The Daily Beast posted an article recently titled, “20 Most Useless College Majors.” The journalists who wrote the story concluded that a B.A. in journalism is the most useless degree of all.
According to the report, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was reviewed to come up with the list, including starting- and mid-career salary levels, the expected change in the total number of jobs from 2008 to 2018 and the expected percentage change in available jobs from 2008 to 2018.
If someone goes into journalism today because he or she wants a high-paying job with lots of perks and long-term job security, he or she will be disappointed and his or her education will be, as the article declares, useless. But for those who want to provide a valuable service to a news-hungry public, their degree is of great value.
The Beast’s conclusion does not bode well for news consumers, but it does open the door for the aggressive, well-trained and motivated citizen journalist who possesses the desire to share truth. After all, the demand for fair and thorough reporting of news is not on the decline.
Transitional times in any industry are problematic but the transition going on in journalism is frightening. While the variety of platforms for news writing, news photography and news videography increases, the value of an education in journalism decreases.
This means that as never before when it comes to reading the news, caveat emptor – let the buyer beware!
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