Journalism Degree

Is journalism a good degree ?
I really want to work in the journalism/ media industry however everyone on social media says journalism is a useless degree with low pay and a dying industry and to get a degree in something stem related however no stem degree interest me at all and would not allow me to succeed so does anyone have any advice on if a journalism degree is worth it or any other similar degrees with transferable skills and can lead to careers with good salaries

Reply 1

Clearing and Applications Advisor

Failing, dropping out or scraping a pass in a STEM degree isn’t going to be any help to your employability!

There are some great journalism degrees (and an accredited journalism degree is the best route into a journalism career - unless you’re rich and can afford to take a completely unrelated degree and then get accreditation through the expensive postgraduate route). Just check for accreditation and ask to see the work of current/previous students.

Reply 2

WolvesRep1

Official Rep

Hi,

I myself had a similar experience with my course as I studied Film and TV Production and was told a lot and even told on the internet that a film degree is useless, but I can assure you it is not. The film course itself gave me an intense and extremely beneficial amount of transferrable skills and I'm sure Journalism does too. I would advise you not to choose a course that you have little interest in just for the sake of transferrable skills as, like I said, I got all I needed and more from my course as not only did it give me skills to learn my passion and grow within my passion and the industry I want to be in but it also gave examples on how my skills can be transferred into other jobs and it has proved itself highly effective in this.

I can also say it's not fully about the degree at the end of your course but it's about the action of doing the degree in the first place that sets you off on all these wonderful paths from the start of your course in year 1 till then the end. My course gave me the equipment and resources that without this course I would not have otherwise and even more so allowed me to start building my portfolio and getting my work out into the world and making those vital connections, it gave me a starting point.

I would happily say that my degree was worth it despite being told that, one it wasn't and two that I'm studying for a degree in a subject that is impossible to succeed in, yet I'm here today with a great portfolio, wonderful connections and knowledge and them transferrable skills which I can say you will get on your course!

Also look into careers that can lead off from a Journalism degree and you may be pleasantly surprised with what you can do with a degree and how many different paths in other sectors it can lead to so I would advise looking into "What I can do with a journalism degree?"

Furthermore get in contact with Universities you are looking to study at, talk to the Journalism lecturers about these concerns and see how they can aid you with the questions you have and they can tell you how Journalism can help you.

I can confidently say that Journalism is not a dying industry both in print and online you can do so much with a journalism degree as it's an important industry that is needed everywhere and can be seen everywhere!

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Katie (Film Graduate)
University of Wolverhampton

(edited 4 months ago)