There are many among you, who would dream to become a journalist. To help you in your career pursuit, we have written this blog to tell you about your job roles, academic requirements, job outlook, and salary to see if this career is for you. To know more about how to become journalist, keep reading this blog.

Roles of journalists:

Journalists give people, accurate and unbiased information about current affairs through various media like print, TV, radio and online media. They need to do thorough research about stories and present them in clear and coherent manner. Along with excellent verbal abilities for communication, they must have excellent written communication abilities. They must have strong interpersonal and investigating skills to carry out contacts in an industry and carry out interviews.

Education needed Bachelor’s degree

Academics Journalism, communication, English or a related field

Median Salary (May 2015) $36,360

Source: U.S. BLS

A journalist person who does an investigation about current events, issues, and trends, and then develops a story along with the uncovered facts and present to the public.

They often work in a particular area like politics, entertainment, business or sports.

Career advice on how to prepare for a career in journalism

High School preparations:

No matter what medium you choose to share your investigations, you must have a good background in writing. You must have proficiency in English, language arts, humanities and social studies. You need to practice to write for school magazines, yearbook or newspaper.

Graduation in Journalism:

Graduation in journalism tells you how to write for various kinds of media. It teaches you to understand ethics of journalism and basic methods of investigation. As many journalists take to freelancing, you can also do courses in marketing and business administration as well.

Go for an Internship:

An internship course can help you gain an experience in the newsroom. Along with a related experience, you can develop a portfolio and establish contacts which might help you earn a job after graduation.

Job opportunities:

You can find work with newspapers, magazines, TV stations, radio stations, and universities, as well as a wide assortment of Internet portals. Employment is getting gradually declined in percentage from 2014-2024, mainly owing to losses in advertising revenue.

Advancement in Career:

You must be starting in a small market at a small station or newspaper. At fresher level, you might have to write obituaries or cover up civic meetings or court cases. After gaining experiences, more opportunities are there to flourish as a journalist. With much experience and exposure, you can become a columnist or an editor in a newspaper.

Relative Alternative Careers:

Besides the mainstream positions in media which needs a student to have bachelor’s degree in journalism, there are some related areas of expertise, where you can try your luck. Those interested in the technical aspect of reporting can opt for entering as a movie or video editors, whose job responsibilities include managing, editing and producing videos for telecommunication purposes. Another career related to writing is what needs similar skills like journalism to become an author and writing creative fiction or nonfiction for books, magazines, and other publications.

With this, we conclude our career advice on how to become a journalist. And keep looking into this space for more career guidance tips, news, and updates.