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Topic: Door-Openers
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| Clubber | Posted – 3/23/2006 11:34:54 AM | show profile OK. Like many people floating around these boards I've toyed with the idea of going to graduate school for journalism. But the only way I can justify it to myself is with actual evidence that a significant number of people have been able to land media jobs they are actually proud of via this route. From what I can tell there are maybe three or four graduate schools that offer enough cache to open doors to name-brand media. I'm talking about places like NPR, Washington Post, Conde Nast, ABC, etc. I've done the tiny paper thing and the trade pub thing and I'm not interested in shelling out money to do it again. So, those of you who went to the door-openers (I'm thinking of Columbia, Northwestern, Missouri and Berkeley here), let's hear it. Where were you before and where did you end up afterwards? Even if it didn't pay off I think I speak for many when I say I'm interested in hearing from you. |
| belinda | Posted – 3/23/2006 11:46:18 AM | show profile I really wish people would get over this ''school's cachet to open doors'' garbage. It is the *applicant* with demonstrated smarts and demonstrated talent who opens doors. |
| mkelly | Posted – 3/23/2006 11:57:45 AM | show profile Unfortunately, for too many editors it *is* the name of the school that opens doors. It's a sad commentary on the quality of editors out there, but these guys are running the industry and look at where it's going these days. Belinda-- your ad hominem attacks are next, I believe. |
| Astera | Posted – 3/23/2006 12:20:49 PM | show profile I got my master's from Northwestern (undergrad in English at UCLA), and participated in the magazine publishing program. It was a great experience for me. I started the program straight out of college, with very little practical experience, aside from a few clips from my college papers and a brief stint as an EA at the Los Angeles Business Journal. Since graduating, I have not pursued jobs with ''name-brand media,'' in large part because I am not interested in living in New York or pursuing that career path. But right out of school, I started at a trade magazine as an associate editor, and I made $37,000, which wasn't too shabby for my first job. Unfortunately, I sort of got stuck at that level. My career has taken several detours (I really want to be an actress), but I also worked as a copy editor at one of the Weider/AMI publications and as an editor-at-large for a group of trade magazines. Currently, I am freelancing and transitioning into copywriting. Right now, I'm working on projects for a major online auction site, and I'm making a pretty nice hourly rate. I think if I had been interested in going to New York, my degree would have made me stand out a little more. And there were several people who got ''brand-name'' jobs. One went to Ad Age, one went to Chicago Style, and one went to Newsweek. A master's can help you start a little higher up the totem pole, and then progress from there. Overall, a degree from a big name school can give you a leg up, but you have to have done well at the school and gotten good recommendations, too. However, I have always heard that if you're going to spend the money on grad school, it's best to go to one of the top schools, if possible. There seems to still be some snobbery attached to name recognition. I wouldn't have paid all that money to go to a school that didn't have a good reputation. (See--even I buy into it!) I really enjoyed Northwestern, and I learned a lot about magazine publishing. It also helps that my parents are assisting me with paying back my loans, and that I didn't have any debt from undergrad. In my opinion, this is the bottom line: in journalism, you have to start at the bottom, whether you have a degree from a name school or not. But with a name school on your resume, you might be able to start a few degrees up from the bottom. I'd be interested in hearing where other people from big-name schools ended up, as well. ------ adeventuresofastera.blogspot.com copyeditrix.blogspot.com |
| Upward Bound | Posted – 3/23/2006 12:24:33 PM | show profile I went to one or your so-called ''door openers'' for both undergrand and grad without anything more than an internship between. And I'm at a trade now. I went that route because I got to use more of my education right away. Had I passed up this opportunity in favor of waiting for an offer from a ''name-brand'' place, I probably would have ended up spending every day regretting the choice as I stood over the copy machine and fetched coffee. That said, I think the controversy arises out of the ''door opener'' / ''name-brand media'' discussion when people forget that those schools do not actually open doors. Rather, the industry has come to learn over time that those schools have a consistently high quality-level of instructors, who teach their student what they need to know to actually succeed. Also, those schools tend to attract the students that actually have the drive and passion that are necessary for success. Those schools will not admit just anyone off the street. And those who don't have the necessary passion and drive, will not likely finish the programs. Another observation I've made is that students at my alma mater, at least, were very involved in the industry before they graduated. They had numerous internships and clips to show for their hard work. THAT is what I think too many people confuse with simple school name cache. And trust me, not every graduate of those ''door opener'' schools lands a job easily. It's clear to potential employers when a student coasted through the program thinking she could rely on the school's name to carry her through her career. As I was job hunting, the school name at most got someone to read the rest of my resume. If I was unqualified for a particular job I did not get called back for an interview. No surprise there... And when I did get called back, interviewers were VERY interested in my actual work experience and skills set. My school's name did not get my job for me. At most a school's name can open a door, but it cannot, on that basis alone, ensure that the person on the other side will invite you in. You have to earn that with hard work. ------ Never settle! |
| Clubber | Posted – 3/23/2006 4:59:13 PM | show profile Not enough time? I appreciate the responses, although I'm not thrilled with what I'm hearing. Myabe the problem with these masters programs is that the real criterion for getting hired in big media is experience (duh!), be it on a campus publication or through an internship. To my knowledge most masters programs are so short (ranging from 9 to 24 months) that there is little chance to get clips or do internships. Thoughts? |
| Astera | Posted – 3/23/2006 5:54:00 PM | show profile At Medill, you do get some quasi-real-world experience through the newswriting classes. When I was there, students would be assigned to a beat and would be responsible for finding a story, writing it and filing it by that afternoon. We were graded on our work, but the stories also went out over the Medill newswire, and local dailies (the Daily Southtown, etc.) would sometimes pick them up and run them. I had a couple of articles run on the front page. Also, in my magazine writing class, our professor got a bunch of editors to agree to let us write an article for their publication. I got a nice glossy mag clip out of that. Finally, even though Medill's program is only 12 months, some students do do internships with publications in the area, and the career center has a fairly comprehensive list of what's available. But of course if you want to get a job at a brand-name media company, you're going to have to have experience. No journalism program is a substitute for that. You might get a slightly better first job or you might move up the ladder a little more quickly, but unless you have talent, no degree is going to catapult you to your dream position right off the bat. ------ adeventuresofastera.blogspot.com copyeditrix.blogspot.com |
| Chilly | Posted – 3/24/2006 12:13:46 PM | show profile In my experience, it's not the name of the school that opens doors, it's the connections you make while you're there. I didn't do grad school, but my friend went to Columbia. He has some amazing contacts that have helped his career big time. Just his friend-of recommendations with Columbia contacts have opened some firmly shut doors for ME at several big newspapers and magazines. Mind you, he's a world-class schmoozer, so you have to work at it. But if you do, you'll have great connections. Is that worth the money? I don't know the answer to that. |
