A Survey

From Beth King at SPJ's national headquarters:

Nancy Hirsch from Kaplan Publishing is working on a book that will focus on helping students decide which careers to pursue. They've researched a list of "hot" careers, both in terms of what students are interested in pursuing, and jobs with tremendous growth potential. High on the list are careers in journalism, which is great news, considering industry troubles.

Nancy would like to find a few journalists who might be willing fill out the attached short interview questionnaire about how you decided on a career in journalism and how you have achieved success. This is a great opportunity to give students some exposure to your field. Additionally, it’s a great way to help promote SPJ and its missions. So here's the survey. If you have a few minutes, please try to help her out:

Questionnaire

Kaplan College Guide
Name:
Occupation:
Official title:
Company name:
College:
Year of graduation:
First job after graduation:
Major:
E-mail address*:
Mailing address*:
Phone number*:

*Your personal contact information will not be published

Your College Experience


1. What criteria did you use when deciding which colleges to apply to?

2. What was your first choice school?

3. What did career did you have in mind when you applied to college?

4. How did the school you attended impact your career choice and opportunities?

5. Do you now wish you had attended a different school? Which one and why?

6. Which college or colleges are turning out the leaders in your profession today?

7. Please describe the “Aha!” moment when you realized what you wanted to do.

8. Did you change your major? If so, why?

Please list your majors:

9. Which classes were most valuable in preparing you for your career or in helping you decide on your career?

10. How did your professors impact your career choice or preparation?

11. Did you have a job and/or internship during college that influenced your career choice or career preparation in any way?

12. Do you have an advanced degree? Is one helpful/required in your field?

Your Professional Experience


13. What do you love most about your job?

14. What is the most difficult or challenging aspect of your job?

15. What is the biggest misconception people have about what you do?

16. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in getting to where you are in your career? How did you overcome it?

17. What skills are an absolute must for someone interested in pursuing your career?

18. Whom do you admire most in your industry/field? Why?

19. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is interested in pursuing your career?

20. If you could do everything all over again, what would you do differently?

21. Please add any additional comments you think might be helpful to someone hoping to pursue your career:


Please save this document as your name and return to: nancy.hirsch@kaplan.com

Thank you for completing this survey!