If you are interested in a profession that has 1,000 more job openings yearly than graduates, journalism is it. There are approximately 4,500 newspaper jobs open each year for 3,500 journalism graduates. There are innumerable openings in allied fields, such as radio, television, advertising, public relations, and government jobs. Trade, business, labor and specialized periodicals also offer many interesting jobs.

Starting Pay

Starting pay for a reporter ranges from $2,500 to 5,720 per year, plus overtime. Experienced reporters, however, often earn more than $10,000 yearly, and good columnists and feature writers can earn up to $100,000 annually.

A reporter's job is gathering news, and the ability to report accurately is one of the prerequisites for the job. A reporter must have the ability to write well, good memory, possess initiative, and have persistence. Another necessary quality a reporter must have is that of being able to work despite surrounding disturbances.

Special Colleges

Colleges that are noted for their journalism schools are Columbia university, New York; University of Missouri, Columbia; and Drake university, Iowa. A reporter can work himself up without a college education by starting with a small town newspaper and progressing to a larger and more important job as he gains experience.

Many top flight reporters without college degrees started as newspaper copyboys. These cases are rare, however, today because copyboy jobs are much in demand by the high school graduate. Often friends and relatives of an editor or reporter get the job.

Start on Small Paper

College journalism graduates looking for a job probably would be more likely to start their careers on a small newspaper than a large one. These men usually need to gain practical experience on small weekly newspapers before large dailies will accept them.

The journalism class (English IIIJ) and The Westerner offer opportunities for those who wish to find out if they are fitted for this work.