Becoming a Journalist: Is it a good carer move and how to get into it?

Journalism consistently features in surveys of what carers graduates would most like to go into. This is also being helped by the increasing amount of media based courses available at colleges and universities nowadays.

But why is this such a popular choice for our future generations? Let's face it, it's competitive to start with, long hours and can be for very little pay.

Charlotte Abbott, 19, a journalism student from Sheffield Hallam University says "I enjoy writing in general and there are lots of different types of journalism as well. For example, I could be a feature writer where I can be a lot more subjective and let my own personality out on the piece or I could be a reporter. This has always been interesting to me because it is a great way to meet new people and basically be the eyes and ears of the public".

The fact is that you have to be a certain sort of person to be a journalist as it can be tough. However, there are a million advantages to this carer. What other job allows you such variety in everyday life, to travel the country and possibly the world, meet the most interesting people with the most compelling stories and get your opinions heard but possibly millions?

Being a journalist doesn't just consist of sitting in a newsroom with a pen and pad nowadays either. In this modern age you could go into magazines, radio, television and the ever growing web.

After gaining a journalism degree at the University of Staffordshire, James Sugrue,22, gained a job working for Channel fives web-based site Football Italiano;' After I finished my degree I wanted to use my journalism skills with another passion of mine. European football. I was fully aware of channel fives links with European football so when a job opportunity for a web reporter on their site came up I jumped at the chance.'

People don't have to have a media based degree to get into journalism. In fact it can sometimes help if you don't. Most major publishers will look for graduates to with a passion for something else, whether it be politics or sport: 'My media training certainly helped me get the job at Football Italiano but I think what really made me stand out was my passion for the sport and my knowledge about it. It can be a good idea to want to specialise in an area of journalism and know extensively about that topic' says James.

Of course qualifications play a major part in getting a leg up in journalism. It always helps to have a degree and if you want to be a reporter for a newspaper then an NCTJ is almost a must have. However, no certificate will help you as much as your own experience: 'The experience I have gained from channel five has shown other publishers that I know how to write and I definitely know how to write about football. Because of my collected cuttings from Football Italiano, it has allowed me to write for famous publishers across Europe and get my work seen by millions' says James.

Some University courses are now including working opportunities into their courses now knowing that the extra experience on the students CV's is likely to aid them when searching for their perfect job.

Twenty-four students from Sheffield Hallam University have been offered a place to go and work for the Olympic News Service as part of the Beijing Olymipics. Charlotte, who is one of the lucky pupils to be offered a place, says "This is a wonderful opportunity and is definitely going to help us gain jobs after we graduate. It is especially good for those who want to make it within sports journalism as this can be a very competitive area."

It can be pretty easy to gain journalism experience by writing for free, especially with the extensive amount of bloggers available on the internet nowadays. Special interest publishers encourage new writers, so writing about a hobby could be a good place to start, just like James did. You could also try writing to your local free sheets which will give you extra printed credit. These cuttings can then all be put into a portfolio which will look great to potential employers. And the more cuttings and writing styles used the better.
A good way to pick up new ideas and a variety of different writing styles is to simply read lots. James says "When I first started writing about football I was worried that I wasn't doing it in the right style. My editor advised me to read and learn from the other journalists which did really help. I feel that it even helped me to develop a style of my own".

Gillian Watson