People have asked me this question, and it has become a hot topic in the journalism blogging world.

I would personally not get a graduate degree in journalism. Journalism is not one of those fields where practicing journalists will see a big benefit from additional schooling. In fact, work experience and skills are what ultimately matters, which is why so many journalists do not have journalism degrees — let alone more than one.

A master’s degree will not help you get a job over someone else, especially if that person has better work experience. A master’s degree will not get you a higher salary, but it will give you more debt.

If I were to go back to school for another degree or just to learn new subjects and skills, it wouldn’t be in journalism. It would be in an area I would want to cover or in a field like computer science. I understand journalism as well as I ever will. What I — and any journalist really — could always use is more skills.

Journalism professor Mindy McAdams also advises students to steer clear of graduate school:

This post is for your mom and dad, who are pressuring you to go to grad school immediately after undergrad.

I don’t know why your parents think that’s a good idea. Maybe in whatever field they’re in, it’s what people do. Like law. Like medicine. But not in journalism. Not usually.

Now that’s not to say that no one should attend graduate school for journalism. It all depends on each individual situation, which McAdams also points out.

For instance, I have an undergraduate degree in journalism (and political science), and I was working at a 100,000 circulation paper when I was 22. I also have plenty of contacts around the country.

Plus, I regularly attend seminars, fellowships and conferences and try to learn new skills year around. There is not a strong benefit for me to go to graduate school (and incur even more debt). But that doesn’t mean graduate school is a bad idea for everyone.

If you don’t have an undergraduate degree in journalism and you want to switch careers, it’s probably your best way to break into the field, unless you already have strong multimedia and online skills. If you have strong online or multimedia skills, you just need a good way to showcase those skills to perspective employers (hint: personal Web site).

If you went to a small journalism program/not well known school and you work at a very small paper, you would probably benefit from going to a strong graduate program that could not only teach you additional skills but also give you contacts. It can be hard to break out of a small paper, and often it’s the contacts — not skills — that well-known schools give you that will have the biggest impact on your career.

Skills are easy to learn. I didn’t learn any of my multimedia or online skills in my journalism classes. I’ve been building Web pages for years, and I’ve experimented on my own with multimedia. Since graduating, I’ve also attended seminars and fellowships to add to my skill set.

Any journalist can sign up for seminars, conferences and fellowships. They are also much cheaper than grad school, but attending a really well-known graduate school for two years will probably give you much better contacts.

There are way more people with journalism degrees, and people who want to be journalists, than actual journalism jobs. That’s why it pays to know people.

Going to a well-known program can be a great way to break into the industry. By breaking in, I don’t mean toiling around at some small daily or weekly newspaper, but actually having a chance to work for a big or well-known company. And hopefully an innovative company that will be around for years to come (this is what you really want to break into).

Many internship opportunities are only available to students, and it’s almost impossible to get a journalism job (besides a programming one) without an internship or three. The best journalism schools usually have access to the best internship opportunities.

Obviously, there are people who would benefit from grad school. Most journalists, however, will not.

If you’ve made the decision to attend graduate school, make sure you are attending a program that is heavily into online journalism, multimedia and entrepreneurship. But long before you decide to even apply to j-school, make sure you realize the realities facing journalism. It’s going to be a tough few years or so for this industry.

And eventually most journalism jobs won’t be at traditional outlets. You have to be ready for when that storm hits.