Study: How Successful are Journalism Grads After Graduation?

By Samantha Wood

The University of Georgia has released its annual survey measuring the success of journalism and mass communications majors in finding jobs after graduation. The study found that about three out of four of those with bachelor’s degrees had successfully found employment upon graduation.

Just a few months after graduation, on the benchmark date of Oct. 31, the survey found that 56 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients had a full-time job, a slight improvement from 53.3 percent the previous year. This can be compared to 56.6 percent of master’s degree recipients who had a full-time job on the same benchmark date. The success for bachelor’s recipients continued to increase six to eight months after graduation, with 65.6 percent of graduates securing full-time jobs.

However, not all of these opportunities were in the field of the respondents’ majors. About 60 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients held jobs in the field of communications six to eight months after graduation, an increase from the previous year.

Bachelor’s degree recipients who found full-time work earned an average of $32,000 in 2012, compared to $31,000 a year earlier. This increase was sufficient to offset the effects of a relatively modest inflation. By comparison, master’s degree recipients with full-time jobs earned an average of $40,000 in 2012, the same as in 2011.

The study also found that journalism and communications graduates were more successful compared to others in the 20-24 year old age group. Journalism graduates had about a 10 percent unemployment rate, while the unemployment rate of the entire U.S. Labor Force aged 20-24 years old with bachelor’s degrees was about 14 percent.

The report stated that about a quarter of the bachelor’s degree recipients said that they regretted studying journalism and communications, similar to the past. Read more in Folio.