Journalism is one of the most exciting career paths you can choose, with every day different from the next. Not only will you be involved in writing stories, if you are a sports journalist, for example, you will often be at sporting events watching the action unfold.
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ToggleJournalists are paid to gather information about a topic, write it up, and present it to an audience. A journalist’s job can be to write content for an online publication such as a website, blog or news outlet as well as for physical publications like magazines or papers. What makes a journalist different from an author is that journalists are tasked with writing short, factual pieces that inform the public and are relevant at the time of publication.
In order to get started with a career in journalism, you should look at completing a degree in English or Journalism, or the two combined. Failing that, you may wish to look at other levels of training such as sports journalism courses, or other specialist courses, on sites like https://schoolofjournalism.co.uk/journalism-courses/sports/. Even after training, you may be expected to complete an internship over the course of a year or two to gain more on-the-job experience.
Newly qualified journalists can earn anything from £22,000-£25,000, depending on their location and specific role, whereas senior journalists might take in over £30,000.
You might think that writers sit at a desk all day researching and writing, but the truth is that journalism is not a 9 to 5 job. Many journalists will be out in the field gathering information and meeting with people to interview, which means being available when others are free to talk or when the action is taking place. What’s more, with deadlines to meet, journalists will often be required to work long hours to ensure their reports are ready to be published.