J-school: Worth it?

There is one exception - Columbia University.

To me, it's the one route, and I'm including the old-fashioned ladder to the top, that would seem to give a 22-year-old a fighting chance these days.

That depends, of course, what your career goals are. If you want to win Pulitzers or work at SI, go there. If you want to be a college or pro beat writer or write for Yahoo or Rivals.com, don't waste your time.

 

To me, the biggest problem isn't what they teach. Columbia, obviously, churns out great journalists. World-class journalists.

The problem to me is the cost. I can see paying big money for a top-shelf JD, MBA or MD. But not for a journalism MA or MS.

I've said this before and I'll reiterate it. A JD should be the new journalism graduate degree. It costs more, of course, but at least there are other, lucrative options available to you in the event you don't become Jeffrey Toobin (and, to cut that criticism off at the pass, I realize that there are plenty of law schools that are as big of a racket as journalism graduate programs. More even).

 

Same here.

My journalism teacher in high school was journalism minor at the same J-School I attended, and she basically taught me everything there was to know that you can teach about journalism. So when I got to J-School, I was highly disappointed because I wasn't taught much that I didn't already wasn't aware of.

There were only three classes I thought were worth it -- Magazine Journalism, Journalsim History and Journalism Law. My first newspaper journalism class was Intro To Journalistic Writing. We learned how to write ledes and shit like that, which was a complete joke to me because I had started stringer work for a daily when I was in high school, so I'd already been doing that for three years.

Even when newspapers were successful, I'm not sure journalism as a major was necessary. It's truly a field where you learn from on-the-job experience more than in the classroom.

And now that the industry is dying, I think anyone pursuing a degree in journalism should be issued a strait-jacket and a padded room, because you are certifiable.

 

Mag writing, Intro to Newswriting, Mass Comm Law, Editing.

Only classes you need. And trust me, the last one is as needed as the other three. There are some really sucktastic copy editors out there.

 

One of these monthly "I learned everything I needed to know on the school paper!! Grad school SUCKS!!!!!" threads should be pinned at the top of the page. Saves the trouble of repeating the same blanket statements over and over again.

School is what you make of it. Major in what suits you best, if you do choose higher education.

And no one's individual experience with a guy who went to a big school but has a crappy job, or a dude who went to a small school but now covers the Knicks, means a damn thing to someone else's situation.

Do what is best for yourself. And get the hell away from newspapers.

 

Yes, that pretty much covers it.

Meanwhile, you may be assured that not all of us are as fatalistic about the future of journalism as our friend Mizzou.

 

While we are speaking of grad school... does anyone know about any programs or certificate programs at any universities that focus on digital media? Digital reporting, database reporting, audio/video editing, html, flash... all that stuff?

I've found some that focus more on video game design and I feel that's a waste. I've also found some certificate programs from community colleges but I feel like if I'm spending money on 30 plus more credit hours, I better get my masters out of it.

And online programs aren't out of the question since I would rather keep my only source of income. In fact, they seem to be a top option right now.

 

In my neck of the woods, Elon has launched a masters in Interactive Media that fits much of what you're talking about, except it's full-time and in person

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/communications/interactive_media/

Its nearest competitor, is preparing an online masters focused on digital media geared for part-time students. It's not up and running just yet, although my understanding is that it will be soon:

http://www.jomc.unc.edu/the_news/school_news/school_receives_grant_to_explore_online_masters_degree_program_925_2.html

 

Which would be??? Banking? Real estate? Retail? Automotive? Is there any industry that isn't hurting right now?

 

Ditto. My family was actually taking bets at my grad party on how long it was going to take me to go back to school. By that time, I was sick of school, lecture, exams, quizzes, enrollment, the college newspaper, everything. I told my mom to take the NEVER bet.

They actually still don't understand that I don't work an 8-5 job. I'm serious. I've attempted to explain to them that I go in in the late afternoon and work until the morning but THEY JUST DON'T GET IT. It's infuriating. Then again, I'm the youngest in the family and I'm convinced that most of them still see me as a seven-year-old.

My E1 class was the best class ever. Our professor drilled us so much on crap that we never thought we'd need to know, like state abbreviations for datelines, how to write an address, etc., not to mention all of the grammar stuff that we had forgotten since eighth grade to the point that I don't even need to reach for an AP stylebook for most of my writing stuff.

My advice (and you can take this with a grain of salt, I've been out of school for all of six months) is to take classes on several different things and major in something else. You can still take j-school classes and not be in the actual school. I would add to 2mcm's list a design course. Learning how to design - especially across different platforms, like InDesign and Quark - can be a major bargaining tool when you're looking to get out there. I know that's what got me hired at my current job. Knowing how to do it all: copy-editing, writing, designing and bonus points if you can take pictures and/or wrangle a video camera is a major thing employers are looking for now. We shouldn't HAVE to know it all, but knowing how to do everything definitely helps your portfolio and makes you a better candidate for almost any job.

 

I will say this about an advanced degree in journalism.

While I don't believe the experience makes you an appreciably better journalist, it CAN open doors at the middle-management level. I think many people would be surprised at how often that M.A. tips the scales in a sports editor opening. (Not at a 7K daily, mind you, but somewhere larger.)

 

I'll have to dig up the Columbia booklet I have somewhere (I strongly considered it at some point).

The curriculum is outstanding. Investigative Reporting. Police Reporting. Long-form Feature Writing.

And on and on and on.

I know you can get that experience "on the job." But the truth is, and maybe this will come off as elitist, you're going to, in general, be better trained for it by someone who won Polks and Pulitzers at the Washington Post than you are from a lifer at a 10K community paper. Someone who actually wants to train you and is there to train you.