OK, as far as journalism goes, it's a GREAT profession. I think I have the best job in the world. Every day is something different. I never know what's gonna happen. And I know the news before anyone, and I get to tell stories for a living. Paywise, however .. . well let's just leave it with, you have to love this profession enough to not mind the wages.
As far as getting good grades on papers goes, that's great, but it won't help you in journalism. At least 99% of english profs want papers that are the polar opposite of a good journalism piece. Most of my english profs wanted page after page of detail, explanation, etc. Your newspaper will want 20 paragraphs if you're lucky. You have to learn to write concisely, using short declarative sentences rather than the long compound sentences you see so often in english papers. In addition to learning to write for journalism (and keep in mind that there's newspaper writing and then there's broadcast writing, which are two totally different styles) you also need to sharpen your interview and research skills.
Best advice? Before you switch your major, take a couple of courses in journalism to find out if it's really something you like. Were I you, I'd try a print and a broadcast course - a good radio news writing course would teach you quickly how to write for broadcast, how to incorporate sound into your story to bring the listener to the scene, and would also give you a good contrast between that and print journalism. I started out majoring in print journalism, but after taking a couple of radio news courses I switched over and never looked back.
I would strongly recommend against changing your major to english if your goal is to write news, freelance or otherwise. You'll end up with a LOT to unlearn if you go that route.
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