Education · 1 of 5

The path

Nobody checks your degree. They check your clips.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Write for the school paper or run its site. Cover a real school board meeting. That is a clip, and clips are the currency.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Journalism, English, political science, economics or a science. Editors like reporters who know a subject as well as how to write.

3. 3

   Student newsroom and internships

   During the degree

   Work on the campus paper, station or site every semester, and take at least one summer internship at a real outlet.

4. 4

   First job in a small market

   1 to 3 years

   A local paper, a regional station or a niche trade publication. Long hours, low pay, enormous learning.

5. 5

   Move up or specialize

   Ongoing

   A bigger market, a beat you own, or investigative and data work. Both routes are built on published stories.