Is there any way to avoid a preps gig as your first job?

Oh, I think there is ... but are there robotics competitions, science fairs and the like with the frequency of high school sports?

 

The two aren't mutually exclusive.

 

Both. The younger ones are more in tune and comfortable with, and, even more importantly, actually into today's technology and social media enough to care about actually building and driving it if that is their job. And, they're also going to be more willing, if they're just starting out, to hire in more cheaply.

 

My entire opinion on this whole thread boils down to this: No matter what level, what paper or what teams you’re covering, at its heart all of this is a job. That’s it. A job.

Whatever you do, remember that. Because the last thing you want to do is get your identity so tied up in a job that you fall apart when you don’t have it anymore. Very few people walk off into the sunset. Sooner or later, you’ll be told you’re not wanted anymore. When that happens, make sure your life is so rich you don’t think twice about it.

I nearly lost everything because of addiction. To alcohol, drugs and probably most of all, my job. I cover prep and small-college sports. But whether I do that, cover pro sports for a major daily or cashier at a grocery store, it’s all the same thing. Something I do the best I can and get paid for. That’s it.

All of these career concerns are fine to discuss of course, but trust me, none of it really matters all that much.

 

I don't think that someone should go into sports journalism or any other field if you will not enjoy the journey. If you think covering preps is not something you would like and that you would only be happy covering a Power Five or pro sports franchise don't take the first job covering preps. There are to many potholes in that journey.

For every reporter covering a major league or Power Five school there were a couple other guys who got interviewed for that job who are probably as good as you. Some will wind up staying on preps. You never know what will happen.

 

BOOM.

I thank my father for laying it out well before I got star-struck and thought I was going to be the next Ernie Harwell.

At the end of the day, it's just a job. I don't care if you're covering the Summer Olympics or Summer tee-ball games, you get paid to produce content of a certain level for a salary agreed to by both parties for whatever length of time that may be. There is no guarantee of permanence on either side of the equation unless you have a contract stipulating such.

If you want to dissolve that association, you have the right to either give notice or quit on the spot. However, the company has the same rights: they can offer severance, a buyout or eliminate your position.

Unless you own your own business, the job was there long before you ever landed it. The job will be there long after you leave. I once had a conversation with the paste-up guys at the Rocky Mount Telegram about that. They couldn't name all the sports editors who had been there before me, and I'm certain the list is much longer now.

Don't ever let any job be the way you define yourself. And don't let any job overwhelm your life. There will come a time when you will not have one, and you need to be prepared to accept that -- either on your own terms or not. There are very few Furman Bishers or Jim Murrays or Edwin Popes whose legacies have outlived them. But somebody's doing their jobs at the AJC, the Times or the Herald. Walter Cronkite was the CBS Evening News, until he wasn't. But CBS didn't go away. So everybody is replaceable.

I know a number of people who were so wrapped up in their careers that they forgot why they got into the business in the first place. I never wanted to take it for granted, or worse, "mail it in" once I reached a certain level of experience. Hopefully my co-workers would agree with that last statement. And I always took a moment to look up at places like Daytona, Indianapolis, Cameron Indoor or KSC and appreciate where I was, what I was doing and what it took to get there.

Because time goes by way quicker than you can imagine. Enjoy what you're doing. If you're not, do something else. Life is too short. Be happy. Eat dessert first.

 

Wear sunscreen.

 

Thank you, stix and maumann. Back-to-back home runs.

 

My dermatologist, upon meeting me and my pasty Scots-Irish-Canadian genes for the first time: "So did you grow up in Florida or California?" "Uh, both." (Rubs his hands together, knowing his monthly yacht payment is secure.)

 

A “side” gig I have in the sports broadcasting biz, so to speak, frequently takes me to Lambeau Field during the season. Get to see things and meet people most would be jealous of.

That’s never lost on me. I got the job due to connections and circumstance. I’m very fortunate.

 

Good to see you haven’t really learned anything. Shoulda just taken your L and stayed home.

 

Wayyyyy back last century, I went to school as a computer systems engineering major but got distracted by journalism and fell into a 20-year career. I finally pushed the exit button, went back to school and got a computer science degree.

I'm making more than double the money I made in my best newspapering year, I work banker hours, and absolutely nothing can happen off the clock that can't wait to be addressed until the next time I'm on the clock.

Did I mention I more than doubled my salary (which I think was pretty good, working at papers between 40 and 100,000 subscribers)?