Advice on entering the Journalism field

and if by aspiring news people you actually mean community journalists, you're 100 percent correct.

 

When I suggested to the youngest Editude that she might consider this crazy field as a major/career, she laughed. And that was 10 years ago. She graduates next month and I am glad she's not embarking on a no-win newspaper gig. At some point some people (not many) will make regular money in journalism, but the pie and the number of slices will both be much smaller.

 

What are these high school guidance counselors telling their students? Im-fucking-possible.

Even more, how can any parent stand by their children and support them as they waste thousands of dollars on a degree that is probably as useless of a degree that you can obtain.

Please, Klasky, don't do it. I graduated from college with the intentions of finding a writing gig, moving out and living the good life. I couldn't have been more wrong on all of those assumptions and hopes.

If you enjoy writing, pursue that as a hobby, but not a career. Talk to your parents, your guidance counselor or your friends and peers. Find out what you enjoy doing and see if you can find another career you'd be better off in.

Speak to your guidance counselor as soon as possible, too. They can offer you endless amounts of information about schools, careers and provide you with people you can speak to about finding a new career.

 

"You like writing, huh? You should go into journalism."

Word-for-fucking-word, all day long.

 

Lol, Guidance counselors provide little to no help, and when they do provide help its often times wrong...

 

I talked to middle schoolers today.

My message: "If you like to write, you can be anything and still be a writer. A lot of doctors write books. If you want to be a pilot, you can write a book about that! You don't have to just be a writer."

 

I don't mean to impose, but I figured it was a valid suggestion. When I was a junior and senior in high school, my guidance counselor was my third parent/one of my best friends. I knew what I wanted to major in in college, but I didn't know where to go, how to go about doing it or what I should expect once I got there. She answered all of those for me.

Sure, some are probably awful, but I find most can be very helpful.

 

Very true, Waylon. Even then, a lot of different industries need people who can write for whatever reason. Businesses need people who can write reports, proposals, etc.

 

No high school counselor I ever met was worth a damn. It was hard enough badgering them to give me the paperwork they HAD to give me -- graduation forms, SAT applications, things like that.

I didn't dare ask them anything, you know, important.

 

I've found through the years that so many of them have low expectations. That goes for some college academic advisors, too.

I've heard of horror stories of college academic advisors giving just awful, awful advice to prospective law school students (Example: "You can't study for the LSAT. You just have to go take it.")

 

lol, yeah...many of them act as if you are bothering them when you come to ask a question. If I payed taxes i would be pretty angry lol.

Often times I know more about the topic i go into discuss, VERY frustrating.

Although im sure in some cases people are lucky enough to get a good one.

 

One bit of advice: Never, ever use 'lol'. I guess it is acceptable when text messaging, but otherwise it is terrible.