Aibu to want to retrain as a journalist?

[Whatser]

I've been interested in journalism (proper investigative stuff,not daily mail fodder) since I was a teen and have always regretted not pursuing it in college. Over the years, my career has meandered a bit, and I am now working in a semi-related field, where I do a lot of research into things that have happened/been documented in the past, and then produce reports based on these. However, I have a longing to investigate current events and get to the bottom of them, rather than document the past events, if that makes sense?

The leap from my current field wouldn't be huge, but it would involve a sizeable commitment and return to college.

My current work is freelance so I'm used to some amount of instability, and I'm generally good at making things/work happen for myself.

Has anyone retrained as a journalist, and if so, did it work out for you, or do you regret it?

If you want to earn a living then it’s not a good route to take. I work with quite a few ex-journalists, they are all very intelligent people but just couldn’t make decent money from journalism.

How about true crime podcasts/videos? There seems to be a market for those and it’s something you could start in your spare time and see if you can build up to getting sponsorship and making money.

I used to be a new journalist, basically you've had good advice - news used to be buzzy but it's not great these days. I've worked with some household names, it was fun while it lasted and the Daily Mail is one of the best payers in the business. It is insanely competitive you get sacked at the drop of a hat.

It's a tough industry even for young people who are prepared to work for peanuts. YANU, if it's what you want and you are realistic about the fact that a) you'll earn peanuts and b) you may not get any kind of role that you're imagining.

Journalist here. There's often. A very romanticised view of investigative journalism but the reality is very different. Few organisations have resources to fund investigative teams. It's a slog to get to the point where you'll be working in this area, and there's intense competition.

Where do you read investigative journalism pieces, out of curiosity? Because you don’t seem to know anything about it.

The Daily Mail actually do do some investigative pieces that are excellent. But they’re mostly by very experienced staff journos who have been there for years. The Guardian and The Times/ST occasionally do investigative or longform stuff. They either use staff journos or prestigious writers. There’s also The Tortoise but they’re mostly audio based.

And that’s pretty much it. All the rest are in New York and it’s nigh on impossible to break in.

And even if you find an outlet they won’t take any “ investigative “ piece willy nilly. It’s got to be a) a relatively sexy/newsworthy topic that will justify them paying a writer for months of work to produce one story (most writers are expected to produce about 6 stories a day including original reporting) and b) not some crazy conspiracy theory like some newer “investigative outlets” I could name.

On top of that, the amount of documents and proof you now need to get a story like that over the line in the UK is hugely onerous because of the strict libel laws.

So. I wouldn’t advise it. But if it turns out you’re an avid longform reader who knows your shit and has a specific skill set with lots of sources it’s worth a shot.

I know someone who changed career and went to uni to study journalism as a mature student.
They are back in their original career, just with uni debt now.

Lots of good advice on here, but I would add... if you are used to earning or need to earn over £40k, forget it. Only a handful of people make more than that in journalism which is my most leave for PR or copywriting when they have children.

Almost all freelancers do commercial work under no byline or a nom de plume to pay their mortgage.

I work with a lot of investigative journalists - I'd look at TBIJ and OCCRP as they're usually doing the best work. Bellingcat does a lot of open source investigations and I think you can volunteer for them in some capacities which might get you some experience. Depending on what you're interested in, civil society groups like Transparency International often have investigative teams.

Just do it. Don't retrain. I'm intrigued about your 'related area'. But if you are flexible and freelance anyway, pick a subject you know would work and start digging, with an end publication on mind.

I trained as a journalist back in the Jurassic, and worked for many years for the BBC, and more recently magazines. My work has dwindled and tbh I've thrown in the towel now.

It's pointless to retrain in journalism. If you want to do it, just write. Read up on ethics etc in your spare time, but don't invest in education in journalism if you are a mature adult. Life experience counts for a lot. A degree in journalism is only worthwhile these days as entry into a wide range of other occupations. Learning about bias and ethics and stuff like propaganda techniques can be done outside formal education.

Also if you want to do investigative journalism I would argue that a good grounding in law was more important than learning journalism skills.

Surprising lack of interest and engagement from an op who apparently wants to be an investigative journalist. 😁

I don't think they have what it takes.

Its not unreasonable to want to do this, but I agree with pp’s. A lot of competition for roles (which are hard to get without connections - maybe different on smaller regional titles). Very low salaries (unless you’re a big name). Lots of syndication of content = fewer jobs.

The main industry title in my sector has been doing a remarkable amount of in depth reporting that is regularly picked up by the nationals, wins awards and in one recent example, one journo who had been covering something relevant nowhere else could give the time to, wrote an acclaimed book. So there are niches out there that provide real expertise that may be overlooked.

I think some of the replies here have been quite harsh! But v much agree regional/ digital media is nothing to aspire to and couldn't possibly be a rewarding career these days. What you want isn't impossible but as others have said, pay is poor and a lot of opportunities that come your way are often sheer luck and being in the right place at the right time.