Did you want a job after graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism? Yeah, we did too. Sadly, we have some news that doesn’t bode well for us. The journalism school has the lowest post-graduation placement rate of any academic college at the University of Missouri. And you thought the starting salaries for J-Schoolers were bad!
In Fall 2009 and Spring and Summer 2010, 4,507 people graduated from the University of Missouri. Of the 2,777 MU graduates who replied to the Vice Provost’s Destination Study, 68 percent of them are now employed or enrolled in a continuing education program (you can see the full results of MU’s Destination Study here). The school with the highest placement rate is Mizzou’s (much smaller) School of Social Work with 100 percent of graduates now in jobs or in graduate programs. Sadly, the school with the lowest placement rate is our very own journalism school, at a mere 53 percent.
We already reported where J-School graduates ended up around the country, but we didn’t know until now if they actually had jobs out there.
Within the journalism school, there’s a big difference in job placement rates, even though the starting salaries were pretty bad across the board. As you can see below, Print & Digital News has the highest placement rate with 80 percent. The lowest is Photojournalism, with a 29 percent placement rate. “Placement” can mean several things: getting a job in your field, getting a job out of your field or continuing your education.
But as Photojournalism senior Patrick Fallon pointed out, more Photojournalism students are doing freelance work, which they might not consider a “job” according to the University’s definition. This 29 percent number for Photo-J could be an artificially deflated figure, based on a poorly-worded question.
Another possible explanation for why so few J-Schoolers can find jobs: people like this.
Stay tuned as we do the reporting to find out why the journalism school has such a lackluster placement rate and why there is such a discrepancy in placement rates among the emphasis areas.
FYI: Eighteen percent of J-Schoolers who responded to the survey indicated they were enrolled in “continuing education.” Forty-seven percent of respondents were “seeking employment,” and 33 percent were employed. Because of rounding, those figures do not add up exactly to 100 percent.
UPDATE: The Missouri School of Journalism says its placement rate is closer to 90 percent. See the full story here.
David Teeghman contributed reporting/snark to this blog post.
Source: 2009-2010 Destination Study
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Very interesting to see the numbers across concentrations. I’m pleased, but not surprised, the print/digital grads are most employed. I am surprised that convergence is so low. There is a real need now for professionals who understand social media and the emerging landscape of news and content sharing. The J School ought to be looking at where the convergence program is going wrong.
Where’s the reporting on Brad Pitt?
Done: http://www.jschoolbuzz.com/brad-pitt-rides-the-mizzou-tiger-statue-not-really/
Done: http://www.jschoolbuzz.com/brad-pitt-rides-the-mizzou-tiger-statue-not-really/
I’m really surprised Strat Comm is so much lower than Print and Digital. I thought the stereotype was that Strat Comm is the major you choose if you want to get a job.
There stereotype isn’t always true. That’s why we ran this blog post: http://www.jschoolbuzz.com/stereotypes-stratcommers-are-not-all-cop-outs/
There stereotype isn’t always true. That’s why we ran this blog post: http://www.jschoolbuzz.com/stereotypes-stratcommers-are-not-all-cop-outs/
Not surprising. Lots of j-school majors just go through the motions, thinking they’ll get a job straight out of college because they went to the “world’s greatest journalism school.” Yeah, no. Journalism is an extremely competitive major, so you really have to be on top of your game, building that resume and grabbing internship after internship and making tons of connections. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll get a job if you’re a very successful as an undergrad, but it’ll improve your post-college employment chances significantly.
Absolutely. You need a grip on the reins of your future if you expect it to go anywhere. Take control of your life and use tools such as the university, but don’t rely on them.
LOLOLOLOL What a sham!
People need to stop relying on the name of their university to get them somewhere. If you want a job you need to set yourself apart from all the other dweebs shuffling around a university. You have to keep in mind that a lot of kids are here because their mommys and daddys said they had to go. It is also a place to party.
Start a blog, do some writing, get freelance clients, get your own internships without begging MU to hold your hand. Also, realize that you’re worth something if you’re worth something. Half of my edu inbox is filled with charity requests. Delete them. Stop entering contests, they reward dishonest business. Building a real portfolio is where it’s at. Make something of yourself and you will be a part of the 51% with jobs instead of the 49% dumpster diving at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Relying on any thing is bad and all the students should learn this, this is an indeed very insightful post.
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I have a job for someone right now: Get. A. Copy. Editor. Seriously. “Total AMOUNT of graduates.” Really? If you’re going to take the time to make a graphic, and least make it grammatically correct. Good grief…
Ah, you’re right, our bad! Our copy editor didn’t look at it before Lindsey put these graphics together, but thanks for pointing it out.
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Hello fellow Mizzou J-Schoolers. Though, I graduate two decades ago. If the going has gotten tough, may I suggest you try what I did? Go East! Or South! Anywhere overseas! Yes, break into freelance foreign correspondence. Not only will it boost your CV — and blog — but it’s a Master’s and PhD rolled into one: http://jordanink.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/foreign-reporting-lessons-taught-lessons-learned/. I lead a foreign-correspondence training course in Prague every January and July: http://www.tol.org/client/training/course/22101-foreign-correspondent-training-course-july-2011.html?trainers. If you come, I promise to show you preferential treatment … more importantly, to help you nail your first foreign dateline. See you there! Michael mjjordan23@earthlink.net
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Once upon a time I wanted to go to grad school at MU. Or Berkeley, which was my top choice. Followed by Medill. But now I realize not only was I in the wrong mind-set back then, I was in the wrong field. I’m a writer first and a journalist second. Always have been. I suggest anybody with a similar preference to get out of the field while there is still time. I’m serious; I’ve seen far too many journalism grads move on to their first full-time gig that worked them to death and paid like, $20K. Is that really worth it? I didn’t think so.
Public relations, marketing, copywriting and editing are all great alternatives to the grind that is (or will be) journalism. The amount of scrutiny in the average newsroom is nauseating. The mentality that every single little detail must be perfect or you’re a failure as a journalist and person, also nauseating. I’m not saying go where the money is, but honestly, get a job in some other field and freelance if you love journalism so much. Sites like Patch will scoop you up if they see “Columbia School of Journalism” on your resume; other companies won’t.
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