Careers in journalism

MindCastle15
Mon, 23 Nov 2015 10:40:06 +0000

Hi,

I’m a student interested in being a journalist…Unfortunately tho, both my parents come from science backgrounds, and are mostly pushing me towards science-related fields. While I love science too, I have equal inclinations in some other fields which they never let me fully explore. I’ve always thought journalism to be a pretty amazing and glamorous field- especially investigative journalism- and I’d like to know more about it.
In school (I’m a gap year student), I loved English, history, chem and bio- I used to hate maths right till my last 2 years of HS, after which I started appreciating it more. (I still suck at it tho, which has led me to think that I don’t have much aptitude for science ). I’m a good writer, and I’m more the type who likes finding out the ‘why’ things work/happen instead of the 'how’s. Also, I am a pretty quiet and introverted person, and hate being in the spotlight. Public speaking is a problem, as is speaking out (tho I’m working on that- this is also a major reason why my parents steered me away- acc to them, you need some communication skills to do well in the humanities). Politics, law and international affairs (specially this)and public policy are some special interests of mine due to some of the life experiences I’ve had. I would probably like internet journalism/blogging etc, but not TV/radio. I love travelling. While a salary is not the most important thing to me (I would like a decent one tho), career STABILITY is pretty important. In other words, I don’t want a new job every 3 years, or moving to a new city every 5 years.
My questions:

1. What are the different fields in journalism? (some descriptions would be helpful) Pay, timings, lifestyle

2. Based on the description I’ve given of myself, would journalism be a good career for me?

3. Is a degree in journalism required to pursue it? Also, in the event that I am not able to convince my parents, are there other ways I can continue with my interests, especially in international and global affairs?

4. What are the career prospects? (growing, declining etc)
Do keep in mind that I have almost no clue about this field, because I’ve had no prior exposure, so please do keep your answers detailed. I would be extremely happy if a journalist/journalism student can answer my questions.