"Getting out of the business" resource thread

Thanks, TyWebb. I need to start listening to the more rational side. I've been talking with friends who got out, and I think I'll start putting energy toward that. The stress, lack of social life, putting up with complaints from parents, the low pay... I'm worth more than that. I'm bitter at 25. I want to be happy. Plus, with a 9-5 job, I can freelance on the side to get my fix.

 

Think about what else, besides writing, that you might want to do.

If there's anything that interests you, take the opportunity to change direction and pursue it. You don't have to be a writer, and if you are, you are not limited only to PR if you did go the journalism route.

If you do make a decision that there's something else that interests you, don't be afraid to take the plunge if it's at all possible for you to do it. If you're thinking that you want to get out, or that you don't really feel like doing this anymore, well, then, you probably don't, and hanging on is then just being done out of "loyalty," stick-to-it-iveness, or fear or indecision.

The thing is, though, all of that goes away after a while as you get farther away from this.

There are other careers -- other lives -- out there, and once you break the hold this business has on you, you will probably never want to do anything more than freelance again. And maybe not even that.

But if you do do that, it will then be by choice, and not just because it's your only option because you lost your last regular full-time time or because you haven't been able to latch onto anything else.

People who feel as you do are feeling stress because they're trying to keep something alive that is dying, whether it's the industry, your dream, your motivation, or whatever.

Just be aware that it may take a good two to four years to really set yourself up for a new life, put yourself in a new place, and to fully move on, either emotionally, practically, or both. Just know that that happens, so that you don't question it, or let it make you question what you're doing, unless something really concrete happens to intervene, such as you actually getting another journalism job.

Making changes is a process, and you have to give it time and go through it.

 

I know several on this thread have talked about being paralegals. Anyone out there familiar with that willing to answer some questions I have about that field? Can be via PM.

 

Struggled with this time same thing, but I can say with 100 percent honesty that leaving newspapers was the best thing for me professionally. I have not missed, not even for a minute, the grind and lack of satisfaction I was suffering from being overworked in the newsroom. So I took a voluntary layoff, went back and got my masters in teaching, now teach English at a community college, and have written a book published by a traditional publisher. I'm close to signing another book deal with the same publisher. I am surrounded by words when I teach, I freelance at local/regional mags/newspapers when I want the immediate fix, then work on long-form book projects, things I could never do while in that daily grind.

Teaching, of course, isn't the only option. There are PR/Media Relation gigs at sports teams, colleges/universities, etc. If writing is what you love, that can happen within any profession, and at least you will be spending your time writing about things that actually interest you.

 

FPH - unfortunately the legal industry is going through tough times as well and getting an entry-level paralegal position is extremely tough... if not impossible.

I took a buyout from the newspaper I had worked at for 19 years in 2008 -- it was their second buyout offer in three years and they were threatening to close the paper if they didn't get enough takers. So although I had my first son on the way, I took it (year's salary, year health insurance). Buyout became effective Dec. 2008, son was born Nov. 2008.
Went back to school to become a paralegal. Got my first full-time paralegal job May 2010. Got laid off March 2011. Have been unemployed from full-time work since then -- haven't been able to get a job as a writer, copy editor, proofreader, legal assistant or paralegal.
The paper stayed in business and in September 2011 I came back to the paper as a part-time desker (3-4 nights a week) to help pay the bills.

 

So... an update.

I'm out. I gave my two-week notice on Friday. I landed a job writing for a website and the compensation is insane. I can finally afford to go to the doctor.

Keep hunting, keep looking. For those who think that the end is nigh, there are places where you can still use your writing and communication skills.

 

Good on you, CA.

 

I post this here partly to vent my frustrations and also because I figure it may help others to know the sorts of things we're facing as we try to move out of the newsroom and into other types of jobs.

I've been actively seeking another job since March. I got very close to a PR job that didn't work out because the firm decided at the last minute that it was not going to make a hire. I'd had two interviews and had all but been formally offered the position.

A couple weeks ago I had a phone interview with a firm I didn't expect to hear from when I sent off the resume. I was qualified, but not highly qualified. Nonetheless, they called me and wanted to talk. About a week after the phone interview I received an email from them saying I was not in the running -- which was not unexpected. But it bothered me a little that the person who did my phone interview was from the HR department, not the manager who oversees the open position.

I understand, of course, that the manager gives the HR department an overview of what they're looking for. There were probably specific things the HR person needed to hear in order to move me to the top of the pile. And again, I'm not surprised that didn't happen. But just for the hell of it, I Googled and found the LinkedIn profile of the HR person I talked to -- a 2010 college graduate whose degree is not in communications, journalism, marketing or public relations, and who has been working at this company for less than a year.

I was glad I got a call from them. But I'm bothered by the idea that my ability to land a face-to-face interview hinged on the word of a kid who was in college two years ago and has no background in anything related to communications or publishing. I may be under-qualified, but I probably know more about what's involved in doing this job than the HR person does.

I suppose the moral of the story here is that we're all used to the way things work at newspapers -- where an editor looks at resumes and clips, and as an applicant you feel like your qualifications are being evaluated in a real way, by someone with experience. It doesn't work that way elsewhere, apparently.

I still feel confident that I will land something else soon. I hope by the end of this year. But it has been discouraging so far.

 

Sometimes you just don't need experience on your resume. You can go and prove them about your knowledge and expertise in the field. Or, you can always try and get online test certificates for $10 for everything you'd want to take a test for. Look for those and your specific topic. Surely, high scores for certification tests would be enough of a proof for your skills

 

Got out two years ago, after 21 years in the business. Walked my kid to kindergarten, and one day when I left, she told me she would see me tomorrow. My paper had just eliminated its 401K contribution, froze pensions, reduced our life insurance and had doubled what we had to pay in health insurance over an 18-month period. Yeah, I realize others had it worse, but already I have been thinking the industry might not let me "make it to the end."

I took a PR job with a school district and operate the website like a newspaper site, with plenty of daily/regular updates, lots of photos and different storytelling devices. People completely embraced it. I'm responsible for four 12-page publications, so I get my fix. The hours are 8-4, returning a few nights a week for events. Believe me, my wife doesn't get pissed about me rushing through dinner - considering we never ate together for years. After telling people for years I didn't write for people's scrapbooks, now I'm filling them. Also, when you work for a school, you end up in the state retirement system.

If this helps one person, fantastic. Good luck to all.

 

After taking a buyout from the Atlanta paper, I somewhat randomly started a second career in development writing... one of my freelance gigs was doing the annual report for a university, and that turned into a full-time job. Development writing involves all kinds of writing on behalf of a nonprofit. Everyone wants and needs storytelling as a way to thank donors and find new ones. Unlike journalism, fundraising is a growing field. Writing clearly, concisely and quickly is valued, and most everyone goes home at 5 pm. There's definitely not the same rush as newspapers but a good bit of satisfaction by helping a cause that helps people.