University as career factory?

I read an interesting post the other day on Howard Bernstein's excellent blog, Medium Close Up. I agree with some of his points but I think he's fallen into a bit of a logic trap. Like many people, he believes that if one studies something in university, they should and must go on to a career in that area.

The concept isn't completely without merit. After all, very few people would study veterinary medicine if they didn't want to go on to a career as a vet. The number of available spots in vet. med. faculties is extremely small, and graduates of a vet. med. program tend to find good, stable employment. Bully for them.

I don't think, though,that you can use the same argument for those who study journalism. Bernstein writes: "If we opened more places in the schools – and we do seem to do this all the time – we would fill them instantly. But does anyone tell these kids there are no jobs for them? I have never seen it. Worse, the schools continue to accept these students knowing there are no jobs. It is morally wrong."

With respect, it's not morally wrong, and the argument is specious. If one were to accept Bernstein's viewpoint uncritically, it would be "morally wrong" for universities to accept students in any number of fields of study. How many history majors end up as professional historians? What proportion of math majors end up making a living doing math? What about anthropology? religious studies? comparative literature? Surely Bernstein can't be arguing that these fields of study aren't worthy, or that enrolment in these areas should be severely restricted.

Even the (Canadian) college system, which is much more geared toward career preparation than knowledge for knowledge's sake, has come to the realization that sometimes - just sometimes - people study something because they're interested in it. The line of demarcation between colleges and universities is dissolving as (some) universities are developing more of a market focus, and (some) colleges are increasing the breadth of their course offerings to allow students to enjoy the intellectual challenges of learning, rather than just stuffing knowledge into their brains with the goal of hopefully building a meaningful career.

Another thing that's developed over the past number of years is that the entire concept of "career" has changed. I'm now in my third career - maybe even my fourth, depending on how you count 'em. Each was a perfectly valid career path, and each career has helped lay the foundation for the succeeding ones. Many of my friends and colleagues have had similar experiences.

Coming back to the journalism-specific issue that Bernstein raises in his blog post, I'm a proponent of the j-school-as-a-professional-program model. In other words, I think that by requiring a person to develop their critical thinking skills - and a little real-world knowledge - before they enter a journalism program, one is likely to come out with a better "product". As an old boss of mine used to say, it's easier to take someone with some life experience and teach him what he needs to become a successful journalist than it is to take someone fresh out of j-school and teach him how to be a real person. In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I'm probably partial to that point of view since that was the rationale he used when he hired me as a reporter.

There. I'm glad I got that off my chest. As always, your mileage may vary.