Grad School: A Catalyst for Career Change

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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2006-07-18

Grad School: A Catalyst for Career Change
Grad school can open doors to fresh new opportunities in or out of journalism.

By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography

Photo by Brad Mangin

Jim McNay says "Graduate school is clearly a challenge. It takes time, money, energy, a willingness sometimes to put up with an incredibly high Hassle Factor from instructors and administrators."

Eric Burden and the Animals must have a channel beaming in from the cosmos, since photographers seem to have, "We gotta get outta this place" regularly ringing in their ears.

That's when The Grad School Question comes up: What can I do, where can I go to make Something Else Happen in my career.

Sometimes that "something else" the photographer has in mind is becoming a better shooter than he or she is at the moment. Graduate school certainly offers that opportunity.

Sometimes the photographer wants to move into picture editing or into management in their company. Again, grad school can help make that happen.

On other occasions, photographers think they want to get into teaching. Maybe they want that to be a sideline, or occasionally they want to make that a new fulltime career. Grad school can open these doors too.

Whatever the motivation, it makes sense for the photographer to have a clear sense of what they want to do as a result of graduate school. Taking a year or two, full or part time to earn a master's degree, and maybe (Oh, Lord!) a Ph.D. can be a hard slog. It helps to have a plan, to know where one is going with this project.

Notice the drift here: We're talking about using graduate school to change or enhance a career. This means the photographer has been out in the field a while and wants to make a change in the work they are doing. This shift is intended to make them a better photographer or to move them into another kind of work in journalism or perhaps take them out of journalism entirely.

Consequently people who pursue a master's degree right after completing their bachelor's degree may be removing grad school as an option to bring about serious career change later on. Perhaps a period of work immediately after the bachelor's degree is a good idea.

Want to change careers completely? No problem. With a bachelor's degree and good grades, it's possible. You can leave journalism behind and apply to a Master's of Business Administration or to the English department or your other favorite area.

It does not matter that your first degree was not in this field. You can still apply. If the school thinks you are a good candidate, they may require you take some basic courses in your new field to get you up to speed and to see if you show an acceptable ability. After those preliminaries it is on to the heart of the graduate courses in this subject and ultimately work in the new field of endeavor.

Want to get better at what you do now, shooting pictures? Graduate school is a good way to take courses, re-think what you have been doing for several years, to take some storytelling risks your editors back home would never endorse.

Graduate school also allows a photographer to have some time to pursue projects and stories the photographer has been burning to do. Photographers also have time to get coached and critiqued and live in a community with other student journalists where he or she can interact, explore ideas and cross-pollinate, journalistically speaking. At the end of the degree, armed with a fresh portfolio and a fresh perspective the photographer is ready for the next step.

Want to move into picture editing? Again graduate school can open those doors. Some grad schools specialize in this subject. That enhances one's education and speeds moving into one's eventual new field.

Other schools give students plenty of hands-on education in picture editing during class and on campus newspapers and magazines. The combination of class projects and published work can provide enhancements to a photographer's existing portfolio and allow them to transition into the new field. If there has been time and opportunity to do internships, perhaps as a picture editor while in school, all the better.

When it comes to looking for a teaching position, and particularly a full time one, having passed through graduate school for a master's and perhaps a Ph.D. is often the path.

Professionals with experience can often teach part-time with a bachelor's degree. When someone starts to get enamored of teaching and dreams of teaching as a career, a master's is often the minimum degree to be a permanent college level teacher. This is not necessarily a good thing-it's just the way it is.

Graduate school is clearly a challenge. It takes time, money, energy, a willingness sometimes to put up with an incredibly high Hassle Factor from instructors and administrators. But in the end, grad school can open doors to fresh new opportunities in or out of journalism.

Bottom line: The best part of grad school is first year students don't have to wear those silly multi-colored beanies with the propeller on top.

Photographers, particularly those in school or seeking to break into the photojournalism, are welcome to send ideas for future columns to Jim McNay at jim.mcnay@brooks.edu.

Questions about getting started in photojournalism that might be answered in future columns are also welcome.

Related Links:

Brooks NPPA Student Chapter

Brooks Institute of Photography

Jim McNay's Member Page

Grad School's Dirty Little Secrets