Career Paths: What Can You Do With a Journalism Degree?
I am graduating with a Masters in Journalism next month. Nothing unusual from what you might think, except that it is a good few years since I first graduated with a law degree, and I have surprised myself by coping with all the studying involved in the course, and remembering it all long enough to pass exams. No, it has not been all smooth sailing but I have done it, and my sense of achievement is unbounded!
The career change has been very good for me. This is why my phone no longer rings about 10 times an hour with clients demanding my undivided attention. It is why I am here this morning sitting in a Starbucks in Palo Alto, California, filing this story. This is a complete change of lifestyle, and I love it. (And I am sure that guy over there is Michael Moore - I may yet pluck up the courage to ask him; an interview with him would be a real scoop.....).
The fact is that only having one career in your life may not be enough. It is good for you to face up to new challenges head on and introduce a little fear factor back into your life. It is probable that after a career of over 25 years you are comfortable in your office, comfortable with your role and comfortable with the status it offers you. But going back to the beginning again? Oh how scary!
The Masters in Journalism, which I studied at Edinburgh Napier University, is a multimedia course and offers studies in all media, TV, radio, print and online. However, you only ever get out of something what you put into it, so there is more learning to be achieved out of the classroom than in it. I have read many books on interview techniques, and all the other technical knowledge which one requires. I have read about the BBC, the media, and I have never known so much about news in my life. I have learned a new word — epistemology — one which I think everyone should try to use at least once a day!
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