J-school: Worth it?

Ace · Dec 8, 2008

franticscribe said:

It's ridiculous to say that a graduate degree in journalism is a waste of money. It may not be the best decision for many people, including many who are in graduate programs now, but there are situations in which it is worthwhile.

For people who want to teach journalism at a college level, it has become a basic requirement. So it isn't a waste for them.

For people who want to go into a specialized area of journalism, such as medical reporting, the masters can give them an entry into that which you aren't going to get at the Bumfuck Daily Bugle. So it isn't a waste for them.

There's also a pretty strong argument that graduate school is a decent place to weather the economic storm going on right now. That depends on your financial situation, whether the program you're interested in is throwing money your way and a host of other factors. But when the jobs go away, it isn't necessarily a bad thing to go back and get more training while waiting for the economy to recover.

There's a lot of negativity in the industry right now, understandably, as it goes through a paradigm shift. Clearly we've had a tough few years and the worst is still ahead. But the simple fact is that people crave information now more than ever, as they've gotten used to having enormous amounts available at their fingertips. People who can provide reliable information are going to be in demand and eventually -- on the other side of this paradigm shift -- someone will figure out how to make money from that demand. Going to school to understand better how to deliver information is not exactly a waste of money if you've got nothing else to do.
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I think that graduate school in journalism could be a good investment if they were teaching you what you need to know for the future of the biz and giving you the skills that employers crave.

But I think schools are way behind in this area, employers mainly seem to crave fewer, cheaper employees and no one seems to know what the future is.

But I still say a graduate degree is a great investment -- if you get it in business or political science or something other than journalism.

BYH · Dec 8, 2008

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

mike311gd · Dec 8, 2008

BYH said:

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
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What's the matter, BYH, record store all out of ABBA?

Bullwinkle · Dec 8, 2008

BYH said:

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
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BYH,

Run, run, run, run, run, run, run ... away.

Psycho Dream killer.

RossLT · Dec 8, 2008

Had a guy at the paper I worked for (17k daily) who had a Masters in Journalism from Northwestern and that was his SECOND job, first was at a 5k weekly somewhere. That answer any questions?

forever_town · Dec 8, 2008

franticscribe said:

forever_town said:

If you had a J-degree and are going for a master's in journalism or if you have four years' experience at a daily, you'd still have to take a class in which you "learn" the basics, same as those who don't have a journalism background. For people with experience, it sucks.
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That's not necessarily true forever_town. I'm a newspaper vet (six years + undergrad j-degree) in a masters program. I'm not required to take any courses that cover the basics. My program has a way for people with experience to opt out of the entry level skills classes.
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It is for the J-school I was looking at.

Though there's another one relatively nearby that I've heard has a bit more of the prior learning component.

Starman · Dec 8, 2008

At this point, getting a degree in journalism at all is idiocy.

My J-school keeps sending me letters to get me to donate. You'd think after 25 years and not having sent them a nickel, they'd get the message, but they still keep sending the letters.

Last time, I sent them a letter back:

"If you had any particular concern over the personal and professional futures of your students, you would shut down the School of Journalism immediately (in fact, you would have done so about 15 years ago). Does our university offer undergraduate degrees in horse-and-buggy construction? Of course it doesn't. Think about it."

RTJ · Dec 8, 2008

My only worthwhile J-school class was Magazine Writing. Everything else was learned at the college paper or stringing for the daily.

playthrough · Dec 8, 2008

I try to go the other way here. Look at your average school's list of majors and you'll find a lot that don't exactly have a cornucopia of ready-made jobs waiting for graduates. An English Literature degree is more useful than Journalism?

Of course, I'll have a kid in college in 15 years. She and I will have a long talk if she wants to go into a j-school. But I'm not going to laugh her out of the room.

mustangj17 · Dec 8, 2008

I'm getting my masters but it definitely wont be in journalism. It's going to have to be all that crappy web design and coding crap so I can have a job in 5 years. Wait. Five months.

2muchcoffeeman · Dec 8, 2008

DCguy said:

Several friends of mine started in journalism grad school in September. We've been debating this for a while, but I never brought it on here.

With newspapers and magazines struggling so much, and no clear end in sight, are there any benefits in going to a J-school? Or does the year or two of extra college loans just pile on more debt and delay the inevitability of struggling?
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Tell them to find a new major quickly.

deskslave · Dec 8, 2008

playthrough said:

I try to go the other way here. Look at your average school's list of majors and you'll find a lot that don't exactly have a cornucopia of ready-made jobs waiting for graduates. An English Literature degree is more useful than Journalism?

Of course, I'll have a kid in college in 15 years. She and I will have a long talk if she wants to go into a j-school. But I'm not going to laugh her out of the room.
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With any luck, in 15 years J-schools will be teaching useful and relevant skills and it won't seem like such a terrible idea.

But let's just say I'm not holding my breath.

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