Installment 2: What do you think about an English BA from UCLA?

Very good, thank you. I'm going to ask her that tomorrow. I'm afraid her answer might be "journalist" which is akin to picking up a guitar and saying I want to be a rockstar, or buying a lottery ticket and saying I'm going to be a millionaire. It is possible, but the chances are low in all cases.

 

A few things come to mind:
1. When I was in my 20s, I picked up a clearance copy of a book called "How to Beat the System". . . it was about succeeding in college. I didn't have enough discipline to make use of it, but I did read a little. One of the most interesting things they had to say in the bit I read was that English majors throw the best parties.
2. I think most posters here are mid-career adults who know full well people change gears, and that having any degree (or at least starting college) is better than complete inaction. She might change majors later, or. . . heaven help us, drop out like many of us did, go back in later and major in something else. Thankfully, she'd at least have some coursework behind her.
3. Worst case, you could always pull the old-fashioned, heavy-handed "I'm paying for this, so you'll have to" bit and insist she take the major of your choice. Not recommended, though, as this approach hasn't worked with kids for about the last 15 or so years now.

 

I just remembered that my 7th grade English teacher (who was also my 8th grade home room teacher as well as my football coach) had his undergrad degree in English (granted it was from Harvard) and later went on to medical school. He's now a very successful psychiatrist in Western Massachusetts.

 

Not necessarily. I worked as a journalist for more than 20 years. I didn't make much money at it, but I supported my family and enjoyed my work.

 

Journalism is a dying field....I often shake my head at the atrocious writing and blatant inaccuracies in newspaper columns these days.

 

You're touching on one of my favorite soapboxes.

Journalism has been a dying art form, a discipline in decline for at least 20 years now. As a youngster, I was intrigued with the field and headed in that direction until I got interested in computers. It's probably a good thing I got distracted, given what has happened to traditional print journalism itself in the last 10 years or so.

To the purist, journalism should be unbiased reporting of events, the five basics: who, what, where, when and "who told you so". No one seems to hold to any of that anymore. Much of it is sensationalist, slanted, opinionated entertainment masquerading as "news". While I appreciate the Internet making information available, it has opened the floodgates to infinite numbers of people who shouldn't even be near keyboards, let alone masquerading as "journalists".

Thanks for getting me worked up. I'll step off my soapbox now.

 

I would concur with the suggestion that the field of law would be an excellent extension of an English undergrad. My wife, an attorney, received her undergrad in journalism. That undergrad served her well in law school and beyond.

As a side note, UCLA has always been one of my favorite schools thanks mostly to Bill Walton, one of my boyhood heroes. Congrats to your family.

 

So he went into psychiatry after he had you as a student? Hmmm :stups:

 

Hahaha!! Yeah, he did.....all of us in my home room pitched in to buy him a stethoscope as a going-to-medical-school farewell gift.

 

People still read newspapers?

 

I won't repeat everyting I just wrote on another thread, but I responded on the one about half of college graduates being unemployed, and "is there any use in going to college" (or something like that).

I would not be happy if my children wanted to major in English unless they could tell me exactly where they hoped that would lead them. If, for example she wanted to be a high school English teacher, or had some other career in mind where this would be appropriate, I would listen.

If she does well at UCLA, this will lead to other opportunities including assistantships/fellowships at good grad schools if she wants to continue. Others have suggested she go on to grad school and I agree, as long as part of her goal is to do well enough so that she won't incur more cost at the grad level.

I think the bottom line is talk to her and ask her exactly where she expects her degree to take her. If she has a reasonable outlook, then it is fine if she pursues it. If she is taking it because she is expected to go to college, happy to be at UCLA and loves English, well that would not be enough for me, as a parent, even though I really didn't pay for my kids' educations, for the most part.

In the other mentioned thread, I mentioned my younger Princeton graduate is majoring in Asian Cultures. I had the same concern at first, but she is working on her Ph.D. now on assistantships/fellowships (not incurring more debt) and it has become rather evident she will have plenty of work opportunities in her field.

 

It just goes to show you that we don't really know, we can guess, but we can't see the future to know what is best for our kids.

 

Online for free.

I couldn't tell you the last time I bought an actual newspaper, because it's not worth the 75 cents to read poorly written, inaccurate, and ridiculously biased tripe.

 

I agree. With the advent of the Internet, I am not as tolerant of biased reporting because we have so many sources and can verify facts. I remember my dad read the newspaper because that was the only source of news. Like you, I don't have time to read all that garbage.

 

This will make me sound like an old man, but back when I went through journalism school injecting your opinion in your report was not allowed. Your paper would be marked with a big red "F" with a notation that read "EDITORIALIZING."

I earned awards for my reporting, and helped the reporters under me with their writing, reporting and anchoring. Some of the reporters that worked under me went on to work for organizations like ABC, Fox, and CNN. I worked for CBS, Fox, and a national radio news network. I didn't like where I saw the business was heading, was burned out on the work, and ultimately had to leave for a higher-paying job in another field after my wife became disabled.

 

Amen to that. My 8th grade journalism teacher would have done the same.

 

Despite having years of experience doing technical writing I cannot easily get into the field without having an English degree. Technical writing is HUGE in certain areas and most entry-level jobs start around $50k if you've got an English degree. A Sr. writer at Microsoft, for example, makes about $130k. Not too shabby for those with English degrees.

I'm starting my college journey here because I feel pressured to have a degree--not because I actually WANT one. I will be pursuing an English degree.

I always believed that if you went to college you should do so for what you want to learn and study. You shouldn't do it for what you'll earn later. Also consider that most people do not have jobs that relate at all to their college degrees. Further, most jobs don't directly relate to a college degree.