the next step

[digger777]

i am the guardian of a 17 year old and she say to become a journalist she dose not need a degree she just needs a deploma in journalism is this true or where would i find out

[WoWo]

Depends what she wants to do for the rest of her life, if she wants to work on a local paper reporting on the local jumble sale, a diploma will do. If she ever wanted to be considered for a serious paper/magazine a degree would be essential.

In terms of "finding out". Ring any paper you fancy local or otherwise and ask them the question "You have two candidates one with a degree and a postgrad diploma and one with a diploma, which one would you prefer".

[Buenchico]

While there's a great deal of truth in what WoWo says, the real answer is that you don't need a degree, you don't need a diploma, you don't even need GCSE English. You just need to be able to write.

I started writing for newspapers when I was 14 and I didn't bother getting any qualifications until I was in my 40s. (That was just through evening classes). For much of the intervening period, I was earning money through part-time freelancing. I now work full-time as a freelance.

For information on routes into journalism, see the National Council for the Training of Journalist's website:
http://www.nctj.net/journalist.htm

More importantly though, encourage the young lady to start submitting work to newspapers and magazines. A degree might count higher than a diploma but experience can count higher still.

Chris

[digger777]

thank you both very much you have been very helpful.