J-school: Worth it?

[WaylonJennings]

I honestly think journalism schools are still valuable (And no, I didn't pick the wrong week to stop sniffing glue). Regardless of the challenges our industry is currently facing, journalism itself will continue. And someone is going to have to teach it.

For most working journalists with no aspirations of teaching, I have to agree that a Master's is pretty worthless. What's worse are those job candidates who honestly think an advanced degree trumps legit experience and natural ability.

If a school does it right, though, the advanced degree comes with "legit experience." Go look at Northwestern's Medill grad program Web site. That's all they do is get field experience. They even have their own wire service, I believe. It's not like you're sitting in a classroom talking about "A Few Good Men" for two years.

Also, an advanced degree and "natural ability" are not mutually exclusive. So save that. Most people working on an advanced degree probably have some natural ability, or at least the equivalent of it by now.

All valid points. But don't you mean "All the President's Men"?

Ha!

Of course

 

[txsportsscribe]

from experience, i would say going for a master's in journalism was a big waste since my bachelor's was also in journalism. and if you want to teach, especially at a college, you're more than likely going to need a doctoral degree instead of a master's. even many community colleges are requiring that doctoral degree. and if you want to teach at a high school, even with a master's in journalism you're still going to need the education classes or an alternative certification.

 

[mustangj17]

There are a lot of things you can do with a master's that aren't just journalism, even if that is what your master's is in.
Education is never a bad thing or a bad investment.
That said, I would major in something else if I had it to do over again, but I will be glad I have the framed piece of paper my entire life, even if there are times I wish different words were written on it.

One of the few things you can't pursue while keeping your day job. And a nice year of unpaid work; A.K.A. student teaching.

 

[In Exile]

Since no field is immune to hard times, layoffs and cutbacks right now, J-school is hardly a worse bet than a grad degree in anything else - ask my neighbor, the virtually unemployed attorney who has no prospects right now or in the foreseeable future and is thinking of doing construction. So the real question is "Grad school: worth it?"

I think the answer is yes, because for the next two years you'll be pretty insulated. And if you get lucky you might graduate just as (name the profession) comes out of the doldrums. You'll be cheaper and more attractive than someone who used to work in the field but has had to spend the last two years driving nails and now wants to get back in.

 

[txsportsscribe]

Since no field is immune to hard times, layoffs and cutbacks right now, J-school is hardly a worse bet than a grad degree in anything else - ask my neighbor, the virtually unemployed attorney who has no prospects right now or in the foreseeable future and is thinking of doing construction. So the real question is "Grad school: worth it?"

I think the answer is yes, because for the next two years you'll be pretty insulated. And if you get lucky you might graduate just as (name the profession) comes out of the doldrums. You'll be cheaper and more attractive than someone who used to work in the field but has had to spend the last two years driving nails and now wants to get back in.

you won't be insulated against your bills

 

[WaylonJennings]

Since no field is immune to hard times, layoffs and cutbacks right now, J-school is hardly a worse bet than a grad degree in anything else - ask my neighbor, the virtually unemployed attorney who has no prospects right now or in the foreseeable future and is thinking of doing construction.

Where did he go to school? That's a huge deal in law and business. All JDs were not created equally.

 

[beeranyone]

I think J-School is worth it. Provided they train you beyond the printed form. The skills you learn--expression of ideas, investigation, networking--are valuable whether you want to be a writer/editor or not. I know plenty of J-schoolers who ended up big time lawyers; same skills.

 

[Blitz]

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?

No longer worth it.
Sad, but true.

 

[In Exile]

Since no field is immune to hard times, layoffs and cutbacks right now, J-school is hardly a worse bet than a grad degree in anything else - ask my neighbor, the virtually unemployed attorney who has no prospects right now or in the foreseeable future and is thinking of doing construction.

Where did he go to school? That's a huge deal in law and business. All JDs were not created equally.

Duh? No shirt. Not everyone goes to Harvard. Or works corporate. And in many states in this country, the median salary for an attorney, no matter what the focus of their practice, is not much over $50,000 - not the average, the MEDIAN, which means half above, half below. My neighbor, in a rural state, does mostly family law, a little litigation, a little criminal, and some real estate closings and the like. And guess what? No one is paying now.

 

[jambalaya]

No one else has weighed in.

Columbia: Exception? No?

I don't see how Columbia is appreciably better than Northwestern or Syracuse, no. Not sure why you're pimping the place so hard.

These might be a few answers:

Notable alumni

* Gabriele Marcotti, Sports Writer

Margot Adler, anchor, National Public Radio

* Leonard Apcar, chief editor for Asia, International Herald Tribune; former editor-in-chief, NYTimes.com
* Wayne Barrett, senior editor and investigative reporter, Village Voice
* Ralph Begleiter, distinguished journalist in residence, University of Delaware
* Elizabeth Benjamin, Capitol bureau chief, Albany Times-Union
* Tom Bettag, executive producer, Discovery Channel
* Bob Blau, former managing editor, The Baltimore Sun
* Ryan Blitstein, freelance business reporter
* Louis Boccardi, retired CEO, Associated Press; Freedom Forum Foundation
* Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist
* Pat Buchanan, GOP strategist, presidential advisor, presidential candidate, conservative columnist, TV commentator
* Robert Campbell, architect and journalist; former architecture critic for the Boston Globe
* Robert Caro, author
* Bennett Cerf, co-founder of Random House (deceased)
* David Cho, journalist
* Barbara Cochran, president, Radio-Television News Directors Association
* Leah Hager Cohen, writer, formerly of Houghton Mifflin
* Richard Cohen, former reporter and columnist, Washington Post; four-time honorable mention winner, Pulitzer Prize
* Michael Clancy, city editor, AM New York
* Judith Crist, film and television critic; professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
* Barkha Dutt, former managing director, NDTV 24/7, India
* Jim Dwyer, reporter, New York Times
* Andrea Elliott, reporter, New York Times; 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner
* Howard Fineman, author and political reporter, Newsweek
* Archbishop John P. Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Titular Archbishop of Neapolis in Proconsulari
* Paul Friedman, Senior Vice President, CBS News
* Tara George, assistant professor of journalism, SUNY Purchase
* Robert Giles, curator, The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University
* Kate Grossman, education reporter, Chicago Sun-Times
* Mel Gussow, former theatre critic, New York Times (deceased)
* LynNell Hancock, education writer; professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
* Arik Hesseldahl, senior technology writer, BusinessWeek.com; senior editor, Forbes.com
* Donna Hanover, co-host, WOR radio morning show; ex-wife of Rudy Giuliani
* Marguerite Holloway, contributing editor, Scientific American; professor of science and environmental journalism, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

* Molly Ivins, reporter, author and syndicated political columnist (deceased)
* Nigel Jaquiss, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for Willamette Week
* Soterios Johnson, host of NPR's Morning Edition on WNYC
* Myron Kandel, anchor, CNN
* Frederick Kempe, president and CEO, Atlantic Council of the United States
* Steve Kroft, reporter, 60 Minutes
* Madeleine M. Kunin, former Governor of Vermont; Marsh scholar-professor at large, University of Vermont; founder and board president, Institute for Sustainable Communities
* Howard Kurtz, media reporter, Washington Post; host of CNN's "Reliable Sources"
* Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City, contributor to TIME magazine
* Brian Lehrer, talk show host, WNYC radio
* Flora Lewis, foreign-affairs columnist, New York Times (deceased)
* Joseph Lelyveld, former executive editor and columnist, New York Times; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author
* Bill Lichtenstein, president, Lichtenstein Creative Media
* Andrea Mackris, CNN producer
* Suzanne Malveaux, White House correspondent, CNN
* Mark Maremont, investigative reporter, The Wall Street Journal
* Tony Marro, former executive editor, Newsday
* John McWethy, former national security correspondent, ABC News (deceased)
* Andrew Meldrum, South African correspondent, The Guardian and The Observer
* Katie Melone, staff writer, The Day
* Matthew Milliken, staff writer, The Daily Dispatch
* Glenford Mitchell, retired member of the Universal House of Justice
* Michele Montas, spokesperson, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; formerly with Radio Haiti
* Walt Mossberg, technology columnist, Wall Street Journal
* Alanna Nash, journalist and biographer; Society of Professional Journalists' 1994 National Member of the Year
* Patricia Nazario, news reporter, Southern California Public Radio
* Jasmina Nielsen, photo editor, POLFOTO, Copenhagen; stringer/photographer, Associated Press
* Beth Nissen, senior reporter, NBC News
* Viveca Novak, Washington correspondent for Time. She is a frequent guest on CNN, NBC, PBS, and Fox.
* Mirta Ojito, contributor, The New York Times; Pulitzer Prize winner for National Reporting in 2001; professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
* John Oppedahl, former publisher, San Francisco Chronicle
* Peter Osnos, senior fellow for media, Century Foundation
* Rena Pederson, author and former editorial page editor, The Dallas Morning News; former member of Pulitzer Prize Board
* Narasimhan Ram, editor-in-chief, The Hindu
* Robin Reisig, professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
* Geraldo Rivera, television reporter and talk show host
* Tanya Rivero, anchor, ABC News Now
* Tom Rosenstiel, director, Project for Excellence in Journalism
* George Rush, freelance magazine writer
* Michael Scully, professor, Roger Williams University
* deck Schaap, sports journalist, author (deceased)
* Philip Scheffler, editorial consultant, Scheffler Group; former executive editor, 60 Minutes
* Gail Sheehy, author
* Kerry Sheridan, editor, Middle East bureau, Agence France Presse
* Mark Silva, White House correspondent, The Chicago Tribune
* Allan Sloan, columnist and editor-at-large, Fortune Magazine
* Sreenath Sreenivasan, professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; technology reporter
* Rick Smith, former CEO, Newsweek
* Alexander Stille, author; contributor, New York Magazine; Sao Paolo Professor of International Journalism at Columbia University
* Ron Suskind, author and investigative journalist; former reporter, Wall Street Journal; Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Writing in 1995
* Valerie Wilson Wesley, author; former executive editor, "Essence" magazine
* Linda Winslow, executive producer, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
* Wayne Worcester, crime novelist; professor of journalism, University of Connecticut

 

[WaylonJennings]

Since no field is immune to hard times, layoffs and cutbacks right now, J-school is hardly a worse bet than a grad degree in anything else - ask my neighbor, the virtually unemployed attorney who has no prospects right now or in the foreseeable future and is thinking of doing construction.

Where did he go to school? That's a huge deal in law and business. All JDs were not created equally.

Duh? No shirt. Not everyone goes to Harvard. Or works corporate. And in many states in this country, the median salary for an attorney, no matter what the focus of their practice, is not much over $50,000 - not the average, the MEDIAN, which means half above, half below. My neighbor, in a rural state, does mostly family law, a little litigation, a little criminal, and some real estate closings and the like. And guess what? No one is paying now.

Hey, you're the one who painted with a broad brush. Not me. It's not that tough to figure out what you're getting into and what your chances are if you're pursuing a JD.

 

[Fredrick]

f you major in journalism these days, you should be slapped a few times with a reality stick.

If it's what you want to do, best of luck and I'd encourage anyone to follow their dreams, but for God's sake, major in something where there is an actual future.

Exactly. Think of all the good people out of work. The problem is also that even if you can find a job now, you will only get 1 to 3 percent raises the rest of your working life because Gannett put in the system of no merit raises and all companies copied it.
So you will never make any money. Now money is no reason to abandon a career dream in many cases, but we are talking about you starting at 22,000 and in 20 years you'll be at 30,000. It's ridiculous. You'd be better off getting into the hotel business or fast food manager.