Job outlook for journalism graduates
New U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $30,000, according to a survey of spring 2006 graduates. New graduates with a master’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $38,000. Jobs held by all these graduates included those in public relations and advertising as well as online, print, TV and radio journalism.
Does this mean getting a master’s degree will increase your salary? Maybe in some fields, but not necessarily in journalism. I’d like to see this survey cut the grain a bit finer on the master’s degree data, because in my experience, a hiring editor at a news organization doesn’t give a hoot about your degree(s) or your GPA — a hiring editor cares only about your experience in the field.
This marks a distinct difference between journalism jobs and jobs in some other fields, where the extra one or two years in graduate school are assumed to make the candidate more fit to do the job. In our field, the only thing that makes you more fit is more work experience.
If you’re a student or a parent reading this, don’t take my word for it. Speak to a real newspaper editor, online editor or TV news director, and ask him or her if a job applicant with a master’s degree is in any way more attractive than a fresh 22-year-old with a bachelor’s degree and the appropriate list of internships and work experience. All things being equal, the answer is going to be no.
So what accounts for the $8,000 difference? My guess is that a few factors contribute:
- Many people with a master’s in journalism went back to earn it after working a few years in the field, so the salary reflects their experience as much as or more than the degree (we’ve had numerous master’s graduates at my university who match this description);
- Many of the survey respondents work in non-journalism jobs, such as jobs at advertising agencies, where pay scales are higher;
- Some of the new entrants to journalism are people who earned their bachelor’s degree in another field (biology, engineering, political science) and thus come into the job with an additional skill set. Some of them will be taking a substantial pay cut by changing fields — the median annual salary for a fresh 2006 U.S. graduate with a bachelor’s degree in economics, for example, was $53,449, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Why choose journalism? Because you can make a difference — or even change the world — not because you’re going to get rich as a journalist.
If you do want to pursue journalism (hooray!), check out this overview of news careers from the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, which notes: “About three of every four college graduates hired by daily newspapers have majored in journalism or mass communication.”
Mindy,
I’ve certainly heard this before, regarding journalism masters degrees – news organizations want experience, not pedigrees. However, do you think for people who didn’t get bachelor’s degrees in journalism it could be worthwhile? Also, don’t journalism grad students typically work for school publications?
And would it be worthwhile if, hypothetically, you’re working in a news organization that doesn’t care as much about the internet and covergent media? I’ve gotten great experience working at a weekly, but I’m concerned I’m going to lag on the technical expertise to really move ahead into the 21st century. Which is why my Christmas presents are an iPod (pretty much filled with podcasts) and a MiniDV video recorder.
‘Cause right now, I’m not exactly making $30k a year. It’s a little tighter than I’d like. I don’t plan on getting rich, but I do want to keep up on the technical side.
December 24, 2007 at 3:59 pmYeah, as I mentioned, it’s quite common for a journalism graduate to be out for a year or two and then return to get a master’s. In my opinion, that’s a lot more sensible than going straight through for five or six years of school — because for people who do that and get two journalism degrees, it often does not make them any better prepared than the initial bachelor’s in journalism.
Some people go straight through because their bachelor’s was in English or history or somesuch. That makes a bit more sense.
If you go back to school, do a LOT of research on the program, facilities and faculty of the schools where you apply. Master’s programs vary widely.
December 24, 2007 at 4:28 pmThe only people I know who made $30K+ a year out of school were living in expensive places like NYC or D.C. where their salary still didn’t go far enough. So I guess that figure does and doesn’t surprise me, but I’d like to see it adjusted for cost of living because I’d take my salary here over some of my friends salaries in D.C. in a heart beat even though it’s several thousand less. :shrug:
As for a master’s, my school had the option where you could add on basically one more year to your undergrad and get a master’s by double counting part of your undergrad curriculum. I didn’t take that route, even though it would have meant only 4 1/2 years in school (less than most people anyway), because I didn’t think it would pay off. It would have given me another summer to take another internship, but in the end, I’d still be about where I am — only instead, now I have a year’s professional experience. I’d probably be making more out of the gate because of that extra internship experience not because of that degree. Do hiring editors looking at recent grads want to pay more for a master’s degree when the kid with the B.A. has just as much practical experience? Likely not.
Do I feel like I missed out? Not at all. Would I consider a master’s? Down the road maybe, but almost certainly not in journalism.
December 24, 2007 at 5:09 pm[...] Teaching Online Journalism » Job outlook for journalism graduates Why choose journalism? Because you can make a difference — or even change the world — not because you’re going to get rich as a journalist. (tags: journalism) [...]
December 25, 2007 at 7:23 amMindy – I have a question about this topic from another angle.
Oftentimes I will hear editors or “traditional” journalists, disregard the value of bloggers or experts who are now writing online without journalism experience.
There seems to be a sense among some journalists that if you didn’t go to journalism-school, then you don’t have the proper ethical balance to present information as well as a “trained” journalist does.
Do you have a sense of how many journalists ever went to J-school, or if you have found this opinion in your own experiences?
Thanks!
December 25, 2007 at 9:30 am-Dan
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December 26, 2007 at 5:46 am@Dan: I don’t have hard data about that, but here’s my sense of both the number of j-school graduates and the feelings of journalists toward bloggers and other “amateurs”:
Twenty years ago, there were fewer journalism programs in universities. Forty years ago, even fewer.
In the past, there was less of a chance that the journalism job applicant had a degree in journalism. A typical career story was: “I started as a copy boy when I was 15 years old and then two years later I became a reporter …”
Newsrooms changed as the availability of trained personnel changed. Reporters used to be working-class people without a degree. This has gradually changed.
Along with the changes in the newsroom came changes in attitudes toward “amateurs.” It’s not only the degree but also the experience — newsroom internships and mentoring by older journalists — that the bloggers and citizen journalists lack.
Some experienced journalists assume that you can’t know enough to do proper journalism work unless you have been through the typical “apprenticeship” — which is more than just classroom education.
December 26, 2007 at 8:12 am@Meranda: I think you were super-smart to say no to that cheesy “add a master’s with just one extra year” deal. It’s pretty much useless, as far as I can see.
You will get far, far more out of a master’s program in a few years when you decide on a subject area that really fascinates you. You’ll grow as a person and as a journalist.
December 26, 2007 at 8:19 amThanks Mindy!
December 26, 2007 at 8:58 amThis data is useless because communications people get paid much better than journalism people. My girlfriend switched from journalism to PR recently and saw a $10,000+ increase.
The average journalism graduate who goes into journalism will not make anywhere near $30,000 — try $25,000ish. There are a lot of compelling reasons not to go into journalism because of the current state of affairs.
I’m lucky to have a salary much higher than the medium, but I also have a skill set much broader than the average recent graduate. I have seen a lot of talented young journalists with great experience toiling around at small-town papers making barista money. It’s sad.
December 26, 2007 at 1:59 pmIn online news, all of the mid and top-tier executive openings list a masters degree as a plus, if not required.
There’s a certain rung in the corporate ladder at which degrees become part of the competition. Of course, experience could likely get you those jobs, as well.
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December 27, 2007 at 5:15 pmPat –
As a former Starbucks barista (and after 3 months, shift supervisor), I am getting paid more at this entry-level job than I was making coffee.
You raise some good points about the data. Regarding the state of the industry – at least this is more fun than asking people if they want banana bread with a latte.
What kind of skillset got you ahead of the pack? Related to what Mindy talks about here, Flash/video/online stuff?
December 28, 2007 at 1:33 amNewguy,
I’ve known several people who basically made the same amount of money being servers at a restaurant as they did when they started off in journalism (within a few thousand of each other). You don’t need a college degree to serve people, but it’s pretty hard to get a journalism job today without a college degree.
So, they basically made the same amount of money in both of those jobs, except one job field required them to take on a lot of student loans. I know Barista’s don’t make they much money, but a lot of journalists make around $13 and hour out of undergrad.
I know Web development, in addition to standard journalism skills. I’ve also added audio and video skills since I began my current job. And contrary to what a lot of print old timers would like to believe, I know how to write, and I know journalism. I’ve been published in seven print publications and graduated with a very high GPA.
I would suggest every journalist add at least one online skillset. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, a lot of old timers will view anyone with Web skills as more of an IT person than as a journalist.
December 28, 2007 at 8:29 amBe selective and smart about the skills you set out to learn. I always say the first skill for a reporter should be audio — both gathering and editing. The cost of entry is very low, the rewards are very quick, you are likely to enjoy it, and you’ll find that it builds on everything you already know about reporting and interviewing.
After that, download Soundslides and learn to use it. Then get some photos (either shoot them yourself, or work with a photojournalist) and try to make a two-minute story that really works well AS A STORY. The first one probably won’t be any good, but the second one might actually be damned good.
December 28, 2007 at 10:04 amAs a Biochem major on the fence between a career in the sciences or journalism, I’ve wrestled for a long time with this type of data. On the surface, it seems hard to make the case for journalism. Long hours and little pay; the rewards *have* to be the intangibles. How many science-trained students are actually making the switch? And why do they do it?
Personally, my first choice would be to make a career out of writing, but it’s hard to see how to reconcile it with the need to provide.
January 2, 2008 at 6:16 pmScience journalists might go on to write popular non-fiction books. A good example is Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals,” which The New York Times named one of the 10 best books of 2006.
You gain a wider audience as a science writer, as compared with someone who spends a career in the laboratory.
January 3, 2008 at 8:58 amDitto to all the above comments above.
I went to Kent State Univ. and graduated with a B.S. in journalism. I have a grasp of GSP and about 3-4 years of practical field experience. I got several job offers right away, but the best one was a $25k/yr salary.
But, as someone mentioned, $12.00/hr out of school isn’t great–a Wendy’s swing manager makes more, and a store manager much more. Actually, it’s salaried, so I work about 55 hrs a week: 9a to about 10p some nights…so the actual net per hour figure is around $8-9/hr. Plus, when you take out takes, a $25k gross figure is about $17k net.
Granted, a $25k salary at a weekly is about $3k more than a weekly average and only $1k less than a daily starting salary, but still, that’s not saying much.
What sucks is that I considered a career in automotive engineering/R&D before the switch in high school. Now I’m living at home trying to save up money and look at switching careers. It’s tough all over the board.
Meranda had a good point about the master’s program at Kent State: Definitely not worth it.
May 24, 2008 at 11:53 pmI have a lot of expirence in the automotive profession. I am currently working my way through college as a auto tech. is it a realistic goal to go from auto tech to automotive writer. looking into a professional writing degree.
September 2, 2008 at 1:12 am@steve – Good question. Can a person with experience in a technical field translate that knowledge into a career as a writer? I think the answer is yes — if you have an aptitude for writing and/or you like to read a lot.
Technical writers are needed not only to write instruction manuals for products of all kinds, but also as journalists to write about a variety of industries. All industries have their own trade magazines and newspapers. Search Google for “technical writers.”
September 2, 2008 at 7:59 am