Not worth the paper it's printed on ...

... my bachelor's degree, according to this piece from the Wall Street Journal.

Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But it's proof that finishing with an undergrad degree no longer provides folks with the security and options that it used to.

This is even more worrisome for journalism folks like myself, who focused much - if not all - of their collegiate efforts on improving their craft, getting internships and bouncing from paper to paper in pursuit of the best jobs.

Well, with the newspaper industry hemorrhaging jobs by the week, having a bachelor's degree just doesn't seem like enough protection in this changing world. What other skills will I need, say, 10 years from now? Is writing no longer enough to provide for myself or my family? Also, have I resigned myself to a (very) limited income because I need journalism more than it needs me?

These are not the questions I was preparing myself to answer when I was an idealistic student leaving TCU in December of 2000. I figured I was set for life - I'd write and write and write until I landed a cushy and well-paid sports columnist job at some major metro newspaper or someplace like Sports Illustrated. Unlike those other schmoes, I'd never sit in a cold, boring classroom again.

I guess the question I really need to answer is: who's the schmoe now?

UPDATE: The WSJ also offers solutions.