I am a journalism major at SMU. I accept the fact that I may have a hard time trying to find (and then keep) a job in the news industry. But this still depresses me:
CHICAGO– Class of 2008 journalism school students graduated into the worst job market for new journalists in nearly a quarter-century — and those who managed to find a job usually had few benefits to go with a stagnant salary, according to a survey released Wednesday.
…
“Only six in 10 of the graduates had full-time employment six to eight months after graduation,” Becker and Vlad report. That’s the lowest level of full-time employment ever reported in the 23 years of the survey.
University of Georgia’s Lee B. Becker, along with Tudor Vlad, conducted the study. Becker’s been doing this since 1986. Some results? 71% of public relations graduates had been employed, while only 59% of print journalism graduates had found employment. Many stated that they only took their jobs because they had no other opportunities. Job satisfaction fell from 42% in 2007 to only 37% in 2008 reporting that they felt “very satisfied” with their jobs. Average salary remained the same at $30,000, but Becker and Vlad found that graduates’ benefits packages were different:
“But the compensation package for last year’s graduates was lighter. Compared to a year ago, employers were less likely to pay all the cost of their health plans, or to pay at all for dental coverage, life insurance, maternity and paternity leave, child care and retirement.”
[Emphasis is mine.]
So what exactly am I getting myself into? I’ve got two years to find out how to make the changing industry mine.
And if I can’t, there’s always selling a kidney on the black market.
