"Getting out of the business" resource thread

To follow up, does anyone know how police academies work? (Just typing that line leaves me wanting to make a joke about the movies, but I digress).

Do you go to the same academy to be a city PD officer, a state cop, a sheriff's deputy, a university campus cop, etc.? Or do each of those agencies have separate academies?

 

I heard that the Census Bureau is going to be hiring a whole gaggle of people for part-time temp jobs to help with the 2010 census, starting in the spring.

Here's some info...

http://www.census.gov/2010censusjobs/index.php

 

i'm a lawyer and i have some experience representing people who have sued police departments for not hiring them. (these people turned out to be deadbeats who didn't deserve to get hired but the point is that i know a little bit about the subject).

all police departments have distinct hiring criteria. it can range from a four-year college degree in a ritzy suburban city to a GED. there are also physical requirements and there is almost always an exam. it's not like you go to a placed called a police academy and then suddenly are qualified to be hired everywhere. check the hiring criteria and qualifications for each city or municipalities in which you want to work.

 

There are a lot of decent-paying jobs with the federal government, and they pay pretty well. In particular, the public affairs positions are suited to the kind of skills that journalism requires. So if you are open to a move to DC, have a look: www.usajobs.com

 

Simple question:

How do you really know when it's time to leave?

Yes, the economy is bad. Yes, I'm lucky to have a job. Yes, things might turn around sooner than we expect. Yes, Obama is going to be inaugurated and change is coming

But when do I know to pull the trigger and look out for myself and my future and let go of this industry as being a part of whatever that will look like?

 

Here's a question... I graduated in June, got my first gig and got downsized. Now what the hell do I do? Besides being a waiter at a restaurant or being a receptionist, most of the stuff I'm looking at (outside of newspapers), I'm not qualified to do. I've got another week of work and then I'm not doing anything.

I've worked too damn hard to go make sandwiches at Subway, but I really don't have 2-3 years of copywriting experience or something like that. Help!

 

A question for those looking: How do you handle looking for a job with companies that you sort of cover, or use as sources?

I probably need to start looking around, given the state of things, but I'm a little wary of approaching potential employers or applying for jobs because most of the ones I'd like to work for are companies I deal with in some professional level now (I'm a business writer, not sports), and that I would keep dealing with if I stayed at the paper.
Because of this, I don't really want to send out applications all over town. Don't really want to advertise my interest in leaving my paper, to people who I deal with as a reporter, and then have it not work out. I'm not even sure I really want to apply at some of these places, but I'd like to find out more about what they're like to work out. Any ideas on how to start those conversations? Or send the signal that you'd be interested in having them?

 

Jay...I'm pretty much in the same situation as you. I lost my job about four months ago, decided to relocate for a change of pace but I'm still out of a job. I've had a couple of interviews.

One for something I felt "over-qualified" for and another I was "under-qualified" for. Nothing has happened yet in terms of a job offer. But we'll see what happens. I had money saved to make it this far without working at Subway, etc., but I'm about at the point where I need some sort of income.

 

I've been out for more than four years now, but this is what I imagine my outlook would be if I were still in: While I'm sitting around wondering when the right time to leave is, somebody else is wondering when the right time to downsize my paper is, and wondering whom he would chop in that situation.

 

Hee hee. Naivete, thy name is agateguy.

 

It was sarcasm, not naivete.

 

Noobs picking on each other ... awesome.