those in First Year Journalism

daisyaikou

How are you finding the course? The college? Fellow students? Dublin?

I got a place on the course last year through advanced entry, but defferred it until this year. I'm from Ireland but have been studying abroad and dont like my course but am a little weary of returning to Ireland. I'm not really familiar with Dublin at all but it seems very small. Kind of worried whether I will adjust and also not keen on starting first year at 21 with the young'uns just out of LC....

Anyone been in a similiar situation?

Shreddingblood

Well, i'm in first year and I fookin hate the course. That being said, i realised I don't want to be a journalist so I'm probably the wrong person to ask.

saa

Shreddingblood wrote: »

Well, i'm in first year and I fookin hate the course. That being said, i realised I don't want to be a journalist so I'm probably the wrong person to ask.

Can you change course and go straight into second year? I know a few people who did that and its worked out brill for all of them.

Shreddingblood

saa wrote: »

Can you change course and go straight into second year? I know a few people who did that and its worked out brill for all of them.

I should probably look into it.

Konata

I don't know anything about the Journalism course but I started Applied Languages in September at the age of 21. I was previously studying in UCD but had to drop out for various reasons. Regarding the age difference, I've genuinely found no problems at all. There are people younger than me in the course but there's also a couple of people older and we all get on fine. I was worried about it too when I was starting but age just really doesn't factor into our daily lives.

Just thought I'd share my experiences about that bit anyway

Breifne72

im in 6th year at the minute, and was thinkin of applyin for journalism in DCU, could anyone tell me what the course is like? how many hours per week etc? thanks

Meow_Meow

Shreddingblood wrote: »

Well, i'm in first year and I fookin hate the course. That being said, i realised I don't want to be a journalist so I'm probably the wrong person to ask.

Probably worth keeping in mind that studying journalism doesn't simply mean becoming a journalist- many careers require a good style of writing etc. But if you don't like the course, you don't like the course

blueboy123

daisyaikou wrote: »

How are you finding the course? The college? Fellow students? Dublin?

I got a place on the course last year through advanced entry, but defferred it until this year. I'm from Ireland but have been studying abroad and dont like my course but am a little weary of returning to Ireland. I'm not really familiar with Dublin at all but it seems very small. Kind of worried whether I will adjust and also not keen on starting first year at 21 with the young'uns just out of LC....

Anyone been in a similiar situation?

I'm going into my final year in the course now and I was 21 when i went into first year. Havent had any problems at all adjusting. Yes, most of the class are younger but there are a few around my age and a few older again so there was never a problem. Two years into the course and I still love it. It can be tough at times but you learn so much in such a short space on time.

candle_wax

I graduated from the BA a few years ago, and like every year I guess, there's always people who love it/tolerate it/hate it.

I loved it, but firstly, I'd just advise you to research the modules properly - it's can be very academic at times, and you do end up going "Hang on, what has this got to do with being a journalist...?!"
But those law/politics/communication theory/etc modules are the reality of studying for an academic degree, and basically you just have to suck it up.

Secondly, really think about why you want to do it. If you:
A - Want to be "a writer"
B - Plan to change the world with your investigative journalism skills
C - Think it's all about backstage passes and meeting celebrities

...well then you're *probably* gonna be disappointed


My class was a mixture of ages - mostly post-LC students, but still about 10 or so who were slightly older?

Max001

candle_wax wrote: »

I graduated from the BA a few years ago, and like every year I guess, there's always people who love it/tolerate it/hate it.
I loved it, but firstly, I'd just advise you to research the modules properly - it's can be very academic at times, and you do end up going "Hang on, what has this got to do with being a journalist...?!"
But those law/politics/communication theory/etc modules are the reality of studying for an academic degree, and basically you just have to suck it up.QUOTE]

We've talked to 300+ journalism students since we went live with our beta site last August http://www.studenty.meand what we hear frequently is that there's limited practical skills delivery, perhaps because the vocation is so broad. Definitely get lots of practical experience, alongside your degree and don't just wait until you're told to prepare your portfolio

FDrohan

I've just finished first year Journalism and I'm 20. I started second year of a different course in DCU and hated it so switched to first year Journalism. The course is great if journalism is your interest, though there is a lot of work and continuous assessment. There's a good variety of modules aswell so you do feel you're covering a broad range of journalism subjects including history of media, digital media skills (which I actually hated) and things like news reporting/editing/writing. As for being 21, there's at least 5 or 6 mature students in the course and a lot of people haven't come straight from LC as they have done media courses in Ballyfermot etc so I don't think your age would be a big deal!

PanicStations

Can I make a suggestion? I notice a lot of threads asking about what courses are like, hours per week etc. This is all good stuff to know, but I think its also important to know what the job market is like. Especially for a degree like journalism, where the industry is changing so much, it might be helpful to ask (recent) graduates rather than current students whether the degree is worth doing.

So, if there are are Journalism graduates out there, can you tell us:
Has the course been helpful to you?
How have your graduating class fared?
Any regrets?

Shreddingblood

In a speech the head of the school of communications (class A pr1ck) gave at the hybrid awards this year it was said that only one graduate from last year was employed. i think that's what he said anyway. I was fairly shteamed.

candle_wax

Shreddingblood wrote: »

In a speech the head of the school of communications (class A pr1ck) gave at the hybrid awards this year it was said that only one graduate from last year was employed. i think that's what he said anyway. I was fairly shteamed.

I'm not sure how they say something like that? I graduated a few years ago and am pretty sure nobody in DCU has any idea where I'm working now... (I didn't fill in those survey things)

candle_wax

PanicStations wrote: »

So, if there are are Journalism graduates out there, can you tell us:
Has the course been helpful to you?
How have your graduating class fared?
Any regrets?

- Of course it's been helpful. But as there's X amount of journalism/media graduates every year, having a degree (in a no-degree-necessarily-required-profession) isn't enough. I slogged it out for summers in my local paper (no J1 for me ) which really helped with getting a decent INTRA, and then getting my current job.

- I'm not really in contact with my class, so can't really comment. Judging by Facebook quite a few have left the country, and I'm aware of about 5 or so with full-time journalism-realted jobs in Dublin.

- No regrets. But I completely understand why people don't enjoy the course.

On an aside, I wish we could've learnt a language, or had a semester abroad - previously they were both part of the course.

blueboy123

Shreddingblood wrote: »

In a speech the head of the school of communications (class A pr1ck) gave at the hybrid awards this year it was said that only one graduate from last year was employed. i think that's what he said anyway. I was fairly shteamed.

candle_wax wrote: »

I'm not sure how they say something like that? I graduated a few years ago and am pretty sure nobody in DCU has any idea where I'm working now... (I didn't fill in those survey things)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not what he said at all. He was just referring to one student who had made a big impact in the journo business since completing his degree (and was present on the night).

Some people like the degree, some don't. If you don't put the effort in, you wont get anything out of it. First year was alright, but it's second year that you start to do proper stuff imo, more focussed on producing content, i.e. radio packages, tv bulletins, news articles etc!

Shreddingblood

blueboy123 wrote: »

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not what he said at all. He was just referring to one student who had made a big impact in the journo business since completing his degree (and was present on the night).

Again, shteamed. He's such a grumpy aul cúnt that I just expected him to say something of that ilk.

Over_the_waves

Hi folks,
I graduated from the BA in Journalism course in 2008. In general, I found it to be very stimulating and interesting, with an emphasis on gaining technical skills in various media (print, radio, TV and new media). However, as some posters say above, this is not obvious from the first semester modules! When I was there, there were a lot of introductory modules in disciplines like law, sociology,etc etc which were a bit of a slog for a lot of us. However, if you persevere and want to be a journalist, then a lot of interesting (and to some peoples' minds, more relevant) stuff comes afterwards, with radio, TV and new media modules, which contain a lot of practical assignments.

As some posters say, there are also a fair amount of academic modules (some of which was 'filler' to my mind). The upside to this, however, is that the course can be as broad as you wish it to be, and there are a lot of electives which can be really useful later on. For example, I took a series of politics modules all the way through the course, which enabled me to gain entry to a politics postgrad, which enabled me to get a paid political internship. Likewise, others took a series of law modules (I remember constitutional law, EU law and tort being offered as options) which allowed those who didn't want to be journalists to go in a different direction afterwards.

As for downsides, well, two stick out in my mind. The first was the lack of an option for an Erasmus semester/foreign year (which used to comprise a four year Journalism BA, but which was removed when the course was changed to a three-year degree, the year I started college). Having lived abroad and having Erasmus students as friends, it's a definite regret of mine that I didn't get the chance to experience that. Secondly, the foreign language option was also removed in 2005. As someone working in communications for an international organisation at the moment, I can say that language ability is highly regarded in Europe in particular for those in media/comms, and I would encourage anyone with the time/motivation/ resources to get learning a foreign language, whether through a language exchange with other students or language schools or whatever.
Actually, two more minor gripes come to my mind. The first one was that I found the INTRA work experience module at the end of third year not to be terribly well-organised (but in mitigation, they had two groups of final-year students to process that year, as the course had its final intake of fourth years and first intake of third years). INTRA, in my opinion, were fairly ignorant and intransigent people to deal with. Secondly, if I remember correctly, shorthand is no longer taught on the course, which is really important for some aspects of journalism, such as court-reporting (as I found out!). It's difficult and takes up a lot of time for most people, but it is worth it to learn.

The same as Candle Wax, maybe five or six people from my class are working full-time in journalism (one in New Zealand and another in Vietnam). Quite a few are abroad, with several in Australia, UK, Canada and New Zealand, some remaining in Ireland, myself in Austria. Some have gone into other disciplines such as advertising and photography.
I think that getting into journalism/media was difficult enough prior to the recession, but is probably even more forboding for young graduates now. I'd also like to advise that it takes a very certain type of personality to get on in journalism, in my opinion. I was always very good at writing, but to be honest, I didn't enjoy the chase/ hostile questioning element to journalism, as I'm not really that sort of person. Also bear in mind that the skills learned in your average journalism school aren't terribly widely-transferrable, if you decide to change tack.

Best of luck to everyone doing the course, or thinking of doing it!

Yer_Wan

I'm going into second year in September (please God, touch wood, etc)

I LOVE the course. Ok, granted I had it bigged up in my head since TY as the Holy Grail, but I have no regrets about taking this course and not Arts *shudders*.

I could be all cheesy and stereotypical and say 'I've learned so much from this course' but the truth is, I really have. This time last year I did not know that 'ongoing' is not a word, and that it's important to 'omit needless words', as well as how to properly edit a piece, or character counts, or how to drive a radio studio desk.

As for the people in the course, I don't have a bad word to say about a single one of them. They've become like my family after such a short space of time. You're in with people who will have at least one thing in common (a desire to work in the media) with you, so there's one conversation starter for you! (That fails, come find me, I'd talk to a wall if I got the chance.)

The only regret I have is that I didn't get 'stuck in' properly to the media outlets in the college. I only wrote one article for the College View, right on the last issue, and when my radio show was cancelled I did nothing to search for a new one. However, I have plans to hit both this year with an almighty bang. They're both valuable sources for experience, whether you plan to go into print or broadcasting.

PanicStations

Yer_Wan wrote: »

This time last year I did not know that 'ongoing' is not a word

Ongoing is too a word!

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ongoing