Tips for Recent College Grad

As someone your age, I have a different perspective than a lot of the people in this thread. I graduated last year, had a few summer internships, worked at the local paper while I was in college and got pretty much the same advice you're getting.

The beauty of the internet is that there is a community out there for whatever you're interested in. For me, it was basketball. Most NBA coverage in newspapers comes from sports writers who are generalists; as someone who played pretty seriously my whole life, I felt there was a void of people talking about the sport the way me and my friends talked about it as players.

So I started up a blog, began writing and most importantly, pushed my stuff in the blogosphere everyday. I joined team message boards and fan blogs for pretty much every NBA team and a lot of the major college basketball programs and posted links to what I wrote. I cross-posted my articles at Bleacher Report (not the greatest site, but they'll pay you if they like your stuff) and I e-mailed the editors of the NBA blogs at ESPN (True Hoop), Yahoo (Ball Don't Lie) and SI (Point Forward) constantly. Over about eight months, I built a decent-sized following and am now working as a basketball reporter/columnist for a few of the biggest sports sites out there (I even got credentialed for the NBA Finals!). If you have a unique voice as a writer and you're putting good stuff out there, people will find you.

It took me about six months before I even got a paycheck, but you just have to look at it as an unpaid internship basically. Write for anyplace that has an audience and is willing to post your stuff, even if it's for free. The good thing is there are a lot of different ways to make money with your writing/editing skills -- I've written ad copy, copy-edited financial documents and helped kids write essays for college and grad school.

I know at least a half-dozen other people our age scratching out a living on the basketball blogosphere, and I'd guess it's a similar situation in almost any field. Example: the main author of Baseball Time In Arlington, where I get most of my Texas Rangers news, also works at Baseball Prospectus now.

This is absolutely true. You've got to believe in yourself. Also, let's be reality -- I know MBA's working at call centers, law school graduates living back at home, Ivy League graduates sleeping on couches in NYC trying to break into finance. There isn't guaranteed money in any field, so don't let that stop you from doing what you want to do.

Another thing is, I'm not even sure if newspapers are where you want to be going these days. I interned at what used to be one of the best sports sections in the country (SportsDay) a few years back, and it seems like everyone I knew over with there is working for some arm of ESPN now.

 

Yes, but the reality is that when those graduates do break in, they'll do so in jobs that pay very well.

When you break in, you'll do it at $28,000.

 

Turtle, you're being optimistic on salary. You're lucky to get $25K at a small paper.

 

$28,000? What a dream.

 

At least the Punxsutawney sports job opens up every 6-12 months. You're making the big bucks at $20,000 there.

 

It took me nearly 10 years to clear $28K...and the latest union talk is that I may be losing that edge soon anyway.

 

"When they break in" is a pretty big assumption. That's what's really crazy about the economy for people under 25: even getting an entry-level job with just a college diploma is extremely difficult. At least journalism doesn't require a graduate degree that's going to put you six figures in debt without guaranteeing you a job in that field. I know plenty of law students in that position; it's not good.

 

Why is it that nearly all the recent graduates who come on the board with this kind of "How do I break into the business?" post offer up, as their first impression, a dispatch complete with poor grammar and awkward sentence structure?

Don't want to get on the guy but, geez, best foot forward would be a good way to go.

 

Threads like this are sad and entertaining at the same time. I never hear of those looking to break in who are willing or able to cover straight news. Those jobs are out there, albeit in Meth Junction or Trailer Park City.

If you want entertainment, check out the undergraduate and graduate admissions forums on http://talk.collegeconfidential.com

 

I can give them a pass on that. My first year here, I had something like 10 posts - it's scary to think that there are a slew of anonymous professionals looking at whatever you type, and if you're writing nervously, that only amplifies the amount of mistakes you make. I think anyone who interviews or hires someone in the 21 to 25-year-old age range is going to assume that they're going to have growing pains when it comes to writing and editing.

 

I'll echo what a lot of people have already said - freelance as much as you can. When I graduated college I freelanced for almost two years. I tried freelancing for as many papers as possible for not only money, but more connections. I started freelancing for a paper about an hour away from where I was, and I would cover games for them that were up in my area.

Eventually, they had a position open up and I ended up getting hired. Freelancing and making connections pays off.

Also, don't limit yourself to where you want to work. Be willing to move out of state, etc.

 

Marry rich.