Jobs in journalism?

Question

I'm currently a university student, thinking of getting into journalism. Anyone got any tips on where to start and how to go about it?

Answer 1

Assuming you're in the UK and want to do newspaper journalism, you'll need to pursue NCTJ qualifications as well as your degree. Most people do these either as part of a university Journalism degree, or as an intern or trainee on a local/regional paper if their degree subject was something else. Alternatively, you can arrange further study yourself to acquire these qualifications, although in that case you will need to pay for it.

Competition for training places on local papers is fierce, and the positions are often extremely poorly paid, if they are paid at all. You can give yourself an advantage by starting to learn shorthand in advance, since that is often the part of the NCTJ qualifications that people struggle with most, and it will demonstrate to any potential employer that you're prepared to learn and genuinely want to pass the exams.

If you are more interested in magazine journalism, the entry routes are more flexible. The vicious circle of magazine journalism is that you usually get jobs by showing off your portfolio, and you won't have one until you get a job. You break this circle by offering something else - NCTJ qualifications, newspaper experience, an 'alternative' portfolio (students' union newspaper or hobby magazine articles, for example), or in-depth qualifications/experience of the subject on which you intend to write.

In the magazine world, entry is usually easiest to the trade press or B2B (business to business) publications, assuming you know how to research technical or business subjects about which you often know nothing, and can then write about them well enough to be of interest to people who may have been working in that field for years. It's a very good skill to learn in any field of journalism. It's much easier to move to an off-the-shelf publication if you've already learned your skills on the trades.

Be prepared to to put in much effort for very little reward in the early years. There is always a queue of people wanting to get into journalism, so if you are serious about it you will have to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

See the link below for the NCTJ website. They have a lot of information on the different qualifications and entry routes to journalism.

Answer 2

Of course the first place to start is to see if your university offers a degree in journalism. If not, contact the dean of students or your division of Student Affairs for advisement on which department to seek out for a similar program.

Once you start your journalism curriculum, I can't stress enough the important of planning for an internship. Journalism is the kind of field that requires real-life, hands-on experience during college for the best transition into this career. Usually students do their internships either during their junior or senior years, but just keep it in mind so you can work it into your college class schedule. You may even have to take a semester off if you can't find an internship over the summer, but the preparation it will give you is invaluable.

Good luck to you!