To be, or not to be (a journalist): that is the question

Posted by Gida Hammami on July 1, 2009 at 5:07 PM

A concerned mother asked Joe Grimm whether or not her son, a recent journalism school graduate, has a promising future worth pursuing. She bears witness to her son's sincere but fruitless efforts to land a paying job as a journalist.

Joe Grimm is a visiting journalist at the University of Michigan who has addressed similar concerns in his live web chat and Ask the Recruiter column. Nearly a month ago he spoke on whether or not dailies are hiring given that they are laying off reporters left and right.

To that, Grimm affirmed that dailies are still hiring. To the concerned mother, Grimm advised that she should avoid crushing her son's dreams of becoming a journalist as that might be devastating to his self-esteem and identity. Instead, he encourages her to "support him as he works through this difficult time," be it through financial means, helping him to relocate or explore other careers within the field or receiving additional training.

It seems that the option to return to journalism school is the option for many. The number of enrollment in journalism school is at a record high as has been confirmed in a report by Forbes published several months ago.

Perhaps going to school does - excuse the pun - pay: 64% of the recent graduating class from Colombia University's Graduate School of Journalism had a promising future on the horizon. Although the percentage includes fellowships, continued education and internships, 64% might be an underestimate since the number is an early estimate.

Grimm's optimism might be linked to the reality that while prestigious entities like CNN, NPR and the New Yorker may be laying off veteran staffers, their "restructuring" means replacing the old-timers with newbies willing to live off of an under $40K salary, one that categorizes them as a lower class income earner.

A wise man - Cary Tennis- once said in his advice column, Since you Asked for Salon.com, to another anguished J-school grad (who has an impressive bundle of internships under his belt) pondering the prospect of switching careers paths to one that provides more financial security, "If you are a true journalist, you are supposed to be having a hard time. This is how the world makes writers."

Sources: Salon, Poynter