Journalist Schools

Are you interested in becoming a journalist? A career in journalism can be a fun and rewarding experience. If you are a sociable person and love the idea of set assignments and objectives, then a career in journalism is right for you. The ideal journalist is usually inquisitive, excellent at writing, interested with current affairs, and good under pressure. There are a lot of different aspects about this career that make it worth looking into including benefits, salary, work hours, and even the work description itself.

Job description

So what exactly does a journalist do? What is the typical day in the life of a journalist? Journalists wake up everyday ready to chase down new and exciting stories and present them in clear and engaging styles. There are many different types of journalists like news journalist, broadcast journalist, magazine journalists, and more. A journalist may be given an assignment by his editor, or search on subjects worth covering himself. The types of duties that journalists will usually do are:

• Attend press releases, court hearings, city councils, and city events.
• Interview people either by phone or in person.
• Respond to tips, calls, and news releases.
• Record the notes from the interview to be typed on paper or on a computer.

It is a journalist's job to meet deadlines of assignments and release new information before competition does. Some news stories will require travel to the location of the assignment. Because of this, some journalists are required to work outside.

Hours

Because of the high demand to meet deadlines, journalists may work long hours, however, a typical work week for a journalist is around 40 hours. Some journalists may get early starts on the day to cover stories, or work some weekends to cover stories.

Salary

Salary is dependent on several factors:

• The type of journalism you do; broadcast, print, news, etc.
• Your experience.
• The company you work for.
• Your education.

A typical journalist at a small paper can expect to make around $20,000- $30,000. At a medium sized paper, a journalist can expect to make $35,000-$55,000. At a large sized paper, a journalist can expect to make $60,000 and up. It takes a lot of hard work to make it to these salaries, but the hard work and dedication pays off.

Job opportunities

The need for journalists to cover current affairs is always steady. Current journalists may be promoted to editors, and their previous position would need to be filled. You can look for a job as a journalist at your local newspaper, and TV station. More media outlets are turning to the internet to reach readers as well. According to bls.gov, employment of authors, writers, and editors is expected to grow 8 percent, about as fast as the average for all occupations, from 2008 to 2018.

Education

It is strongly recommended to attend journalist schools to improve your skill set. Different journalist schools and journalist colleges will prepare an individual for the different types of work, and also help them improve their writing. People who hold degrees from journalist colleges have an easier time finding work.

As the journalism industry continues to grow, the need for journalists will increase. Now is a great time for prospects to act on their interest in journalism.