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Back to School for Me

NeverTrump

NeverTrump

Exposing GOP since 2015
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For those of you who don't know the background story I posted some of it here: https://www.debatepolitics.com/self-help-and-advice/310690-job-searching-3-years.html

Increasingly over the past few months I have decided that the only companies I'd like to work for are media companies. I want to be in the center of the action, to study what's going on in the world and to share my opinions about it to a larger audience, whether that'd be a publication, newspapers, website, or news channel. So I decided to go back to school to get a masters in either journalism or media studies. Did anybody on here go back to school after 5+ years being out of undergrade school? Did you choose full time masters, part time masters or an online degree? Did you have a full time job while you went back? Did your family support you? Or did you live off loans?

I'm lucky to live close enough to NYC to get into some good schools next year.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
For those of you who don't know the background story I posted some of it here: https://www.debatepolitics.com/self-help-and-advice/310690-job-searching-3-years.html

Increasingly over the past few months I have decided that the only companies I'd like to work for are media companies. I want to be in the center of the action, to study what's going on in the world and to share my opinions about it to a larger audience, whether that'd be a publication, newspapers, website, or news channel. So I decided to go back to school to get a masters in either journalism or media studies. Did anybody on here go back to school after 5+ years being out of undergrade school? Did you choose full time masters, part time masters or an online degree? Did you have a full time job while you went back? Did your family support you? Or did you live off loans?

I'm lucky to live close enough to NYC to get into some good schools next year.
Click to expand...

I went back to school at 29, but to a technical school instead of university. After high school I went to uni for Business. I took a course in Chemical technology, but the pay at grad sucked so I stayed working at Safeway for a couple of years then found a job in my field. I worked during when I went back to school typically 24- 28 hrs a week at $17 per hour. No loans

I have had coworkers and friends take masters, all while working. One got a job at Bayer Crop science right after finishing his MBA
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
I went back to school at 29, but to a technical school instead of university. After high school I went to uni for Business. I took a course in Chemical technology, but the pay at grad sucked so I stayed working at Safeway for a couple of years then found a job in my field. I worked during when I went back to school typically 24- 28 hrs a week at $17 per hour. No loans

I have had coworkers and friends take masters, all while working. One got a job at Bayer Crop science right after finishing his MBA
Click to expand...

I'm living paycheck to paycheck at my job now. No way I can afford any masters program on my own. I may be able to convince my CEO and manager to get me a flexible schedule while I do a class one day a week, that wouldn't be too bad and I saved the organization $100s of thousands of dollars but if they don't compensate for that, then I'll have to quit. I mean I'll have to quit anyway since most of these graduate schools have a required internship at the end of the program.

Funny, I'll be turning 29 in a few days.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
I'm living paycheck to paycheck at my job now. No way I can afford any masters program on my own. I may be able to convince my CEO and manager to get me a flexible schedule while I do a class one day a week, that wouldn't be too bad and I saved the organization $100s of thousands of dollars but if they don't compensate for that, then I'll have to quit. I mean I'll have to quit anyway since most of these graduate schools have a required internship at the end of the program.

Funny, I'll be turning 29 in a few days.
Click to expand...

What about taking the courses online? This way you'll have all the flexibility you need.
 
Do your homework, thouroughly. Target exactly what you want, clear goals. Media, but what job, exactly? Find out what you want to do, then talk to some people who have that job. You do not want to incur 30+ grand in debt, and still be in the same situation you're currently in.

I was going to go back to school to learn welding, only to talk to some old and young guys in the field, to find out that up here, it takes 20 years to start making good money as a welder. And school would set me into 30k worth of debt. Bad deal, in my book. You wanna make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. And you wanna make sure that going to school will even help you land the job. Schools are all gonna advertise that their alumni are employed, but what they won't tell you is that fully half of them are working outside their field, at McJobs.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
For those of you who don't know the background story I posted some of it here: https://www.debatepolitics.com/self-help-and-advice/310690-job-searching-3-years.html

Increasingly over the past few months I have decided that the only companies I'd like to work for are media companies. I want to be in the center of the action, to study what's going on in the world and to share my opinions about it to a larger audience, whether that'd be a publication, newspapers, website, or news channel. So I decided to go back to school to get a masters in either journalism or media studies. Did anybody on here go back to school after 5+ years being out of undergrade school? Did you choose full time masters, part time masters or an online degree? Did you have a full time job while you went back? Did your family support you? Or did you live off loans?

I'm lucky to live close enough to NYC to get into some good schools next year.
Click to expand...

School 37-42. Full time BA and teaching certification..

I was lucky to work part-time and had VA benefits to use.

Went undergrad to a Community College. State University for upper level.

To be honest I was a mediocre student in high school. I was more focused as an adult. Classes were far easier later in life.
 
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KevinKohler said:
Do your homework, thouroughly. Target exactly what you want, clear goals. Media, but what job, exactly? Find out what you want to do, then talk to some people who have that job. You do not want to incur 30+ grand in debt, and still be in the same situation you're currently in.

I was going to go back to school to learn welding, only to talk to some old and young guys in the field, to find out that up here, it takes 20 years to start making good money as a welder. And school would set me into 30k worth of debt. Bad deal, in my book. You wanna make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. And you wanna make sure that going to school will even help you land the job. Schools are all gonna advertise that their alumni are employed, but what they won't tell you is that fully half of them are working outside their field, at McJobs.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's currently my cousin's situation. He did a masters in journalism right after undergrad, and the only job he has found was a job at a start up for a few months, but then again, he didn't have five years of exp under his belt like I do.
 
KevinKohler said:
Do your homework, thouroughly. Target exactly what you want, clear goals. Media, but what job, exactly? Find out what you want to do, then talk to some people who have that job. You do not want to incur 30+ grand in debt, and still be in the same situation you're currently in.

I was going to go back to school to learn welding, only to talk to some old and young guys in the field, to find out that up here, it takes 20 years to start making good money as a welder. And school would set me into 30k worth of debt. Bad deal, in my book. You wanna make sure the juice is worth the squeeze. And you wanna make sure that going to school will even help you land the job. Schools are all gonna advertise that their alumni are employed, but what they won't tell you is that fully half of them are working outside their field, at McJobs.
Click to expand...

I am surprised about welding. In Alberta a journeyman welder willing to travel a few years ago could make $150 000 a year. A journeyman millwright staying in the city would make $ 80 000 a year with just a couple of years exp
 
Wish you all the best my man, nothing is more respectable to me than a man willing to educate himself and develop new skills regardless of his age. That kind of can-do attitude is what this world needs.
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
I am surprised about welding. In Alberta a journeyman welder willing to travel a few years ago could make $150 000 a year. A journeyman millwright staying in the city would make $ 80 000 a year with just a couple of years exp
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That's what I got, too....willing to travel. And not just within state, all over. The fellas pulling six figures are specialists, doing underwater stuff, or other specialized skill sets, and the travel has them gone for weeks at a time. In house welder a make far less. And I can't travel like that. I have to be home at the end of the day to cook dinner, help the kids with homework, etc.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
For those of you who don't know the background story I posted some of it here: https://www.debatepolitics.com/self-help-and-advice/310690-job-searching-3-years.html

Increasingly over the past few months I have decided that the only companies I'd like to work for are media companies. I want to be in the center of the action, to study what's going on in the world and to share my opinions about it to a larger audience, whether that'd be a publication, newspapers, website, or news channel. So I decided to go back to school to get a masters in either journalism or media studies. Did anybody on here go back to school after 5+ years being out of undergrade school? Did you choose full time masters, part time masters or an online degree? Did you have a full time job while you went back? Did your family support you? Or did you live off loans?

I'm lucky to live close enough to NYC to get into some good schools next year.
Click to expand...

I'm not a grad student (yet) but I went back to college at 45, so if I can do it, anybody can. Nothing wrong with it, and you'd be surprised at how many older, "non-traditional" students there are. Hey, I saw a lady the other day with gray hair! So I'm not at least the oldest in my school. :lol:

What Nota said, though - try some online classes if you are disciplined enough. Discipline is a very real part of it, and I've noticed that online classes are harder than in-person classes.

Also what Chuckie said - OMG and I can't stress this enough. Make sure that the college you attend is a real school, and not a diploma mill. Good rule of thumb? If they advertise on TV, then it's not for you. You'll waste tens of thousands of dollars on tuition, and your credits won't be transferrable.

https://www.geteducated.com/college-degree-mills/161-college-degree-or-diploma-mill

Good luck. You'll be glad you did this. I am finished after summer quarter, and I am taking fall off, and then on to grad school.
 
Superfly said:
I'm not a grad student (yet) but I went back to college at 45, so if I can do it, anybody can. Nothing wrong with it, and you'd be surprised at how many older, "non-traditional" students there are. Hey, I saw a lady the other day with gray hair! So I'm not at least the oldest in my school. :lol:

What Nota said, though - try some online classes if you are disciplined enough. Discipline is a very real part of it, and I've noticed that online classes are harder than in-person classes.

Also what Chuckie said - OMG and I can't stress this enough. Make sure that the college you attend is a real school, and not a diploma mill. Good rule of thumb? If they advertise on TV, then it's not for you. You'll waste tens of thousands of dollars on tuition, and your credits won't be transferrable.

https://www.geteducated.com/college-degree-mills/161-college-degree-or-diploma-mill

Good luck. You'll be glad you did this. I am finished after summer quarter, and I am taking fall off, and then on to grad school.
Click to expand...

Oh man, you bring up a great point!!! I hate those TV schools! No, I'm doing researching programs I am interested in. I'm about to go over to a few of them right now to get information. I'm planning on starting Aug 2019. I already missed the deadlines for this year, so at least I have plenty of time to get ready. I'm going to look at a number of options, but for right now so far it seems like full time is the best option and will give me the best overall experience in order to succeed and make connections in the media. Right now I have none.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
Oh man, you bring up a great point!!! I hate those TV schools! No, I'm doing researching programs I am interested in. I'm about to go over to a few of them right now to get information. I'm planning on starting Aug 2019. I already missed the deadlines for this year, so at least I have plenty of time to get ready. I'm going to look at a number of options, but for right now so far it seems like full time is the best option and will give me the best overall experience in order to succeed and make connections in the media. Right now I have none.
Click to expand...

You'll love it. I do. Well, this particular term is kicking my ass. I have all my core classes finished, and all my concentration classes finished. I am just finishing up with my electives, which are supposed to be fun, and not as stressful, as say, a 4000 level psych class. I am taking classes now that are kicking my ass, and this was supposed to be easy. "You'll almost coast to graduation," my AA said. *sigh* No, no coasting here.
 
The best of luck to you. You can do it.
 
Superfly said:
You'll love it. I do. Well, this particular term is kicking my ass. I have all my core classes finished, and all my concentration classes finished. I am just finishing up with my electives, which are supposed to be fun, and not as stressful, as say, a 4000 level psych class. I am taking classes now that are kicking my ass, and this was supposed to be easy. "You'll almost coast to graduation," my AA said. *sigh* No, no coasting here.
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supposed to be fun :lamo. It's not fun it's a job, that's why I don't think I could hack part-time.
Yeah I am not the best student. Did terrible in undergrad, so I have to ace my GRE first, but passion seems to go a long way in journalism/media more than anything else.
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
supposed to be fun :lamo. It's not fun it's a job, that's why I don't think I could hack part-time.
Yeah I am not the best student. Did terrible in undergrad, so I have to ace my GRE first, but passion seems to go a long way in journalism/media more than anything else.
Click to expand...

Well I think you'll do fine. Usually people who go back a little older are more determined. The professors generally like you better too, because you work harder and aren't afraid to ask questions, or get your hands dirty.
 
Superfly said:
Well I think you'll do fine. Usually people who go back a little older are more determined. The professors generally like you better too, because you work harder and aren't afraid to ask questions, or get your hands dirty.
Click to expand...

I've heard that somewhere before. ;)
 
You said that you hate being on camera and don't like your voice, that leaves you stuck with writing. Hate to say it but today it's Internet 2.0 and media rich content is the only thing that sells.

It's not the print journalists who are setting the world on fire, it's Trae Crowder or James O'Keefe, and almost everyone in between. Even if you make your bones primarily by writing, you're still going to get invited onto news shows and talk shows if you hit it big.
And this field is not a place where you want to hide in the underbrush, you will starve.

Are you more interested in content creation? Layout, graphics, editorial, special effects, audio?
Those are all behind the scenes jobs.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
You said that you hate being on camera and don't like your voice, that leaves you stuck with writing. Hate to say it but today it's Internet 2.0 and media rich content is the only thing that sells.

It's not the print journalists who are setting the world on fire, it's Trae Crowder or James O'Keefe, and almost everyone in between. Even if you make your bones primarily by writing, you're still going to get invited onto news shows and talk shows if you hit it big.
And this field is not a place where you want to hide in the underbrush, you will starve.

Are you more interested in content creation? Layout, graphics, editorial, special effects, audio?
Those are all behind the scenes jobs.
Click to expand...

I'm honestly interested in everything. That's why I think going back to school is the best option to go through these classes and see what I'd like. Who knows? I may like the camera, just nervous about it. I'm very techy, current job is in IT, but it's losing it's flair. I thought I would be doing way cooler things here, but I'm at an agency that doesn't care about tech at all and all my co-workers are idiots, when it comes to technology. So it's not an ideal place to advance, and I can't even unless my boss dies.

My IT career has stalled and even if I move somewhere else, I'll still have to prove myself all over again, and will likely be doing similar things with way more restrictions. I've done too much in IT to be an expert in anything and the field is moving too fast for me to keep up. Plus I'm not technical enough to succeed in it, I've learned that the hard way in interviews.

I'm apparently not qualified to leave this job and go somewhere else since I haven't had an interview since October, and I'm getting those emails back from larger companies saying so.

I'm honestly most interested in conspiracies and fake news I'm aiming towards academia in the near future as well. Any advice would come in handy though.
 
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NeverTrumpGOP said:
I'm honestly most interested in conspiracies and fake news I'm aiming towards academia in the near future as well. Any advice would come in handy though.
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You're INTERESTED in them?
Uuuuuhhhhh (backs away slowly) that's....that's nice.
Academia? You're interested in teaching?
Teaching comes from doing, I wouldn't trust any teacher in a field like that who doesn't have a background in actually doing it.
Would you take a course in Directing for TV from a professor who has never directed an actual show?
Fortunately my UCLA professor on that course was Ivan Cury, who made his bones directing The Young and the Restless.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
You're INTERESTED in them?
Uuuuuhhhhh (backs away slowly) that's....that's nice.
Academia? You're interested in teaching?
Teaching comes from doing, I wouldn't trust any teacher in a field like that who doesn't have a background in actually doing it.
Would you take a course in Directing for TV from a professor who has never directed an actual show?
Fortunately my UCLA professor on that course was Ivan Cury, who made his bones directing The Young and the Restless.
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Mostly researching and debunking. I'm pretty good at looking up information and organizing it so I figured that theres something like that in journalism for me. hehe
 
NeverTrumpGOP said:
Mostly researching and debunking. I'm pretty good at looking up information and organizing it so I figured that theres something like that in journalism for me. hehe
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Researching and debunking is basically investigative journalism. An investigative journalist is a detective. The tools you will need are an advanced degree in English, and minors in History and Journalism, with an emphasis of the latter on AP Style.

But still, in the end you're still a detective, the only difference being, you're not out to catch crooks for the police and courts, you're out to catch them for the public's right to know.
You're going to want to have some background in law as well.

And you can get an internship doing story research at most major news outlets, too if you know how to search for them. Internships are one of the most valuable tools available to any student of the craft and I wouldn't begin plying a career path in that industry without completing at least one or two internships.
 
Checkerboard Strangler said:
Researching and debunking is basically investigative journalism. An investigative journalist is a detective. The tools you will need are an advanced degree in English, and minors in History and Journalism, with an emphasis of the latter on AP Style.

But still, in the end you're still a detective, the only difference being, you're not out to catch crooks for the police and courts, you're out to catch them for the public's right to know.
You're going to want to have some background in law as well.

And you can get an internship doing story research at most major news outlets, too if you know how to search for them. Internships are one of the most valuable tools available to any student of the craft and I wouldn't begin plying a career path in that industry without completing at least one or two internships.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's why I was thinking full time student. That way it will give me time to take those internships, my job now will just get in the way. Taking an internship was the one thing I regretted not doing in undergrad, it really limited my options. But maybe I can do something at night/weekends to make money. So the advanced degree say PhD in communications will not help? That what I was thinking long term, then perhaps law school in the far future. I'm only 29, got plenty of time to learn.
 
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