Chloe asks, "What types of college courses would I need to take in order to enter into a Journalism career?"

Hi Chloe,

Excellent question. Most, but not all, colleges have a journalism program which tracks a person through a four-year period. Classes to get a journalism degree would include copy editing, newspaper and magazine writing, headline writing, covering the news, interviewing, the business of news, and so forth. A lot would depend on what type of journalism career you want. Is it towards a newspaper or TV or other medium?

If the college doesn't have a journalism program at all then it's best to take solid writing classes, solid grammar/English classes, good communications classes. If there's a newspaper or magazine on campus try to get on the staff.

There's a lot of controversy going on about how effective a journalism degree is in producing good journalists.

Ultimately, what editors want are people who are dedicated to the career, will stay in it so they can be trained, write well, research well, and can do these things fast and on deadline. There are excellent writers who can't write to deadlines and they usually don't make good journalists.

Do everything you can to understand the news business. Hang around people who have the same interests. Look to internships at the local paper in your area.

These things you should do to prepare you for becoming a working journalist.

Thanks for contacting Sunoasis Jobs and good luck in your pursuits!

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