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Law to Journalism: Advice needed!
Hi guys,
I'm currently a 2nd year Law student and halfway through my course, I figured that I wanted to do Journalism instead of law as I'm really not enjoying law. I'm not sure what to do right now and whether I should...
1. finish my degree and do a masters in Journalism
2. switch and start afresh on a journalism degree right now
3. Finish my degree, intern/get some experience working for publishing companies/magazines for a couple of years then do a Masters
I occasionally write articles for my uni's newspaper and I've applied to a couple of magazines for work experience/editorial internships.
I would really love to go into travel/lifestyle journalism but I'm really not sure which is the correct move to advance. Also, are the essential skills journalists need mostly taught on the job or obtained from their degree? and how much would a Masters benefit career advancement/my opportunities in this industry (specifically employment and pay-wise)
ALSO, is there a great difference between doing a degree in Communications/Media and Journalism?
It'll be great if any budding/experienced journalists could give me some advice as the journalism industry is really different from the legal industry. Let me know what you would do if you were in my shoes!!
Thanks guys! 🙂
I'm currently a 2nd year Law student and halfway through my course, I figured that I wanted to do Journalism instead of law as I'm really not enjoying law. I'm not sure what to do right now and whether I should...
1. finish my degree and do a masters in Journalism
2. switch and start afresh on a journalism degree right now
3. Finish my degree, intern/get some experience working for publishing companies/magazines for a couple of years then do a Masters
I occasionally write articles for my uni's newspaper and I've applied to a couple of magazines for work experience/editorial internships.
I would really love to go into travel/lifestyle journalism but I'm really not sure which is the correct move to advance. Also, are the essential skills journalists need mostly taught on the job or obtained from their degree? and how much would a Masters benefit career advancement/my opportunities in this industry (specifically employment and pay-wise)
ALSO, is there a great difference between doing a degree in Communications/Media and Journalism?
It'll be great if any budding/experienced journalists could give me some advice as the journalism industry is really different from the legal industry. Let me know what you would do if you were in my shoes!!
Thanks guys! 🙂
- Contact in PM
BusinessHack
Messages count : 2Likes count : 0Registration : 11 May 2016Hi, Ive been a hiring editor a few times before and would say that a journalism degree is probably one of the last things I would take into consideration when hiring.
Much, much more important for me and my old colleagues is experience. So keep writing for the uni newspaper and try and get as much work experience as you can. It's all about getting those bylines and experiencing what an actual working magazine/newsroom is like - as it is completely different to how most people picture it.
Maybe consider doing an NCTJ course? You can do 6 month ones that will teach you what you need to know in terms of shorthand (very helpful) news writing and most importantly - media law.
To sum up, I'd stick with the law degree if you think you can. It'll make you more interesting to a potential employer if you come with that + a load a bylines than a journalism degree would.