Many young people in college and high school are considering journalism as a career choice. Below is some advice for these young people who are aspiring to become journalists.
Be Inspired
It helps if you already have a passion for writing at an early age. Some journalists have always been a storyteller and writer. They wrote stories when they were kids. They wrote the lyrics of the songs of their high school band. They wrote for their school paper.
Get The Relevant Education
It is highly recommended that you get a degree in journalism. However, it is not a necessity. Many successful journalists do not have degrees in journalism. But having a degree in journalism would make your work as a journalist easier. However, journalism is an active industry. You need to communicate with individuals. You need to see trends. You need to have your research organized. You need to express your research in a manner that engages the reader. All these require attention to detail, drive, and independence, which are not learned inside a classroom.
Look For Good Employment Opportunities
Jobs in journalism fall into two categories: print and broadcast. Print refers to magazines, newspapers, and web sites. Broadcast refers to radio news and television news.
Resources that can help find employment include Indeed, JournalismJobs, and Mediabistro.
Choose Your Location Wisely
In journalism, your location makes a lot of difference. In other occupations such as nursing and accounting, they can find work at almost any location with the same career growth. In journalism, your location has a significant effect on your career. There are more job opportunities in cities such as New York compared to other locations.
Be Prepared For Competition
Journalism is a very competitive industry. It is difficult to get a job. It is challenging to maintain a job. And it is difficult to advance up the ladder in your job. Journalism is incredibly based on performance. On television, you need to have good ratings, for example.
Know The Process
Try to be familiar with the process of acquiring a job and advancing your career. Ideally, you gain experience while still a student in college. You could get an internship at a paper or a magazine. You could do freelance jobs. You could write for your school paper.
Start Early
You should start your career in journalism as early as possible. It is possible to switch from one career to journalism later in life and still be successful, but it would not be easy. And the earlier you start, the more successful you can be. Internships are an excellent way to start a career in journalism.
Negotiate Your Salary
Most people will not negotiate their salary at their first job. However, you are expected to negotiate. You should always request a higher salary. There are web sites such as Glassdoor.com and Salary.com that will give you an idea of how much the average salary is for the position that you would be applying.
Build Relationships
Journalism is all about relationships. Build relationships with people as early as possible. Create relationships with peers, colleagues, and mentors. Your college and high school teachers can be great mentors.