Are we sidelining academic degrees?

Over the last week, I’ve written 3000 words on Chaucer’s House of Fame and had an exam on Language Acquisition (baby talk, essentially). I’m all over transferable skills, and but I did wonder last week just how helpful consuming several textbooks about the development of human speech really is.

And it seems, at times, that my lack of working towards a journalism qualification is limiting me. I’m not looking for a job, but I do keep an eye on vacancies and internships as they come and go. I also watch out for things like innovation funds where money is set aside to help ideas off the ground. Increasingly, I’ve felt like those of us studying for academic degrees are being sidelined.

Maybe I’ve been unlucky in what I’ve been checking, but from where I’m sat doing a degree that isn’t journalism, it’s starting to look tricky. I’m a while away from graduation yet, and still have no idea what I’d like to do next when I do, but I don’t like the idea of being forced towards a postgrad journalism degree just to help open doors.

As a couple of examples, the BBC’s Postgraduate Student Journalism Innovation Award is targeting only the UK’s postgraduate journalism schools, as they say some of the “most creative material” is coming from them. That can be true, but I fail to see why they’d exclude wannabes working on things without the support of a postgraduate environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the BBC’s started the award, and I think there should be more projects like it, but they say they’ve made it “deliberately broad” – provided you’re already in the exclusive journo postgrad club.

Furthermore, The Jobseeker and I were discussing the new paid Guardian US internships that we tweeted about yesterday. We agreed that they seem to be targeting postgraduate students at the likes of Columbia. “Applicants should be students on post-graduate journalism courses or recent graduates looking for a career in journalism,” the description states, but I’m not sure that means they want your interest if you’ve qualified with a different degree.

It’s possible I’m seeing things that don’t exist. What do you think? Is there an increasing demand for journalism degrees, and postgrad qualifications? Comment or tweet @wannabehacks with your thoughts.

AKJRiseley

I couldn't agree more with this article - as a fellow undergrad studying an 'academic' degree, I'd hoped that it would put me ahead of the game (transferable skills as mentioned, an area of specialism, interests outside of journalism) come graduation but it actually seems to do the opposite which begs the question, providing we know we want to be hacks come the time of uni applications, shouldn't we just all do BAs in journalism? I was always told to steer clear of an undergrad degree in the field and to do an MA at a later date if necessary - perhaps it was good advice but I can't help feeling like I've wasted 3 years and got myself in £25000 in debt for an unjustifyable cause...It's a scary thought that doing a degree in anything outside of journalism could actually delay entry into the industry and, potentially, hinder applications to internships and job opportunities which ask specifically for journalism graduates.

I'm not underestimating the power of BA Journalism (in fact, given my chance again, I'd probably do exactly that!) but shouldn't more value be placed on the fact that those of us studying for academic degrees will be equipped with different aptitudes, knowledge and experiences, come graduation? It also shows that we are committed enough to another subject to study it for 3 years and might even lead us to develop an alternative - yet interesting - perspective from which to write in the future. At the very least, employers should welcome a wide range of applicants, what with variety being the spice of life and all that!

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