Rafael Said:

What's the best way to get into magazine journalism?

We Answered:

Are you a qualified journalist?

Your question suggests not, and the chances of getting a job when you're not qualified, certainly in any of the mainstream media, is very limited these days.

You really need to do the NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) magazine qualification. As an editor I wouldn't have dreamed of employing or giving work to anyone without it.

It's likely your pitches did not conform to correct style and thus would be unlikely to have been looked at properly.

There are two magazine types it's possible to get into without a qualification, however, but certainly not any easier!

One is the glossies. Most people begin as work experience editorial assistants. That means working unpaid for anything from a few months to over a year, full time, until a vacancy comes up. Not realistic for those of us without rich parents in London!

The other is the specialist group. Things like Practical Fishkeeping or Stamp Collecting monthly. If you happen to be an expert in one of these areas you can pitch your ideas to the magazines and may eventually get a staff job. Moving from such magazines (which are very very low paid) into more mainstream areas is pretty much unheard of (especially if you remain unqualified).

The only area that does pay well and will pay for your training - and is relatively easy to get into is financial and business to business. You would need to be a graduate, although a couple of years working for a local paper would also be looked on favourably. Check out the schemes offered by the Archant group, for example.

Sorry is this is a bit doom and gloom, but there are hundreds of qualified journalists with postgraduate qualifications and strong portfolios of published work competing for magazine jobs at any one time. It's a hugely competitive area.

As for the NUJ, yes, personally I'd always say it's worth it. Even if you're not joining for any political reasons, it offers two advantages: One is that it helps create the impression that you're a 'proper' journalist and two is that it is like an insurance policy - you pay out hoping you don't need to claim! But the day you're sacked because the boss doesn't like your shirt or some big company doesn't pay for freelance work that took you six months to do, you'll be glad you did