Great motivation by Tom Huang at Poynter. Great share by Kate.
Couple of his bullets points.
So let’s begin.
- Be a learner. I can’t think of another business where you can learn as quickly, widely and, potentially, as deeply as in journalism. Whether you are challenged to understand the latest trends on your beat, how to comb through an obscure public record, or how to employ a classic narrative-writing technique, you are learning something new every day. We make our living by our wits and curiosity. We get paid to ask questions. That’s pretty cool. So even when learning is scary and exasperating (um, what’s that latest tech tool?), let’s embrace that part of our jobs.
- Dream now. I’m pretty sure that you didn’t get into this business expecting it to be easy or to give you a great sense of security. If you are like me, you probably felt “called.” You fell in love with journalism. You dreamt about it. You decided to follow that dream. Well, now you’re here. Give it a year or two. Or three. Give it your best shot. And if your dream doesn’t work out, move on to your next dream. Dreaming gets harder when you get a mortgage and kids, and when your knees and other joints start to sound like a bowl of Rice Krispies. So: Chase your dreams now.
I love this advice and it's what I keep telling myself over and over, even when journalism is rated as one of the top useless majors. A journalism degree isn’t useless; I feel like it’s one of the most useful majors I could have possibly chosen. Like Tom said, we aren't just learning how to write, we're learning how to research, communicate with people, and challenge our surroundings. We are constantly learning. I don't even think I want to be a journalist when I graduate, but I feel like having this background has given me the context and skill set to prepare me for a plethora of careers.
ReplyDeleteI read this article too and really liked it. There is so much pressure on kids to get jobs right away after graduation. So what if you aren't hired on May 22nd. We've spent more than a decade in school and four years studying journalism. It's not time to give up. It's time to get started. We have so much time and as the article mentioned, no kids and no mortgage. This is the time to get paid very little, but it's also the best time to do something awesome. Like getting paid to do what we love.
ReplyDeleteI find it funny that more and more lately I hear our own professors and other journalists warning us about the horrors that await us when we graduate: no jobs, poor pay, long hours, no life.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, something keeps driving me to pursue this career and I realize it's my love for journalism. I have wanted nothing else for the past six years of my life and now I will finally see if I am capable of realizing that dream.