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Is a Journalism degree worth it?

Hey,

I hope current students or graduates will be able to help with this question: Is a Journalism degree worth it?

I'm looking into this as an option for next year as I take a big interest within the industry and it's something I'd like to do but then part of me thinks that I won't get anywhere with the degree.

It's a competitive industry out there just like every other job sector, but I just have doubts about doing a degree in this as much as I want to do it!!

Any help advice?

Reply 1

Gangie

would also like to know this, i've spoken to a few journalists and they've told me that a degree in english and masters in journalism is far more useful, was just wondering on other's opinions?

Reply 2

alindp

This is really interesting. I've always wanted to be a Journalist. In fact, I'm Spanish, and here in Spain, Journalism is not very well considered, but the best journalists actually have coursed this degree. However, what they recommended to me when I went to a British university fair was to study something I liked (e.g. I'm really interested in International Relations and Politics), and just as Gangie said, then do a master in journalism :smile:

Reply 3

mimimimi

I recently finished an NCTJ diploma course at News Associates (which was pretty ace, I must add), and one of my coursemates had a degree in journalism. As his degree hadn't been accredited by the NCTJ, he effectively needed to top it up with a diploma. So if you do decide to study a journalism degree, bear that in mind. Make sure it's accredited first, otherwise it may not be worth doing...

Is there anything else that interests you? There was another girl on my course who studied geography at undergrad (and someone else who studied history - heck, I studied languages myself) and she's been quite successful following the end of the course. I would personally advise you to study something else, so you always have that to fall back on if journalism fails or you change your mind. Plus, it could help for particular jobs in journalism, such as specialist publications. You can easily study a fast-track course after your degree, which is all you'll need (plus plenty of work experience) to get your first job at a newspaper/magazine.