Anonymous
Post 10/24/2017 12:03     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Communications is considered kind of a "fluff" major in most universities.
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2017 10:29     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Journalism. I am shocked anyone still goes to J school. It is totally possible to go into journalism without a J school degree and the job market is bad so why spend money/take on debt for a field that doesn't pay well and where it isn't necessary.

I have an MPH and there were a lot of government and think tank jobs available to me once I got my degree. So I am glad I did it.


I have a kid in high school who loves to write (editor for school newspaper) and has expressed interest in studying journalism in college. Are the job prospects that bad in this field? What would you recommend for a kid who has a passion for journalism to study in college?


Former journalist here. Most news organizations demand that you have additional skills, i.e. video, audio, foreign language, HTML, and, if you work at a larger daily pub, are also willing to go on television to discuss a topic you are covering. I got out of the field before the requirements changed. Once upon a time you only had to be a strong writer with great storytelling skills. Now, editors want reporters with multiple skills. If I were going into the field now, I also wouldn't be so fast to turn my nose up at trade pubs. Often, you can spend a few years covering, say, the mortgage industry or pharma or construction and eventually land a cushy in-house corporate communications job for a company you had covered earning a lot more.


+1, though still in journalism and trying like hell to get out and get one of those aforementioned communications jobs. I don’t have a master’s but I do think it would be a huge waste of time and money.


The best journalists I know personally at top newspapers did not major in communications in undergrad. Several did sociology and psychology. One philosophy. A few did masters in journalism at top schools like Columbia, others did not. I'd also agree that taking statistics is very very important. That should be required for journalists.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 15:27     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Journalism. I am shocked anyone still goes to J school. It is totally possible to go into journalism without a J school degree and the job market is bad so why spend money/take on debt for a field that doesn't pay well and where it isn't necessary.

I have an MPH and there were a lot of government and think tank jobs available to me once I got my degree. So I am glad I did it.


I have a kid in high school who loves to write (editor for school newspaper) and has expressed interest in studying journalism in college. Are the job prospects that bad in this field? What would you recommend for a kid who has a passion for journalism to study in college?


Former journalist here. Most news organizations demand that you have additional skills, i.e. video, audio, foreign language, HTML, and, if you work at a larger daily pub, are also willing to go on television to discuss a topic you are covering. I got out of the field before the requirements changed. Once upon a time you only had to be a strong writer with great storytelling skills. Now, editors want reporters with multiple skills. If I were going into the field now, I also wouldn't be so fast to turn my nose up at trade pubs. Often, you can spend a few years covering, say, the mortgage industry or pharma or construction and eventually land a cushy in-house corporate communications job for a company you had covered earning a lot more.


+1, though still in journalism and trying like hell to get out and get one of those aforementioned communications jobs. I don’t have a master’s but I do think it would be a huge waste of time and money.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 15:06     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Masters in Library and Information Science. Useless.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 14:02     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:MPH


Thanks, my MPH has worked out great for me, health care isn't exactly a stagnant industry.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 13:41     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Computer science. A complete waste of time.

I doubled my salary by getting an MSCS. It is literally the best decision I have made in my life. Even better, my employer paid for it.

I have met the occasional person who can't seem to make anything of their computer science degree but people like that seem to be surprisingly dense about the real world. Just like any other field, a degree usually indicates skill but not always.



Agreed! It also allowed me to be a SAHM and get back into a career after 7 years out. It has served me very well and was worth the pain of a thesis.
Anonymous
Post 10/23/2017 13:38     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:Computer science. A complete waste of time.


Ha! I totally disagree.
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 23:11     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Journalism. I am shocked anyone still goes to J school. It is totally possible to go into journalism without a J school degree and the job market is bad so why spend money/take on debt for a field that doesn't pay well and where it isn't necessary.

I have an MPH and there were a lot of government and think tank jobs available to me once I got my degree. So I am glad I did it.


I have a kid in high school who loves to write (editor for school newspaper) and has expressed interest in studying journalism in college. Are the job prospects that bad in this field? What would you recommend for a kid who has a passion for journalism to study in college?


Former journalist here. Most news organizations demand that you have additional skills, i.e. video, audio, foreign language, HTML, and, if you work at a larger daily pub, are also willing to go on television to discuss a topic you are covering. I got out of the field before the requirements changed. Once upon a time you only had to be a strong writer with great storytelling skills. Now, editors want reporters with multiple skills. If I were going into the field now, I also wouldn't be so fast to turn my nose up at trade pubs. Often, you can spend a few years covering, say, the mortgage industry or pharma or construction and eventually land a cushy in-house corporate communications job for a company you had covered earning a lot more.


PP here. I would also consider double-majoring. If your kid is dead set on journalism, sure, major in communications to build the connections (the professors could be very helpful) but double major in something else of interest-- a scientific field, education, international relations, etc.
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 23:09     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Journalism. I am shocked anyone still goes to J school. It is totally possible to go into journalism without a J school degree and the job market is bad so why spend money/take on debt for a field that doesn't pay well and where it isn't necessary.

I have an MPH and there were a lot of government and think tank jobs available to me once I got my degree. So I am glad I did it.


I have a kid in high school who loves to write (editor for school newspaper) and has expressed interest in studying journalism in college. Are the job prospects that bad in this field? What would you recommend for a kid who has a passion for journalism to study in college?


Former journalist here. Most news organizations demand that you have additional skills, i.e. video, audio, foreign language, HTML, and, if you work at a larger daily pub, are also willing to go on television to discuss a topic you are covering. I got out of the field before the requirements changed. Once upon a time you only had to be a strong writer with great storytelling skills. Now, editors want reporters with multiple skills. If I were going into the field now, I also wouldn't be so fast to turn my nose up at trade pubs. Often, you can spend a few years covering, say, the mortgage industry or pharma or construction and eventually land a cushy in-house corporate communications job for a company you had covered earning a lot more.
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 21:12     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Seems like most of the ppl that say they've had more success with a Master already had a job. Meaning they already had work experience to put on a resume and likely had a better idea of what degree could help them in their career.

Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 18:40     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
MFAs and masters in journalism.

MBAs from the bottom 3/4 of business schools
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 11:24     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Some of the online news services in specialized areas like tech have a large need for content. One way to break into journalism is to leverage off of STEM knowledge to write for these services.

My DD, who is premed, but has self-taught experience in coding and graphic design, has a couple of gigs writing for these types of services. One of them is providing content and graphics for someone who does live online gaming and You Tube entertainment newscasts, often investigative. She tells me he is internet famous in those circles.

Because of this experience, she has been offered writing opportunities for more mainstream tech business online services.
Anonymous
Post 10/22/2017 03:31     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:None are worthless if you know how to conduct a job search.


Tru dat!
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2017 22:53     Subject: Re:Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:Computer science. A complete waste of time.

I doubled my salary by getting an MSCS. It is literally the best decision I have made in my life. Even better, my employer paid for it.

I have met the occasional person who can't seem to make anything of their computer science degree but people like that seem to be surprisingly dense about the real world. Just like any other field, a degree usually indicates skill but not always.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2017 22:47     Subject: Most useless masters degrees
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Journalism. I am shocked anyone still goes to J school. It is totally possible to go into journalism without a J school degree and the job market is bad so why spend money/take on debt for a field that doesn't pay well and where it isn't necessary.

I have an MPH and there were a lot of government and think tank jobs available to me once I got my degree. So I am glad I did it.


I have a kid in high school who loves to write (editor for school newspaper) and has expressed interest in studying journalism in college. Are the job prospects that bad in this field? What would you recommend for a kid who has a passion for journalism to study in college?


Personally I would not study journalism but would write for the school paper or work for the school radio station if it has news. Try to intern at the local paper- they need people to cover meetings. But I'd study something else since the job market in journalism sucks and you can learn a lot on the job. Take stats and learn how to cover /analyze data like they do at Vox. Also I would tell your kid to marry well - most of the journalists I know are partly able to stay in the field because their spouses either make more money, have better hours or (most likely) both.