Thank you for inviting me to this conversation.
I hate to say such dire things, and hate to give such pessimistic advice, but I'll try to give it to you straight.
Traditionally, the career of photojournalism involved working for a newspaper and providing photo coverage for them, or working for a magazine, and being sent on assignments. If this is the career you have in mind, then I suggest you seriously reconsider realistically whether you want to go back to college for an education in photojournalism.
This kind of photojournalism is seemingly a dying profession. The newspaper industry as a whole is seemingly a dying industry. Revenues are dropping hugely for almost every newspaper, as the newspaper industry missed the boat in regard to transitioning to a working model in the age of the internet. Newspapers are dropping like flies. The ones that remain are cutting their staff waaaay back, cutting everything waaaay back. The printed magazine industry is similarly seemingly spiraling down the drain. They too are failing. They too are cutting back.
Generally speaking, papers and magazines are not looking to hire photojournalists. They are looking for options of how to get rid of them. They are looking to fill pages with microstock. They are looking to gain libraries of usable images for little cost through running copyright-grabbing photo-contests. They are looking to switch from in-house staff photographers to buying pictures from freelancers, so they don't need to offer benefits. They're looking to buy pictures for stories from non-professionals on-the-scene who can be underpaid because they don't understand the business of selling pictures.
Going to college to become a photojournalist, today, is like choosing to pursue the profession of being a horse buggy driver in the early 20th century, as the automobile industry was rising all around.
Most people who were previously working as photojournalists have either moved on to other fields of photography – such as wedding photography, with a photojournalistic style – or they have left the photography profession altogether.
Additionally, I question whether you would find much value to getting a college education in photography. There are some fields of photography, such as commercial studio photography, where the formal education can sometimes be very helpful. For most photographers in most fields of photography, a formal education in photography is a complete waste of time and money. The colleges tend to focus little on real world needs and knowledge.
Besides that, it is easy enough to learn on your own (practice, books, forums, workshops, etc.), or through non-formal-training. To learn photography, in most fields, you would be far better served by just getting out there and doing it to learn the ropes, or getting yourself a mentor, or getting yourself a position as an assistant.
Also, the certifications on your resume do not help you get a job as a photographer. Those who want to hire you for a job, or want to buy your pictures, have very close to zero interest at all in your formal training and certified qualifications. Do you have the pictures they want? Or do your pictures show that you can make the pictures they want? Your pictures, your ideas, and your attitude tell them everything they need to know; there's no asking about your education.
The vast majority of artistically and commercially successful photographers, in most fields, have no formal education in photography.
If you choose to go into professional photography (and I repeat that you probably will not be able to make a career out of photojournalism) you would do better to go to college for business than for photography. Learning how to market yourself, and learning how to operate a small business, will serve you well as a photographer.
I can't say that 100% of people who start pursuing a career in photojournalism, right now, will fail. But, almost 100%? That, I can confidently say. With that in mind, is this really a course you want to take?
Not me for advice. I am exactly what Mike says I am:
