Is a College Degree Essential in the Mass media?
I graduated with honors from a great State University. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and acquired a honorarium for my division. For the last 15 years or so, I have worked professionally as an actor, writer and music performer.
During all that period I cannot remember being inquired about my college degree more than once or twice.
By the same token, college was fun and I cannot say that having a degree has been a hindrance of any kind. However one could ask the query, was it worth it?
Outside of the classical music sphere diplomas hold very little if any water at all in the music industry. Certainly not in the areas of rock, hip-hop and pop in any case. As a session musician enrolling yourself in a popular music school might be of great help. However it’s all going to come down to how well you play, and more often than not, who you know.
Securing an agent might be simpler if you have a degree from well known theater schools like Julliard or A.C.T. Nonetheless, you need to understand that the impact you make during your audition will always come first then followed by your college degree. When it comes to actually getting jobs as an actor degrees are about as helpful as flotation devices on a plane that’s going down. You can reassure yourself with it but what matters most are the steps you take at present.
Even as a specialist writer my diploma has been of little consequence. This signifies that it is merely listed on the resume I displayed in order to land a job. I think once when I briefly held a staff job at a dot.com back in the ‘nineties the girl who hired me may have asked about it. But writing, like acting and music, largely comes down to your performance, and who you know.
If I had it to do all over once again would I get a college degree? Perhaps not. I once played in a film with an exceptionally talented young man, who was just nineteen years old. He’d finished from high school and moved to Los Angeles right away. He used to work in advertisements before we met and after the film he got a lead role on a tv series. He’s still there today after several seasons. Certainly he made the right decision when it came to bypassing college.
It’s excellent to have a diploma. In another line of work a diploma can act as proof of your capability to do big things. On the other hand, a degree might prevent you from clinching huge roles during the most profitable years of your life, this is in fact true especially when it comes to the entertainment business.
