Writers, if you went to college what was your major?

My degree is in Journalism. Not to burst your bubble, but most people who go to j-school do not wind up working in journalism. I think that only something like 20% go on to be journalists. However, you will learn research and interview tools; language and story-telling skills; and, you'll walk away with a journalist's ability to learn enough about something new on the fly that you can write about it for others. It's a great set of skills.

Abnormal Criminal Psychology and Application of Law. Two subjects that interested me, and I was planning on an FBI career before I had an accident that left me permanently disabled. So now I write. And my knowledge on criminology and psychology have been a great help to my writing. It's wonderful having such a wide range of information on hand, and my old text books are easy to flip through and refresh myself on. I write psychological horror.

Well, I've only taken once class that connects to my writing and that was a composition couse I took in college 30+ years ago. I've taken a lot of classes since then but that one has stuck with me the most. I think majoring in Journalism is a wise choice and might be something I look into the next round I decide to go to college - I tend to go a couple semesters then take a few years off and then go again. I've changed my major 4 times in 30 years and still don't have a degree..

I'm not a journalist or an english major. I am a BS Business Administration Majoy in Management graduate. However i love to write. I write my own short stories and comics too. I love writing what's in my mind. I believe it is great to have a background about journalism and english to be able to fully express yourself in the right grammar. Mostly i believe it's more of where you PASSION is. If you LOVE to write then by all means do... What matters is you are doing what you like in your career, and that you are not forced to do them. :P enjoy college! :P

I earned a BA in English, but I made sure to take an editing course and an internship that involved writing and editing. I also earned an MFA in writing & poetics just to get my writing going. Even if you go the journalism route, I highly suggest taking an editing course. It makes your degree more marketable when searching for a job.

hahaha i'm the writer of our college newspaper. Guess what? My course is plain Bachelor of science in CRIMINOLOGY! Can you believe that? hehehehhe I love writing and I think that i won't allow my course to be a hindrance to do whatever I love to do.

eventually, i did a phd in histiry , it has come in handy for my teaching and writing

if i need to start all over again, i'd rather choose not going to college

I majored in political science, and unlike most graduates in that major, I actually have had several jobs in that field. I did, however, move to Washington, DC, when I was in grad school. As for writing, I kept thinking that it was a skill that I had, and when I got my job in politics, writing was my key into the job. I took further publishing classes (certificate program) at George Washington University in Washington, DC, and later in life took a mid-career publishing (summer) seminar at Stanford University in California. So it is important to have good writing, editing, and publishing skills if you want to pursue writing. Still, there are many ways to approach it. I think journalism is a good one. Yet even many journalists are specialists, focusing on certain types of information. So if you want to report news, you have to know something about it (background). Of course, getting as many samples of your work (clips) and work experience or internships will help too. Good luck.

Majoring in journalism might help if you wish to work for a newspaper or another media oriented company but most people who freelance major in just about anything else. I majored in philosophy and biology, worked in the medical field for years, then in special education where I still work part time. The key to writing is having alot of stimulating experiences and being able communicate feelings, unless you are a technical writer.

I majored in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. I did take some journalism courses as part of the minor, so I figured I had a well rounded writing program, no matter what I did with it. Get published and paid here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=40405

i have a b.s in buis.admin., but i am currently a domestic engineer, i work from home when i want to and i have 2 ebay stores, and i love my job, even though everyday seems endless and it definitely comes with challenges on a constant basis, college could have never prpared me for them, and i have found from most of my conversations with other gradutes from all over, they rarely use their college education to keep there jobs on a day to day basis, it is more of a critical thinking, chess, and football game combination in one. and for some, maybe more than some college was or is a opportunity cost.

I'm a writer but I minored in English. I majored in Theatre the first time I went to college and Business Management the second time. I didn't go to school to learn about writing, though. I've been writing stories since I was 12 and poetry since I was 17. I've known since I was a kid that I could write. I think Journalism is a good place for you but I'd recommend several creative writing classes as well. It depends on what type of writing you want to do. Journalism is a very specific style of writing and has a strict rule of guidelines. I've always been a bit too creative for that. You need to figure out what type of writing you really want to do because if you simply go to school to be able to get a steady job afterwards, you may find yourself miserable if it's not what you truly enjoy. I'd also highly recommend that you get a subscription to Writer's Digest and look into going to the Maui Writer's Conference in Hawaii over Labor Day weekend one year. It's a weekend of writer workshops and you can learn a lot. Just don't restrict yourself to what you are getting a degree in because it will limit you on what you are able to do and that could be real dangerous in this day and age. Finding steady jobs as a writer is a tough thing to do. There are a lot of people out there who want to write but not near enough jobs. You need to be able to be creative enough to create your own writing niche. I hope that helps.

Personally I was always more interested in writing about science than I was in doing it, but looking back, I don’t think I really realized that until I had spent some time major in Journalism

i could not agree more with you. i majored in ENGLISh and just had similar ambitions to start off. but, as you have rightly said, i ended up doing something quite remote to my dream of becoming free lance writer or reporter. even i feel that one should take up journalism, international relationship or even comparative literature, if he/she is really interested in airing good creative stuff. journalism, has a great deal of prospect and nowadays had varied avenues to excel in. with so much boom in media trade, i feel, journalism had never been such an interesting and booming genre ever before. good luck smartie.

I was an English major. MOST ENGLISH MAJORS I KNOW DO NOT BECOME TEACHERS. I repeat, MOST ENGLISH MAJORS I KNOW DO NOT BECOME TEACHERS. Most of us find jobs outside the teaching sector because we love to read, write, and engage audiences, NOT discipline bad kids who don't give a rat's behind about the material being taught. I'll probably not use my expertise on Jane Austen or 18th century epistolary writing anytime soon for my job, but I do plan to write novels and/or short stories/comedy series or a dramatic movie. Journalism, I would advice would be better if you want to be a non-fiction writer. Trust me, an English major is in GREAT demand this year.

I majored in political science and minored in psychology. Sometimes I wish I had majored in journalism because I come across local stories I'd like to cover. What to major in depends on the type of writing you'd like to do. If you want to cover current events, journalism is probably a good major for you - but more importantly, be on the staff of your school newspaper - experience complements training. To be an expert non-fiction writer, it would be to study the subject you plan to write about - although I am currently writing a book on becoming wealthy by saving money - and neither PoliSci nor Psychology really prepared me for that subject. As far as fiction writing, I don't think it really matters what subject you major in - Tom Clancy was an insurance salesman and John Grisham is an attorney.

i am a journalism major here in the Philippines. i love writing but i think i must shift to nursing for my relatives said that there is more money in nursing for medicine never lacks job opportunities rather than journalism that can only lead my life into trouble. i love what i have right now. my course is what i want but still, there are some instances that you have to fight for what you love even if someone gets hurt. do you think journalism have a better paying job than nursing? i guess so, if i will just work hard and achieve my goal. i have to prove them all that my course is not a selfish decision but my passion.

I am currently taking up AB Mass Communication. But I will take a major in Broadcasting. I don't want to take up Journalism because here in our country writers doesn't get a high paying job. Unless you're popular, people will kill each other just to buy your book. Anyways, yeah journalism is the best course that you can get if you want to pursue on writing. It will teach you everything that you need to know in writing. Good luck! ;)

My major is accounting and i can still be a writer.