Q: My son will be graduating this month with a business administration degree. He has an affinity for sports, not as an athlete, but as a spectator. He has an exceptional memory of names and events. He seems to possess some talent in expressing himself using the written word.
Dad
A: It all depends on experience, at this point. He will have a hard time starting as a sportswriter if he hasn't done any.
Although I have taught some on-line journalism skills courses to professionals, I have not seen anyone come across my desk with an on-line journalism degree. I think one would be a difficult sell at this point. What he really needs is experience. He needs that to persuade a publication to hire him and to convince himself that this is a career path he'd like.
Few publications -- maybe some very small ones -- will be interested in taking on an intern who hasn't yet done the work that needs to be done. If he did a lot of writing for his college paper, that will help, but if he is just starting to get into journalism after college has ended, he will have a tough time breaking in.
(I'd have my son ask all these questions.)
Good evening,
I just separated from the Air Force as a Public Affairs specialist and really fell in love with that job. I truly enjoy writing and taking photographs. Since separating in October 2006, I've had a hard time finding college classes on-line for journalism (we moved to an island in Maine, so no schools are nearby). Do you know of any colleges that offer a journalism degree on-line? If I can't find one, how much do you think my degree in, say, Business would affect me when I go up for interviews in PR/Journalism?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Brandy
Posted by: Brandy | February 15, 2007 at 06:28 PM