University of Lincoln

My niece is currently half way through her A-Level examinations and she wants to go to Lincoln to ''study'' Journalism. She insists that I'm wrong in saying that Journalism is a bullshit subject to do and I've also heard that it isn't a particularly great University. I'm bit sceptical about her going to an old Polytechnic, am I a miserable old out of touch git? Or should I be trying to encourage her to go to one of the traditional Unis like Hull or York. I finished University a long time ago and haven't really kept up.. I know a few of you on here are at university in Lincoln so please don't take offence because I haven't a clue.. Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,
davmariner

I am sure those who are at Lincoln will sing it's praises.

I think that your niece should aim for the best uni that her A levels will accept. If she is likely to get say, AAB, then she should be looking for uni that sets that as a entry requirement.

IMO aim high and location is irrelevant.

This isnt a 'go' at anyone, just an opinion

It might be worth her while considering doing an English degree and then doing a masters in journalism. I would've thought it was most important to get involved with the uni paper and get some experience and some sort of portfolio of journalistic work built up.

Agree with Chris to an extent re aiming high but I don't think location is irrelevant. She needs to be somewhere happy - if she suffers from homesickness then going to Aberdeen probably won't do a lot for her studies and her degree. It's also worth looking at how the specific department she's applying to is rated rather than just the uni as a whole.

I went to Lincoln when it was in its early days as the University of Lincolnshire & Humberside, it seemed to be more of a university that people who missed out on other places and ended up in clearing went to although I understand that has all changed now and it's much more difficult to get in. I always thought that getting into journalism was more of a gaining experience and networking kind of industry rather than through a degree and the people I knew who did journalism would attest to that as they are now in midwifery, shipping and the virgin media call centre.

But that was over ten years ago now and things have changed, the best advice has already been given though I reckon, "Aim high and location is irrelevent."

Clearing uni...

In seriousness, I'd do the English degree then MA in journalism or try and get in at a magazine or newspaper or even tv company etc...

And if her A levels are predicted that high then surely she should be looking more towards a uni that offers a great english degree, Leicester, Durham, Bath or even oxbridge perhaps???

Lincoln wasn't an old polytechnic. It was designed as a new university from scratch, the first in Britain for 30 years. Along the way it picked up the old Hull Polytechnic and used their facilities for some subjects until it was sold to the uni next door.

I remember going around the site (approx 1998 ) whilst looking at places to be a mature student. The Lincoln site hadn't been open long and was structurally complete and functioning but the library was half-empty. Did look at the TV production facilities there and was well-impressed.

Journalism is something you REALLY have to want to do if you're going to make a living out of it. Many people get into it via work experience/working for free. If you get a paid entry level job, the salary tends to be low, even when compared to jobs you could get without going to uni. From my experience I'd argue that you don't need a journalism degree to be a journalist. Writing/editing fanzines and student newspapers/radio is possibly a more valuable qualification.

Unless you're in the top 1% of the consumer media, the pay is often poor (especially on local press) and the hours can be long. If she's interested in journalism because she likes writing, she'll find that only about 10-15% of the reporter job in print media is about writing. The majority of the jobs are in the trade press and some of that is really good work, though much of it is pretty specialist and will involve a topic that's of no interest to 99.99% of the population.

There are upsides - it's good to get a story and the social side can be fun. If you stick at it (financially it can be tough, especially as most jobs are london based and it's not easy to live on low wages in the capital) you can go on to related jobs in TV/radio/print media. Work as a reporter and you'll rarely be bored. However plenty of hacks switch over to work in PR, selling stories to other journos.

Tough but can be done. One of my wife's best friends is a journalist with The Sunday Times. Think she did an English degree, worked on the student paper, graduated, job for some kind of magazine for lawyers, job with the Liverpool Echo doing all sorts but working way up, then onto The Sunday Mirror and now The Sunday Times.

AS far as I can tell she's massively dedicated, hard-working etc and was all she was focused on doing and she's obviously very talented as well.

English degrees are completely useless and prepare you for absolutely nothing.

Working hard and getting a foot in the door/getting yourself noticed is the way imo.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

Tough but can be done.

True...I know a few people who have built good careers out of it as well as several others who haven't. Hence it's for those who really want to do it and have the tenacity and ability to see it through.

Universities and colleges aren't going to point out how difficult it can be to get work as a journalist if they're selling you a course at £7-9000 a year.

Davmariner - if your niece is still a year off completing her A-levels, she should try volunteering for evening/weekend work in the media before she goes to uni. Getting a taste of life at the Telegraph/Compass FM/Radio Humberside/even a PR firm should help her work out if it's still something she wants to do.