Advice for someone without a degree

You should get the four-year degree, even if for no other reason than that you will be glad you did.

That said, you should try to get the degree in something other than journalism. Seriously.

I have a journalism degree, and, to this day, I'm happy and proud that I got it. But now I look back and also wish that I'd gotten it in business instead.

 

It's actually less of a must than it used to be.

Become proficient in social media and online publishing, and you'll have a leg up on the competition.

 

I answered with regard to a degree because that's what the thread asked for. But jr/shotglass is absolutely right.

 

And my thinking on my journalism degree is exactly like yours, Write. I'm proud I got it, but I wish I'd gotten it in business.

 

Thank you guys for all of the advice that you shared

 

I am two semesters shy of my degree in English and am finding it tough to break back into the industry after being out of it for nearly 10 years. I have what I believe are good clips, in both sports and features, as well as some travel stories/reviews, but I can't seem to get past the application process. I also have extensive experience in social media and online publishing yet I'm being told I'm being passed over in favor of those with less experience who have a degree.

I think 10 to 15 years ago, or more, when some of you were getting into the industry a degree wasn't quite necessary and people were willing to look past it in favor of experience. Now? Not so much.

 

I would enroll in classes even if it's through University of Phoenix or one of those schools and put on your resume that you're "continuing to work toward your degree"

If they ask you about it, I would be vague and say, "I'm working on finishing my degree." They don't have to know if it's through night school or whatever.

How close are you to being finished?

 

I don't think it's the degree -- or the lack thereof -- that's hurting you. It's an age thing. It sounds like you're over 30, and, in journalism today, that's not a good thing.

 

I find this topic very interesting, since I also don't have a degree but have worked in journalism now for 25 years, starting at 19. At the time, I had a chance to work full time at a small paper and jumped on it, hoping the experience in my resume would trump the lack of a degree. At that time, college wasn't going to help me anymore.

Over the years, I went from writing to editing/layout and now graphic design/layout and the career opportunities were always there. In my job hunting over the years, the toughest part was getting the interview/tryout. Once I got that, I almost always got the job. As for the degree, I never mentioned it in interviews except one time, in a tryout on the copy desk at the Times-Union in Albany. The person mentioned college and I told her I didn't finish. I didn't have to say that. She basically asked where I went to college, so I could have said that and not added the graduating part. Big mistake. She wasn't the person who brought me in for the tryout. The look on her face said it all. I was doomed. Despite nailing the tryout over 2 nights (the copy desk chief even said he would push for me) I didn't get the job. They never even called me. I got 2 nights pay in the mail and that was it. Turned out, it was fine, as they had mass layoffs 6 months later anyways.

The degree came up only one other time when I was directly asked, and the editor said "no big deal" and I eventually got that job.

One final thought, on job hunting, to the person quoted here. I've found over the years when you're dealing with HR, you're doomed. They are trained to look for that degree. Whenever I saw an ad saying send resume to HR, I eliminated that job. A few times, I went past HR and contacted someone in the newsroom, telling them I'd rather have a name to who I was sending information to. The good news is in most cases in newspapers and publishing, you're dealing with an editor 1-on-1, which always worked well for me. So, I'd skip the online job applications, find a contact with jobs inside the building, and go that route. It doesn't always work, but trust me, sending an online application in to HR is a waste of time in most cases. Even if you have a degree, most people apply this way and they get hundreds of resumes. What are your odds? But if you go around them, and contact someone inside the newsroom, they might send you to someone in editorial who will direct you to a person deciding the job. And in that case, you might even get bonus points for being aggressive enough to find out who is running the show inside instead of just sending a resume to HR.

 

Advice for someone without a degree? Get one.

I went back to school in 2005. Doubled my pre-BA salary in 2007. Have since tripled it.

Best decision ever.

 

I would love to get a BA if I could figure out how to fast-track it - like two years or less.

I'm just not inclined to spend four years in a classroom at my age and with my experience.

 

There are schools out there that do accelerated BAs and others that give credit for work/life experience, though the range of majors you find with the former might be limited. For example:
https://succeed.creighton.edu/programs/undergrad-programs/accelerated-degrees
http://www.bellevue.edu/ways-to-learn/accelerated-bachelors-degrees-programs.aspx

I'm not sure what options are available up your way, so you may have to shop around. Exactly how long it takes you depends on how much college credit you have and how much time you can put toward pursuing the degree -- one or two classes a semester while working full-time obviously will take you longer than a couple years. As for classroom time, that's optional. An aunt of mine got her degree online and never set foot on campus until the day she picked up her diploma.