A real professional are like athletes that show up on the field of performance each day ready to give his or her very best. It has nothing to do with credentials and everything to do with contribution.

Joe

And while I didn’t major in journalism, the journalism classes I took in college focused on engaging style, how to write a hook, how to structure an article, interview techniques, and so on–writing well is far more than just grammar and punctuation (important as they are) and many journalism classes aren’t primarily about understanding the newspaper industry (my science writing instructor was a freelancer with a background in broadcast and magazine freelancing, and we didn’t talk about industry structure at all–we talked about techniques for presenting complex scientific concepts in a clear, accurate, and engaging manner. Useful stuff). Of course, that kind of thing can be at least partially picked up from books, and largely from continuing education classes. But I do think there are some types of knowledge best picked up in a classroom setting, whether or not a degree is involved.

To a certain extent, I agree about the feedback providing a foundation, but if the person who didn’t have access to professors and a classroom setting was smart, he or she should ask for feedback from the professionals they do encounter. If I were that person, I’d want to know why I didn’t get the job and ask for an honest critique of the work. I’d take those suggestions to heart and make improvements. It might take longer, but I would think it would eventually land me in the same place and give me the same foundation as the person with the degree, wouldn’t you think?

Of course, experience counts the most but still, I say education counts for a lot too. I get really frustrated when I see ads for people who want 10 press releases for their site and want to pay $5-20 a pop for them. I get upset when I read posts about how a person doesn’t need to pay for a PR person, because they can just write a release themselves. To be honest, even on all these writing boards, I see posts from people who clearly can’t WRITE! You (meaning someone) can’t just wake up one day and decide to be a writer and be GOOD any more than I can wake up tomorrow and decide I want to be a quantum physicist.

Good point about the competition pool narrowing.

@ Robin – Yes, but your experience was what increased your knowledge – not your classroom textbook training

Love the discussion, but just wanted to note that there are indeed degrees “in writing”- Writing, alone, not creative writing, not english, not rhetoric, but plain old “writing.” I’ve happened upon a couple lately. Not sure if it’s new or what.

Best part of a BA? Being able to compete for those jobs that require one— the applicant pool is significantly reduced.