Breaking into the Business. What to do?

Also, try not to get stampeded by all those trying to break out of the business.

 

So I've scrolled through this thread a few times and here's what I come away with:

1. Be willing to relocate

2. Run away from journalism.

3. Go back to school

4. Prepare for the Apocalypse.

5. Hopefully I'm lucky and someone gives me a shot.

6. Just freelance.

Well, all of these but number two seem possible. But then again, I'm no Nostradamus Over the last few days, I've been calling and emailing every website and daily you could think of, sending out resumes by the batch to anywhere and everywhere. Luckily my roommate from college works at Kinko's or I would've had to pay absurd amounts for copy and print I have one lead, especially it's a place I know someone who works there so hopefully he can help me out. Relocation? Not on my current salary as a deli clerk but who knows.

The school route again is more about debt than it is about possibility. My school loans are unbelievably high. I don't even want to post the amount. That's how high they are. Yes, going to grad school would defer them for a bit longer but with a non-fixed interest rate, i'm essentially taking one step forward, two steps back. Thanks for the straightforwardness and if there's any other advice you want to post up here please do.

 

Grad school doesn't have to be expensive. I know one person, someone who worked in our business, who is going for free. It's all about those test scores. And if you do pay to go to a top medical or law or business school, it's an investment. Yes, you'd have to pay back debt. But it's also likely you won't be paying it out of a $25K journalism salary.

 

True that.

 

Unfortunately, everyone goes to grad school when times are tough, so in a few years I'd expect to see a real glut of lawyer.

 

You say that. The rest of us know you couldn't close a deal to save your life. Stick to prep volleyball.

 

One thing - some places will actually help with relocation fees. Also, you get a huge tax rebate if you do relocate and your employer doesn't cover all of the costs. (And when I say huge, for me, I got what I spent and more back from good ol' Uncle Sam last year.)

I think the biggest thing is you have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone. I graduated in May of 2008 and sent out probably 40-50 resumes in that final semester and luck played a huge role in it and I managed to get a job where I started two weeks after graduation.

I know I'm lucky, but it's also perseverance. You've already worked hard to build up what experience you've got at your age but you also need to diversify. One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is photography. It wouldn't hurt to know your way around a still camera since the smaller papers are probably going to put one in your hands and make you shoot.

Also, here's another thing: working for a small daily or weekly might seem like crap, but they're actually fairly stable compared to the metros, IMO.

Don't get discouraged. Keep putting your name out there and talking to the contacts you've made (also, when you apply to these out-of-state papers and they give you the, "Thanks but no thanks" call, ask them if there are any other papers in their chain who is hiring. That might also help you get somewhere. Just a suggestion.

 

There's a glut of them now. But that's why you don't go to Joe's Roadside Law School. And that's why when you get there, you kick ass.

 

Great if you can do it. But if people were good at gauging their abilities and the market for them, they wouldn't be graduating with journalism degrees right now anyway. For every person who is actually going ot kick ass, three will think they will.

 

I don't think that it's a golden ticket by any stretch. But it seems that people on here like to think of reasons why they can't do something rather than why they can and where the opportunities lie - it seems people don't even want to put the research into other options. They just trot out a cliche about why it wouldn't work and call it a day. It rises to the level of martyrdom at times.

And as far as their ability to judge the market, their ability, etc., I mean, come on. These people are 22 years old. They're allowed to follow a dream when they're young, single and mobile, no?

 

Here is one area where I think we're underestimating future employment market needs, too: Baby boomers are retiring.

Rick, I don't think that's an automatic meal ticket to success, but we also have to realize that our population is growing, and the workforce will shrink, rapidly, in the next 10 to 15 years. There will be a void to be filled somewhere. Given how this industry is collapsing, I don't know how relevant that is to journalists, but I think that is relevant when we're talking about the legal field and other high-end specialties.

 

That's true. I'm definitely not advocating against it. An advanced, professional degree from a decent or better school is still by far the best educational investment there is.

I just want to make sure people consider all the potential pitfalls of their choices.It's human nature to plan for the best-case scenario.

Following a dream is great, but it's probably worth your while to keep your eyes on the path while you do, just in case the dream is walking off a cliff.