When you are thinking about whether or not a journalism career is right for you, you will find that the first thing that you need to consider is whether or not you will be able to do the coursework. There are a number of different writing conventions that are used by journalists which are not taught in schools, and to master them there will be some coursework involved. You will discover, however, that formal schooling is less important than skills, qualifications, and experience.
The first thing that you should think about when you are considering becoming a journalist is how much of a self-starter you are going to be. In many ways, this is a field in which you need to work your way from the ground up, and that can definitely sap your energy and time. Consider what your options are and what you can do to make sure that you are going to do the work that you want to. In many ways, you will also be fighting for job positions. The more samples that you can have in different publications by the time that you apply for the job, the better off you are going to be.
You will also find that the type of reporting you want to will greatly affect the kind of jobs you can get. You may think that you will be able to move to the big city and start hunting down big stories right away, when actually most journalists get their start in small towns. There is a real dearth of journalists who are willing to work in small towns, but these are some of the best places to get jobs such as media writing jobs when you are just starting out and are getting ready to prove yourself. Take some time and really think about your options and what you can do to get the right kind of results from your work. Make sure that you are going to be able to move forward, no matter where you start out from.
Look at the kind of journalism that you want to do. Do you have a keen interest in hard news stories, or do you have a real love of soft reporting and of using a lot of different viewpoints on the way that people live their lives? Take some time and really think about what your options are going to be, and make sure that your niche is something that you can feel comfortable working on.
You are going to discover that there are many different types of reporting out there, and the best thing about being a reporter can also be considered the worst: you will be talking with a lot of different people. It goes without saying that you are not going to be able to move forward unless you can really talk to people and unless you are able to get the right results out them. If this is something difficult for you, you might need to consider a different occupation.
Consider what you think your strengths and your weaknesses might be when you are looking at making sure that you are going to be getting the right kind of work taken care of. What do you want to do with your life? Do you think that you would like to be in a position where you will be able to make your work viewable by lots of people out there? Take some time and make sure that you are in a position where you can move forward and get the right kind of results that you need out of the situation.