Being a journalist can be overrated. People think that journalist are useless and the major is a waste of time. The thing is, it's not. Not all journalism majors are interested in being a news anchor or a newspaper columnist. Going into public relations, media, production and marketing/communications is also possible too.
While in school for a degree, students are all treated the same in terms of general education. We learn how to write a news story, press release, and freelance story. So, there is no differentiation until core classes. Here are a few things that journalism majors can all relate to.
The AP Style Book is our bible.
Thought you had problems writing in MLA or APA format? We have to follow AP format which is everything from grammar and punctuation. This ensures we are writing like journalist and once you learn the book (most schools require it) you never forget it.
The terror of being expected to edit your work old school style.
Editing has taken a huge turn for the best with software like Grammarly and the AP style book correction widget. These tools make sure your writing is in style and makes sense -- along with punctuation correction. Being asked to edit by hand can be foreign to us.
Suppressing the urge to correct friends, professors, family when they make grammatical or spelling errors.
After having writing drilled in your head, the tiniest mistakes drive you insane. It's a curse and a blessing.
Procrastination is our forte.
We're taught to work under pressure which translates to, "It's due in an hour, I got this." It actually works, but is still stressful.
Receiving criticisms for being a journalism major.
People say, Why did you choose that? Do you want to be on television? You could do so much more with that -- have you thought of... Like my options in life haven't already been thought out. Yes, I'm a journalist; no, I don't want to be an anchor, and I love my career path.
Networking is our life.
This is true even in school. Networking gets us interviews, leads to stories, contact info, etc. Without it, journalist would struggle.
Our lives are not that complicated, OK.
