A Journalist is an Amalgam

These past few months have been some of the most difficult in my entire lifetime. They’ve been loaded with so many ups and downs that I should consider becoming a professional rollercoaster tester (if only heights didn’t scare me). One of my main things I’ve been trying to work through is acquiring a new job. I know we’ve all heard the saying before, “It’s easier to find a job when you have one,” but let me just tell you, it’s been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.

A little background for you… I’m currently in transition at my current job. The project I’m working for is coming to an end, and I’ve spent a good deal of time chasing new opportunities within my company and outside of it; however, what I’ve noticed is no one is actually in need of my soft skill set. I have been marketing myself as a “Great communicator with a diverse background,” but what folks really want and need is a computer developer or programmer.

I’ve never had an interest in computers outside of word processing, Googling, and the occasional blog posting. Computers in my lifetime have become relatively prominent in the last few years, so prominent that most jobs are now requiring some kind of computer degree or background. This is completely understandable, but then leaves folks like me out in the dust without a hope in the world.

However, I think companies are foolish to think that my journalism background is a blow-off degree... and before you ask me why I say that, here:

Don’t companies need a valuable communicator anymore to help share the message of their great work in the computer industry? 

Don’t companies need a person who is great at researching, getting to the bottom of an issue, or even selling something that folks don’t necessarily want or need?

Don't companies who promote their business in their industry need someone who can learn everything and anything they can without being prompted to do so? This means they can stay relevant in an age like the one we live.

I’m frustrated right now, but that's not the point of today's article. I'm mostly making a stand for my degree and background. I'm a great communicator, and here’s why…

I went to school to be a journalist. About halfway through my education, the internet was on a rise and the “information age” began… but what no one told me was that the need for a journalist would be in decline… so much so that it was one of the industries that was hurt the hardest in the great recession. After all, anyone on Twitter nowadays can be a journalist, right?

Wrong!

This falsification of my field is completely wrong and has led me down a path that there’s really no turning back now. When employers see a degree in journalism they immediately think of the lack of trust and lack of true and good researched information, but merely focus on the fluffy candor that news organizations like Fox spout about. Let me tell you something… A true and trained journalist such as myself not only has the ability to formulate a story, but they can research, absorb information, and jellyfish it into anything you need that information to be.

A journalist is an amalgam.

A journalist is power.

A journalist is someone you want, no wait, need working for you.

I hope the next time an employer checks out my resume, they see all the great things I’ve accomplished while working in the professional world these last four years, but also realize this… My journalism degree tells you I can learn and do anything. Any. Thing. There’s nothing I will shy away from learning, as long as I’m given the opportunity to do so.