely on you and her Mother above anyone else for advice and guidance. failure to share your concerns and feelings on this subject with her would be to fail her as a parent. I don't mean that you should coerce her into anything...but a frank, open, and honest discussion that centers on what is best for her is the very least you can do. At the same time I wouldn't over-think it too much.

Even with a liberal studies degree of some sort she will be in the upper 30% or so of all the people in the US Newsroom: Education: Bachelor's Degree Attainment Tops 30 Percent for the First Time, Census Bureau Reports So maybe she never wins a Pulitzer, she will still be more educated and arguably more capable than the bulk of her contemporaries. You can also point out that to be a good journalist/writer she needs to expose herself to EVERYTHING. Statistics, chemistry, business, medicine, music, engineering...she will need a touch of all this to become a great writer with something important to say. Do your research and have some valid options and facts to share.

She's no dummy...she has you for a Dad and a golden ticket to a top US school. With a little guidance you will be right to expect great things from that little girl.

In my mind it's not just that you can have discussions on this matter...it's that you have a RESPONSIBILITY to do so.

Best,
Mike

 

As a journalist she should be able to do research. Have her check the placement statistics for the UCLA journalism program. Are journalism major's accepting jobs as journalist, writers, etc? Or are they falling into that amorphous blob of liberal arts and social science majors that accept any job that comes along so they are employed? Is she decidedly liberal? Can she employ snark, ignore contrary opinion in order to push an agenda, and will she conveniently ignore arguements that prove counter to her political beliefs? (She'll fit right in with todays "journalists").

If she wants to be a writer she should just start a blog and start writing her own stories. Keep it as a hobby and earn a living in some other way. Is she going to school for the olden days ideal? i.e liberal education to be a well rounded individual and student of the world? Or is she hoping to get a job? She will need skills that an employer actually wants. That means STEM. Otherwise she will be wasting time.

Don't lie to your daughter. Hopefully you have built up a reputation with her as a straight shooter. Explain what the world is like right now. Have her take a statistics course first before all others so that she understand large numbers and normal distributions so that when some stranger on the street says, "My niece is a Journalism major and she makes a $100K a year writing about teddy bears and cooking shows", she does not take ancedotal evidence over large number reality.

Do what you feel is right taking in todays situation, taking into account your Daughters personality, learning style, future time orientation and whether or not she will accept advice.

Good luck to you and your daughter!

 

So far you have received great advices; however, it depends on who pays for the tuition. If you're paying for it, then you have to expect her college degree must have a great return on investment. If she is old enough to determine her future; then let her decide on her own. Sometimes her passion does not bring a bright future. Just likes Kelly Space, a Northestern University's Bachelor degree in Sociology holder with $200,000.000 student loan. I would recommend you to do a little research on different majors that she is interesting in. Then point out the pro/con of differences.

Another factor that upon graduation from UCLA, she must be on her own...cannot rely on you for future finance.

 

An acquaintance of mine (we attended junior high together) graduated a few years back with a journalism degree. I don't think he has been able to hold a job for more than 6 months without layoffs (not performance related, to my knowledge), and most of the time has been spent in unemployment. This guy didn't attend UCLA (he graduated from a CSU school), but he is quite sharp. He was active in college with the newspaper, does social media, etc. The jobs just aren't there. Newspapers are either downsizing or dying, and broadcast media is limited.

I know I can't generalize from this example, but I hate to see people going into journalism for this very reason. An English degree might even be better because one could take a few extra steps to become certified to teach (even though this is becoming less attractive with budget cuts and regulations).

I would advise her to look at the job statistics for the field, to talk to some recent graduates, etc.

If she still is willing, I say let her go. She is much better off with a degree of any kind than no degree at all, and a good way to make her become a drop out is to have her major in a field she doesn't want to pursue.

 

UCLA does not offer a Journalism Major. They do offer an interdisciplinary Communications major. The Major — Communication Studies
Before offering her any advice I'd become familiar with the various options within that degree. There is certainly room within that degree to develop additional interests/minor etc...I'm not saying this to be a smart ass, but rather to get across the point that she will likely take your advice if you know what you are talking about regarding that specific degree and which courses are offered. I say this from experience. Good luck Dad!

 

This is exactly what I have been thinking. I think it's a bad idea, but what do I know?

 

Thank you. I really value your opinion because you are the same generation as her, this gives me insight into how she might think. She is actually 23.

 

Good stuff, thank you.

 

Surf,

I'm sending you a PM about my response...

 

She could always minor in something too. I remember reading a story a while ago that asked some big-name journalists how they got their start. One was a journalism major who also minored in economics or finance, and that gave him an advantage over other journalists when it came to reporting business news. I believe he writes for the Financial Times or the Economist now.

FWIW, a good freind of mine was an English major with a minor in business. He went on to work for Vanguard, and now manages one of the largest university endowments in the country.