Comments on: Advice to journalism students: Forget grad school!

By: jdizzle

jdizzle — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:55:56 +0000

There is a reason why the better journalism schools are only 9 months long like Medill and Columbia… it’s b/c, you aren’t really learning that much. It is a SPRING BOARD and JOB CONNECTOR for prestigious jobs, and not much more. You would learn the same thing in an actual job if you can get it. If you can get the job, just get the job. If you go to Medill for Undergrad
Also, many schools require you to double major anyway… and many do, so there goes the whole “you should major in history/political science things and save journalism for grad school” …NO! Most undergraduate j-school graduates ARE doing this already.

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:54:53 +0000

@Joel – I do not know which one of those two programs is better, but in general, speaking for the best U.S. master’s programs, I think the two-year programs are usually better.

You learn more because you’re not trying to cram everything into too short a time frame. Also, students who need to work while in school (to put food on the table, for example) can manage to do so in many two-year programs, but in a one-year program, you’re not likely to get the full benefit of the courses if you’re also trying to work 20 hours a week.

You need to look carefully at WHO is TEACHING in each program. Look at their professional experience and also how up-to-date the courses are. Today’s journalists need to know a lot of stuff that some j-schools still are not teaching.

By: Joel

Joel — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:34:06 +0000

I got in to a Master of Journalism program at UBC and a graduate diploma at Concordia. UBC’s program is two years and Concordia’s is one. Do you know which one is better? If I want to teach one day, will the Master give me a leg up? Right now I’m leaning towards Concordia, because it’s shorter and I prefer Montreal to Vancouver

kind regards,

By: jololol

jololol — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:24:03 +0000

I also did not see any reason to go to journalism school. I did contemplate law school and grad school for a bit… The pay was tempting, but the lifestyle would have been mind numbing.
I did my undergrad in English (Writing! not LIT!) by the way. Lots of people see English major and assume you just read literature books, this is not the case. I only took one lit course. Taking 10 writing/editing/rhetoric/etc courses as the major core vs 10 literature courses is a big difference… Along with a writing internship.
I also did a minor in Communications (4 classes), in which I took media law and ethics courses. Combined with another 3 courses in Political Science (writing heavy, 5 in Philosophy (writing heavy), 2 in History (writing heavy), and the remaining liberal arts requirements in econ/history/etc, what more would a J School possibly do for me outside of paying for a job connection and going over the same material.
As somebody who does not have rich parents, J school was simply a non option.
My UG did not offer a Journalism major.

By: Personal branding is key for would-be journalists |

Personal branding is key for would-be journalists | — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:00:08 +0000

[...] for extra-curricular students. “Journalism is not rocket science,” McAdams wrote inprovocative post in 2008. “You don’t need a master’s degree to know how to do it, and you won’t do [...]

By: LKS

LKS — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:01:32 +0000

And when you get laid off from your journalism job, because last hired/first hired, you will be thrilled you have that master’s. You can teach English at a community college. In this horrible economy, especially for journalists, have a back-up plan. Ira has a job and would be paid to give speeches if he lost it. What’s your backup plan? GO TO GRADUATE SCHOOL.

By: Messy Christian (2.0) » What Masters should a journalist pick?

Messy Christian (2.0) » What Masters should a journalist pick? — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:59:55 +0000

[...] I know for sure that I don’t want to pursue a postgraduate degree in Journalism. Many seem to agree with me, such as bloggers Dave Lee (Post Grads are a waste of time) and Mindy McAdams (Advice to journalism students: Forget grad school!). [...]

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:19:02 +0000

@N. Jean – Adjunct work might be a dead end as far as whether it leads to a full-time post at that institution, but working as an adjunct (or “sessional,” in Canada) has two benefits: (a) You can find out whether you like teaching, or not; (b) You get to add higher-ed teaching experience to your resume.

The latter can be important if you apply for a full-time position as a lecturer or professor. If you lack that experience, you might not get the job interview. I worked as an adjunct for two semesters at NYU, and that experience definitely contributed to my being offered a full-time position.

By: N. Jean

N. Jean — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:38:02 +0000

You need a master’s in the subject area – or a master’s and 18 credit hours in the subject area – to be an adjunct at community colleges in the orlando area. Proof of the M.A. is required pre-interview. And this is for jobs that pay about $1,600 per class, for a 16-week session.Adjuncting is a dead end. For less than $100/wk. you can look elsewhere.
Does not usually lead to full time instructor job, tho they will string you along saying it “might.”

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:16:41 +0000

@aisha – There is a reason why someone with your experience would want an actual master’s degree: To teach. Nowadays the bigger universities require even the adjuncts (sessionals, in Canada) to have a master’s degree.