You’ll learn the basic principles of journalism from the classes in your major. As for right now, just keep up with the news and the various beats that interest you. Try and get a sense of what about journalism actually makes it appealing for you.

I don’t know what your community college’s program is like but I always recommend to learn the past and practice of journalism. The idea we have of old school journalists isn’t really accurate. The stories of Woodward, Nellie Bly, Walter Cronkite, Joe Pulitzer, the Spotlight investigation, are all a lot more complex than we think. So, read up on that, and be hungry for work. I don’t know what kinds of outlets are by you, so I can’t give many recommendations, but try to join whatever publication you can

as someone who graduated with a journalism degree in may, i can recommend trying to find work anywhere you can. having your work edited by someone is a great way to get better and learn where potential bias can be.

i wrote freelance for about 3 outlets while looking for a full time job and right when I thought hope was lost, i was recommended to a full time position by a managing editor from one of the freelance positions. i’ve been there about a month and love it so far. proved to me how good a connection can be.

to learn the practice, reading is the best advice i can give - nationwide outlets and local outlets to get used to what’s going on around you. learn the ethics, interview practices, study up on AP format!

If any of your classes offer a connection for freelance or internship work be sure to take advantage of that. Any chance you have to build work and have something published to show employers/editors after you graduate when you’re looking for a job is golden for getting that job. The degree is great to have but the ability to show experience of some kind is needed. I had a chance to write for Patch through my coursework around 2011 and that helped me learn and get a job later.

If you don’t want to be biased in your future writing, don’t be.

You are making a mistake. Do not major in journalism.

The reality of the industry if you land a job: You will most likely be a click farmer harvesting seconds of attention with SEO techniques and tricks.

Unless you're in the top ~5 percentile, AI is almost certainly a better writer than you. It is definitely already better at summarizing the most important parts of your story and has no ego that prevents it from presenting information to audiences in the most palatable format (headers and bullet points) for dwindling attention spans.

Lastly, your story subjects will not care if you're a good interviewer because they don't really want you to tell their story. They have all the same publishing tools as your employer and would prefer to tell their own story in a way that profits them most.

You still have the opportunity to get a college degree in a growing field that has a bright future. Please heed this advice.