J-School at the age of 30? Will it be worth it?

If you have the time, you can always enroll in an on-line program. I've taken classes that way and if you take it from an accredited institution, you should be fine. That way you can start at any time (in many cases) without having to attend classes. Either way, I'd continue freelancing!

You don't need a degree to write. You do need a degree to teach - and to get certain other jobs. What are your NEEDS ? Identify those, and you'll better understand the best STRATEGY for meeting those needs.

It's never 'too late' to go back to school. I know a woman who went back to school and got her bacherlors at 37, then law school to graduate at 40. Graduated top of her class and got a top notch law job. I know a man who went back to school to get his law degree at 67 - graduating at 70 and was offered a job.

Study what interests you, and/or what might be required to meet a specific need.

Write now.

As WriteKnight noted, you're never too old to learn. My favourite Ann Landers (or was it Dear Abby?) column, featured a middle-aged man asking her advice about whether he was too old to pursue a career as a doctor. His letter ended with the (paraphrased) words, "In seven years, when I graduate as an MD, I'll be 68 years old."

Her response was, "How old will you be in seven years if you don't become a doctor?"

That said, a degree in Journalism doesn't make Freelance doors swing wide open. As I mentioned in a response to another thread of yours, the writing is the thing.

Those legal aspects you mentioned are why god made editors and publishers. Let them sort it out with the lawyers they've got on staff.

aka eraser said:

As WriteKnight noted, you're never too old to learn. My favourite Ann Landers (or was it Dear Abby?) column, featured a middle-aged man asking her advice about whether he was too old to pursue a career as a doctor. His letter ended with the (paraphrased) words, "In seven years, when I graduate as an MD, I'll be 68 years old."

Her response was, "How old will you be in seven years if you don't become a doctor?"

Click to expand...

That's brilliant. I have a great aunt who faced the same dilemma in her early forties. I think she's always regretted that she didn't pursue a career in medicine.

No real advice but best of luck to you, whichever decision you choose.

Hi Crystal. Just commented on your blog but I will repeat here - you don't need J School. To be a writer, all you have to do is write. You can learn the business side through advice from people like us, personal experience, the web, etc. I took a night class on "Freelance Writing" at London's City University (not a degree program). It was so much fun and it taught me everything I needed. I also went to a workshop provided by the UK Government on "Becoming Self Employed". You don't need J School to make contacts - you're already on Twitter. You have a blog. You're getting out there!

Of course, there are huge benefits to J school too and I'm sure it would help you get your foot in the door. Whatever you do, congratulations and good luck. It's so much fun!

I never bothered with a degree for my freelance writing, although I took journalism classes in high school and my initial community college years. But I returned to school for my psych. degree in my late 20s and it took me till nearly 40 to complete the doctorate. It takes a lot of time and focus, and thank goodness I also had a very supportive husband who understood my crabbiness when major assignments were due and who doesn't mind taking on certain housecleaning duties (although he still refuses to do litter boxes and bird cages). If you do go for the degree, don't let that stop you from writing now. I sell regularly and don't think having a journalism degree would make any difference. You might even want to get a different degree if it would help in the area you'd like to write in (my psych. credentials do help with some magazines and helped get me a book contract). Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

I don't have any degrees or even any classes in Journalism, English, or anything close. Then again, I'm not exactly making my living at freelancing (but not due to lack of trying).

A possibility you may want to consider is earning a grad degree in a field other than journalism. Here's why this is sometimes a good idea:

1. You'll be able to develop a niche area of writing and will be seen as an expert in a particular field. I've been able to get a lot of higher-paying writing gigs due to my credentials in education (grad degree and former teacher). The people hiring weren't just looking for a writer; they were looking for a writer with specialized knowledge about education. So, you could earn a degree in horticulture, psychology, health sciences, or whatever, and make a name for yourself as an expert writer in that subject.

2. You may be able to fit in some writing / journalism courses while you're at it. If you're looking to improve some of your skills, the college you attend may let you enroll or observe the writing courses you'd like to learn from. The credit probably won't go towards your degree, but it'll help you develop more writing confidence.

The downside of this plan is that once you specialize, it's kind of hard to go back to a broad range of writing assignments. I have so many interests in addition to education - but sometimes I feel like I'm diluting my specialization if I branch out too much.

Also, I should probably point out that it's possible to be seen in an expert in a field without any formal education at all. If you already have a lot of niche experience or know how to get it, going back to school may not help in that regard.

Good luck with your decision!

A lot of the above posts hit on really key issues--there's a lot of good advice here. I will put in my 2 cents: I went back to school in my mid-30's to get an MFA in writing..I didn't do it to learn to write--I was already publishing in quality journals at that point--I did it b/c I was considering teaching.

Which, well, didn't pan out.

Two things I will offer up:
-Do not underestimate the time that class-work and being a student will take away from your own writing time...I've got some really well-written 25 page papers on all sorts of obscure academic topics...they earned me A's, and they are sitting in files in my file cabinet. Boy, did writing those steal some precious writing time from my work.

-You can end up with student loan debt, thus meaning you have to earn more to pay it back...people who want to earn a living writing may find that debt cumbersome, 'specially if it was acquired by something that's not helping you earn the money.

I don't think the question really is if 30 is too late...of course it's not. But think really hard on where you want to be in five years, and try to evaluate whether going back to school will help you go toward those goals, or possibly hinder you. Degree earning can be cumbersome--so many hoops to jump through that you might not need have jumped through in the long run. As others here have noted, there are all sorts of options for learning the writing without getting the degree--community education courses, online courses, etc.

That said, I want to wish you lots of luck! You are at a very exciting point in your life, Crystal, on your way to building a career as a writer: savor it.

I agree with most people here. Graduate school in any discipline requires a lot of work, not to mention a lot of money. It's tougher to get school loans now that the credit crunch has closed many doors to would-be borrowers. It's also tougher to get jobs after graduation, as even Ph.D's are finding.

You don't need a master's degree in order to become a writer. I've become a correspondent for the local newspaper simply by offering my services to the editor and throwing all kinds of good ideas at him. He recently had to lay off half his reporting staff, but that only means more work for a freelancer such as myself. I never had any formal journalism training, but I do write well and am a quick study. Plus, I read newspapers and magazines voraciously and am always analyzing the structure of a well-told story.

You might want to take some short-term on- and offline courses, such as those offered by Mediabistro.com or many local community colleges. They'll be much cheaper than an entire degree program and will require much less time. Plus, you'll be taught by professional journalists who are out in the "real world" and can give you much more practical guidance in terms of career and how the industry is evolving. Many journalism schools offer the same kind of faculty, but others might also use teaching assistants and tenured academics rather than professionals.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Marjorie