Grad J~School, GRE and a Ivy League school

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

What where your deciding factors in deciding to attend graduate school?

My undergrad major "required" obtaining an advanced degree, preferably all the way to the PhD and/or MD, or other career equivalent.

I was an undergrad biochemistry major. My advisor explained that for a person to have any serious career advancement in this field you must obtain an advanced terminal degree.

She basically said that as a biochem major if you stop at the BS then you spend your career washing lab dishes, and participating at a minor level in research.

If you move to the MS level, then you don't have to wash lab dishes, but you're still at a lower level in research.

So, to have a career that will allow for the maximum advancement and professional respect, then obtain an advanced terminal degree, such as a PhD, MD, or DVM.

For me personally, I obtained my PhD. Not only does this allow me to work at the collegiate level, I can also (and have) obtain research grants and get published.

Fortunately I was able to fund my graduate degrees by receiving graduate fellowships, grants and funding through my graduate advisors NIH grants.

My advice to you, NP, would be to:
1. listen to the advice already given above - it makes a lot of sense.
2. Look for any possible funding for your grad degree. Grad school tuition roughly costs about 2 - 3X that of undergrad tuition. Plus, you have to factor in living expenses, and since you are interested in photojouranlism, you will have to consider financing your own equipment. Be prepared to possibly have to get a part time job. Going to grad school is very expensive.


ETA: NP, have you considered getting a MFA (Master of Fine Arts)? This degree may give you a bit more career flexibility than just a photojournalism degree.

[ADqtPiMel]

I ran the internship/entry-level hire program at my large media company for about five years, so I'm familiar with recruiting journalism grads (I've been at Columbia's J-school job fair every year, actually). I will say that I, along with every other hiring manager I know in the industry, strongly strongly prefer job experience over a J-school degree. Journalism is one of those things where practical experience really trumps education. I recruit from top J-schools (Columbia, Mizzou, Medill, etc.) and have consistently found that J-school grads are significantly less prepared to enter the industry than people who interned/worked an entry-level job instead.

I feel strongly that an advanced degree in journalism is a waste of money. The people I know and mentor who went to J-school had an equally difficult time finding jobs as people with a bachelor's degree -- often MORE difficult because employers assume they will be more expensive -- and are heavily burdened with debt that they're unable to pay off. I'm not at all one of those people who think journalism is dead, but the fact remains that jobs can be hard to find and often don't pay well, or aren't full-time.

Take with a grain of salt -- I don't know much at all about photojournalism, and I went to the best state school I could attend for free and then swore I'd never step foot in a classroom again…but I think you'd be better off with practical work experience.