Jamaican born, Raecine Williams,  writes a very interesting article about choosing her culture over her career. Her dream is to become a  broadcast journalist in the US. She “dropped” her Jamaican accent in pursuit of this career on the advice of a classmate. Now she struggles with the idea of suppressing her Jamaican accent for the sake of her career. Her belief that journalist are the “honesty police” adds another layer to her internal conflict.  What do you think? Would you change your accent for your career?

Here is a great quote from the article

Lately, I’ve been wondering if I’m the liar.

I’m in the midst of trying to achieve my dream of becoming a broadcast journalist by getting my master’s degree at the University of Maryland.

Shortly after I started classes in June, a classmate noticed something about me that I had begun to think might jeopardize that career — my accent.

She did it kindly, but it resurrected worries I’ve long held about the Jamaican lilt that makes me feel a part of something back home, but separate here.

I thought about the long hard road to getting a job in broadcasting. And right then and there, I switched my accent to an American one.