Every college student faces two questions during their time at school: What are you going to school for and why? In my opinion, the second question is very important.
I am going to school for journalism. From my experience, I have learned that a journalist today has to be well rounded, whether it’s for broadcast, print or radio. I have also learned from experience that when I tell people what I am going to school for, the “why” aspect never seems to matter. This is due to the fact that most of the time the first thing said is: “Isn’t journalism a dying field?” Or “Well, how’s the pay for a journalist today?”
No, these are not the only responses I receive, but it has happened enough for me to write about it.
The reason I say “why” is the most important is because it is the difference between going to school to get a degree because of the money or going to school for something I love and not relying on the pay as the only reason I picked it as a major.
Putting my degree to use as soon as I graduate is what I plan to do. It doesn’t matter to me what job or where. As long as I put what I paid thousands for to use, I will be happy. If I said the pay didn’t matter, obviously I would be lying. I say this only due to the fact that you can’t survive today without an income that can at least keep you afloat.
But when push comes to shove, I will take a low-paying job to start out so I can put my degree to use and hopefully, continue to love what I went to school for.
To clarify, I am not saying that picking a degree with the idea in mind that it will make millions is a bad thing. I am just saying it shouldn’t be the only reason. I would love if journalism would make me millions, but that would only be a perk of the degree to me. Annie Leibovitz is an American photographer. She has worked for Rolling Stone Magazine, for Vanity Fair and in 2007 Walt Disney Company hired her for their Year of a Million Dreams campaign. Leibovitz’s net worth is about 20 million.
Being a rich journalist can be done, but the best part about Leibovitz is that she worked for magazines like Rolling Stone and a company like Walt Disney. Leibovitz has worked at prestigious places and, as a perk of her job, has become very wealthy. All I am saying is that there is more to think about than money. Yes, it is very important, but where on the list of most important things is happiness?
In my opinion, if I am happy, the people, places and things around me will make me just as happy as someone stuck working in a career they hate, making a little more money.
Cyrus Lyons can be contacted at clyons@keene-equinox.com
