What will I learn in a journalism degree or training program?
Why, you'll learn the techniques of journalism of course. What you'll be taught will be the things you need to know to be able to become a journalist. Even now these include things like shorthand and you'll also be taught how to frame a story, pursue a line of inquiry, operate the usual equipment and in general gain the technical skills necessary. What a journalism degree or training program won't do is teach you how to be a journalist: they will give you the tools you need but on top of that you will need experience of actually doing the work. This is usually gained through internships: this is the second vital thing that a degree or training program in journalism will give you, help with finding those internships and placements where you can get the necessary experience.
What are the job prospects as a journalist?
Despite what you hear about the media revolution journalism is expected to keep needing more people. The jobs might be in digital media rather than the traditional ones but the same general skills will be needed. Salaries when you start, along with those internships, tend to be quite low. But after a couple of year's experience and perhaps a move to a larger organization, the average salary is around $31,000 a year and at the top outlets, much higher, nearly $70,000.
