Why Not Going to J-School May be a Good Thing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my time in journalism school and what it would be like if I were there now. I think I’d be pretty darn scared about my prospects for getting a job.

When I graduated back in 2000, things were pretty easy for new j-school grads who had actually picked up a skill in school. I completed a somewhat high-profile internship after graduation, came home, sent an inquiry letter to a paper I’d interned with before, they just happened to have an opening on the design desk and I was on my way.

These days I’m sure it would be a lot more difficult to find a decent job, let alone a job that just happened to be in my hometown at a paper that knew me.

J-Schools Still Seeing Jumps in Applications

You’d think the current state of the newspaper business would scare people away from the industry, but there are reports all over the place of rising applications for journalism schools.

If I were about to go to college right now, I don’t know that I’d make the same choices I did back then. Originally I was going to be a history teacher — at least education is a business that always seems to be growing. But I’ve gotten so much out of my journalism education (and there’s no good way to work for yourself as a teacher) I don’t know if I’d be willing to pass that up.

I don’t know what kids today are getting out of their time in j-school, but I’d guess the classes aren’t geared toward working in the new journalism environment any more than they were when I was in school. I keep wondering if the students are learning about blogging, social media, freelancing, ways to make a living even if they can’t get a job with a big-time (or even small-town) newspaper or television station.

Is J-school Even Worth It?

Then there are the people who argue that a journalism education was never necessary for being a success in the business. I agree with that; that’s why I’m out here supporting people who want to be freelancers, regardless of their background.

If you can write well, it doesn’t matter if you went to college or what you studied while you were there. You have to have a passion for your subject and a drive to succeed, creativity to try different markets and media that you might not have considered when you were thinking about becoming a freelancer and the tenacity to keep trying even when things look awful.

Unfortunately, they don’t teach any of that in journalism school.