Educated for unemployment
Margaret Wente, Globe and Mail
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(…) Sociology professors are always complaining that I pick on sociology too much. But really, I could pick on journalism too. Journalism schools have spread like mushrooms in May. Some of them are excellent. They also provide high-quality employment for aging journalists, including some very, very dear friends who, I hope, will think of me some day if I ever get laid off. What these schools do not provide is jobs in journalism. That’s up to the job market, which, you may have noticed, is undergoing an epic tsunami.
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(…) Sociology professors are always complaining that I pick on sociology too much. But really, I could pick on journalism too. Journalism schools have spread like mushrooms in May. Some of them are excellent. They also provide high-quality employment for aging journalists, including some very, very dear friends who, I hope, will think of me some day if I ever get laid off. What these schools do not provide is jobs in journalism. That’s up to the job market, which, you may have noticed, is undergoing an epic tsunami.
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I do not know what fraction of journalism students actually wind up in journalism. My impression is: not many. Journalism schools should be made to collect this information and post it prominently on their websites. Of course if they did, a lot of students might choose pharmacy instead.
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I’m not saying that those of you who’ve majored in journalism or sociology have wasted your time. What I’m saying is that you’ve been sold a bill of goods. You deserved to have a better notion of how your considerable investment of time and money might pay off. You do not deserve to spend half your 20s in school in order to acquire expensive credentials that neither you nor your employer require. You certainly deserve a higher-education system that puts your needs first, rather than the needs of the faculty and the administration.
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Good luck with that job hunt. You’re going to need it.