30

I'm one of the ones who admitted to "giving up" in the other thread. But I don't think I so much gave up on journalism as my priorities changed. And I think that happens to a lot of us as we approach 30.

Now that I'm in my early to mid 30s, mine definitely changed. I wanted to have weekends again. I wanted to spend summer nights watching baseball instead of working the desk. I wanted to spend autumn Saturdays enjoying college football instead of sweating deadlines. I wanted to do my grocery shopping somewhere other than Wal-Mart at a time other than 2 a.m.

I miss the job itself (that would be why I'm on here), but I'm infinitely happier now than I was when I was in the business.

 

I suppose I'll let you know if a couple weeks whether turning 30 changes everything for me, but I suspect the answer will be, "No."

Not yet, at least.

I have a job that I feel I could be happy in for at least another year or two, and if I can't find a better one by then, well ... maybe I wasn't cut out for this.

But I will say my priorities as far as what I'm looking or in a "dream job" have changed as I've gotten older. Covering a big-time beat for a major metro seems significantly less appealing than it did five years ago (though it's still rather appealing). Having freedoms such as the ability to work from home and scheduling flexibility are become higher priorities.

 

30 wasn't it for me. 30 was when things started to work out. But as I got closer to 40, the time away from family was a big thing. My wife and I waited until we were past 30 to have kids. Waiting meant we could move whenever we needed (four times in three years once) to take better jobs and get our careers established. Together, we've always made enough money to have a roof and send the kids to a good school. Very few vacations, rented until we were 32, but never felt like we were missing anything important in the way of stuff. We're starting our ninth year with the creaky-but-paid-for Hyundai Santa Fe and really don't mind. But when it came time to leave my last newspaper -- a small one, where I was SE -- I didn't want to move again. There were three places -- all good ones to work at -- that I could have gone to with moderate commuting. Only, all three were desk jobs. I like working the desk, but that would have meant missing lots of little league games and practices. It also would have meant rarely seeing my kids and leaving just about all the meaningful parenting to my wife. So I'm on a long break from newspapers. I miss it, but if there's anything that beats the nightly high of deadline, it's being your kids' baseball coach.

 

A-fucking-men.

 

Ditto. Well said. Both of ya.

I do wonder if the divide is different for men and women. Sure seems like 30 is the turning point at which many - not all - men realize they're now older and must be responsible. Whereas, I wonder if women reach that catalyst for change at an earlier age, since many - not all - women tend to be a few years ahead in maturity than men at the same age?

 

I'm sort of in the camp of those who say they can see themselves doing nothing else, and I hit 30 a few years ago.

Then again, I've been out of the business for several years, so I CAN imagine doing something else. I love what I'm doing now, but I also realize I probably need a second job to be able to afford some of the things I want.

My father worked for over 30 years for the state he lives in. He made a lot of bank for someone who only had an associate's degree, but he hated his job. Every day he had to get himself up and be at work before 6 a.m. was pure hate. I'm making less than half what he was making when he retired. But I love what I do. I wouldn't want to trade my feeling about my career for his feeling about his, even if the money were right.

It'd be nice to be able to afford to live completely on my own without roommates. It'd be nice to be able to afford a car payment. It'd be nice to be able to start a family if I were so inclined (I'm not). But to do those things and hate what I do every day? Not for me, thanks.

 

This statement hits so close to home. Literally. And, I know Tom, you meant it.
It's not that I care about journalism or our mission less, but Sports. Every result. Every run. Every dunk. Every TD. They just don't rank anymore.
I'm not sure if it's natural maturation or priorities. Write-brained and I have had this exchange before. We would rather read a book with our kids. Play a game. Go to the park. Watch them. When, just a few years ago we couldn't imagine ourselves doing anything but going to a ballgame with our friends, colleagues.

 

I'm not alone.... thank God.

 

Moddy's scolding post reminds me of why my tolerance for the bullshit in this profession is a bit higher: I have no kids, nor will I.

If I had kids, there's no way I could do the job I'm doing.

 

I'm 30 now and will be 31 in a couple months. All I can say is I still love what I do, and I think I have the best job in the world. It took a long time, but I finally can say I have a job that pays well enough to live in a nice place and to be able to afford some nice things. I'm a believer that hard work will pay off in the long run.