Is a journalism degree worth $46,000 a year?

For me, this question is a toss-up. I have learned a lot in my time Ithaca College, but it still is difficult for me to justify paying $46,000 for it.

"The issue is not writing. It's what you write about. One of my favorite columnists is Jonathan Weil, who writes for Bloomberg. He broke the Enron story, and he broke it because he's one of the very few journalists in America who really knows how to read a balance sheet. That mean Jonathan Weil will always have a job, and will always be read, and will always have something interesting to say. He's unique. Most accountants don't write articles, and most journalists don't know anything about accounting. Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get master's in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that's the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminshing. Journalism has to get smarter."

I agree and disagree with this quote. I agree that a journalist has to write about what he/she knows. If you know a lot about what you're writing, then it will come across in what the piece. It will also make life a lot easier for you. However, I do think that the writing part is important as well. If you know a lot about a topic, but you don't have the skill to write it down and convey it effectively to an audience, then you are useless.

I, personally, have learned a lot at my time here. I have also gotten many connections through the work that I have done at Ithaca College. But I do feel that some of the classes here are quite redundant, and in that capacity something needs to be done. But where many students have chosen to take on a double major, I went after something a little different. I came into Ithaca with an immense passion and vast knowledge of the game of tennis, and I enjoy writing about it. That's what I want to do. But I can't go to grad school for tennis. It is just something that I picked up at a young age and have been following religiously for about 10 years. I can write about it effectively because I know so much about it, which is what Gladwell is trying to convey.

I am also a double minor in Spanish and Italian because I love foreign languages. I have also taken French for four semesters. I pick them up fairly quickly and understand the demand for people to be able to speak more than one language. I think I am bold enough to make the statement that many American journalists don't have a second language, and I think this severely limits them. I suppose that if the journalism route doesn't pan out for me, I can do something with the languages, be an interpreter or whatever. But I hope to be able to incorporate the languages with the sports journalism to be an effective aspect in life.