“There will always be work”

As a journalist, it is not easy to find a job. According to the Finnish Journalistic Union, unemployment rate for journalists was 5,3% at the end of 2013. How are the job prospects for journalism students anno 2014?

Work experience is important

Each year, for example Turku University of Applied Sciences receives approximately 30 new students who want to follow the journalism degree.  Most of the students do an internship during their studies, and some even start freelancing. Both are important factors to gain some work experience.

Terhi Tarvainen, from the Journalistic Union, thinks work experience and having connections are important factors in finding a job.

“You need education, work experience and good contacts. You have to have a lot of interests in different areas and you have to know people. Journalism students have to be socially qualified, so they know where to find ideas and people for their ideas.”

Esä Töykkälä is a journalism student at TUAS and will graduate in May. He already has work experience in different media areas.

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It is hard to find a job, but it is not impossible

Riitta Monto, Editor-in-Chief at Turun Sanomat, gives her opinion as a professional. She thinks having work experience is an advantage, but especially good education is important. Finding a job as a journalist is a challenge, but it is absolutely not impossible.

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There will always be work

As Riitta Monto said: people want to have information and they want to hear good stories. Terhi Tarvainen agrees:

“I think the future is good. The need of journalistic points of view, writing and using knowledge is very important and it will always be. Maybe in the future, the way of doing it is going to change. But the journalism will stay and there will be work in that area.”