Wednesday, December 17, 2008
J-School students are masochists
"Despite less-than-lucrative job prospects for graduates, journalism is an increasingly popular major at colleges ..." making journalism school students candidates for case studies in masochism.A Times Union article shows why those of us really interested in where our struggling industry are not put off by rapid decline in the paid journalism work force.
Why masochism, you ask?
A 2007 survey of journalism & mass communication graduates compiled the average starting salaries for students who earned degrees, comparing them with other disciplines.
Here's a breakdown:
Computer science graduates: $60,416
Information sciences graduates: $52,418
Finance graduates: $48,547
Business admin. graduates: $45,915
Liberal arts graduates (teachers): $35,419
Journalism and mass communication graduates: $30,000
(Realizing you should have double majored in college: priceless)
Ouch. Stings a little bit.
A hint for those entering college and interested in journalism ... information sciences graduates are in high demand, as news Web sites expand on their utility.
Is Aaron going back to school? Hmmm ...
Labels: journalism school, pay, the industry
continue...Friday, April 04, 2008
Damn, if he didn't just take the words right out of my mouth!
For you journalism students out there:If I ever meet this kid, I'm buying him a beer and a shot of Jameson. He's said everything I've ever wanted to say about j-school. You'll just have to read it...
But here's a snippet of what Sean Blanda wrote...something that I've come to realize, as I get ready to graduate from j-school:
Preach on, my "brotha!"Any change must come from the students. Change costs money and insulating yourself from it doesn’t. And considering the industry doesn’t know which way is up, does it make financial sense to invest in something you don’t know will be there tomorrow? I am not defending this mindset, as I think it’s the plague of any entrenched institution. But I can understand why a college would be the slowest body to change. Any innovation is going to come from the bottom up, and not the top down.
Many professors know that they have to adjust the curriculum to help the students, but they are several years (sometimes decades) removed from the newsroom and job search. I had a teacher say “You guys should learn this new stuff, I won’t have to, of course, because I’m on my way out.” (Then he may or may not of cackled and ran off).
I would venture that the majority of professors are introduced to new technologies by the students, not the other way around.
Read the full blog post here.
Labels: journalism school, student press, technology
continue...