LOOKING TO GET CASH FAST? Don't get a journalism degree.Here's a recent study of wages for recent college graduates. The median average salary of 2006 graduates working in journalism or mass communications is $30,000.
The study also includes trends in employment and other vital info.
Journalism may be a business but being a journalist is not about the money. You have to love what you do, and you need to see the benefit to society in performing the craft well.
9 comments:
My Mom always tells me I should be a pharmacist or a lawyer because "They make so much money!" I always tell her I'd rather do what I love and live in my car than do what I hate and make a million dollars a year. It's just not worth it.
I'm changing my major.
Justin Horn
I don't intend on making a lot of money.
Strangely, I think that super rich journalists probably can't relate to their subjects as well. You can't really relate to a poverty stricken family in North Philly if you're sitting in a comfy 6 bedroom home in the burbs.
Money is'nt everything, but today 30 grand a year is practically nothing. Yes I want to do what I love and follow my passion but money is always an issue. And although 30 grand may be fine for when I just get out of college and still don't have an extensive amount of responsibilities, but what about ten years from then when I have a family to take care of. So money is a key factor in my opinion. It is about doing what you love, but it is about making a living.
-Paige Stickelman
Here is the specific info about wages from the site Chris posted:
Salaries for news analysts, reporters, and correspondents vary widely. Median annual earnings of reporters and correspondents were $31,320 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $22,900 and $47,860. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,470, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $68,250. Median annual earnings of reporters and correspondents were $30,070 in newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers and $34,050 in radio and television broadcasting.
Median annual earnings of broadcast news analysts were $36,980 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $25,560 and $68,440. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $19,040, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $122,800. Median annual earnings of broadcast news analysts were $37,840 in radio and television broadcasting.
- George (the teacher who thinks everyone should be a journalist)
Living in a society driven so forcefully by money, it is easy to get caught up in the facts and figures of a job. However, I would like to think that I would be happier surviving on Ramen noodles and macaroni while doing something that I love rather than eating cavier and being stuck in a job that makes me hate my life. I know that journalism itself will not bring in a lot of money, but there are always other things that I can do that will bring in money while I continue to engange myself in the world of journalism.
do what you love because if you love it enough you will become good, and if your good you will make money.
Personally, I wouldn't mind living out of my car as long as I got to do something that I love. It would certainly be better than a 9-5 job that the majority of people seem to have these days to pay the mortgage.
And who says living out of a car is bad? That's what VW Buses are for.
I actually just changed my major from Elementary Education to Journalism... my mom says that if I keep going the way I have been, by senior year I'll be studying to be a bag lady.
In all seriousness though, I think you have to do what makes you happy. Do I wish that the idea of being a lawyer or a doctor made me happy? Sure, I would love to have both an enjoyable job and a gracious salary. But life is life, and you only do it once.
Post a Comment