With all the doom-and-gloom conversation surrounding the current economic recession, Charles Darwin might be smiling in his grave.
Darwin, the man who theorized the notion that “only the strong survive,” might have gotten a chuckle seeing his theory come to light in the current job market, as graduating students must do anything they can to get their foot in the door.
For Kristy Kirkup, a recent graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program, things are especially difficult as she attempts to find employment in a competitive business.
“There are no job postings in the field,” she says. “In terms of getting a full-time job, it’s next to impossible right now.”
Fellow journalism student Megan Haynes agrees that the job market is scarce.
“There are no jobs out there for anyone,” says Haynes. “So I’m competing against everyone else in my program for those coveted 20 to 30 jobs.”
Anant Sundaram, a professor of finance at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, told Forbes magazine in April that one option for students who just completed an undergrad is continuing their education through graduate school. Sundaram says by the time students complete their graduate studies, the economy might be in better shape.
Kirkup has already been accepted into teacher’s college.
“It’s mainly just to buy myself some time,” she says. “I could spend eight months looking for a job, or I could open up another career path.” The recession has prompted her to consider other options.
Randy Boswell, a journalism professor at Carleton and reporter for CanWest news service, says those who are passionate about journalism should remain committed to their dream.
“News and storytelling isn’t going to stop,” he says. “Even if jobs are scarce, people can do freelance work,” says Boswell.
Boswell says freelancing is a viable option for students who cannot find full-time work at the moment. Haynes says freelancing is how she plans to stay connected.
“I’m sticking my foot in the door,” Haynes says, explaining how she hopes pitching articles to local papers will tide her over until the market changes.
It may be difficult for students and graduates to remain optimistic as many news organizations are cutting jobs.
“Every news organization is looking for a cheaper way of producing news,” Kirkup says. “Whether you’re in print, radio or TV, absolutely the field is being impacted, there’s no question about that.”
Boswell adds that the rise of the Internet also affected news organizations because, while important for the flow of information, news websites are not yet extremely profitable. Moreover, advertisement revenue is scarce as everyone is attempting to cut back wherever possible.
Boswell says prospective journalists on the hunt for jobs need to be flexibile and patient.
“Be willing to adjust your expectations for any potential employer,” he says. “If you can imagine your job at a conventional newspaper is to write stories in the conventional way, you’ll probably be surprised.”
Being patient for the good times to return is also important for young journalists, he says.
“The skills that you get in the school of journalism are valuable in a whole bunch of areas even outside of traditional news media.”
So while Darwinism might be the order of the day, graduating students can cling to the hope that there are better times ahead.
“I don’t think people who are striving to become journalists should stop becoming journalists,” says Boswell. “I doubt very much that this is the end of the line for quality journalism.”