Breaking into the Business. What to do?

As WriteThinking said, many outlets prefer young, cheap people who are versatile. So you've got that going for you. No qualifier here: this is the absolute truth.

Being willing to relocate is also good advice. Of course, that could also lead to ending up in an unfamiliar town, laid off from that new job due to lack of seniority.

Here's the advice I would give: Go back to school. Ride out the economic storm in the cocoon of academia. Find something you enjoy studying and learning about, and get a master's in it. If that's expanding your skillset and knowledge in journalism, fine. If it's in an industry that has a brighter future (the jobs are going, boys, and they ain't coming back), even better.

If you reject the notion of more school with no guarantees out of hand (as most do), then do yourself a favor and set up a timetable. I know no one wants to hear that, but in such a tough business it's important to know when to hit the eject button.

If you have a family and don't marry a rich person, the time will come when you decide to leave journalism. Don't ever think you're "running away" or "giving up" by pursuing what is best for you. One man's "I'm never giving up on journalism!!!!" is another man's "How the F%$# am I going to pay my bills?!?!?!"

The frustration (and I suppose, romanticism) of the whole moving around looking for the best fit, struggling for a few years, and then - MAYBE - grasping the brass ring . . . that might have been worth it years ago. And it might be worth it to you now.

But not forever.

Good luck.

 

Again, I appreciate all the input. I was afraid people would give me the 'quit whining' speech but it's been quite the opposite. Almost all of the posts have been good advice. And Golfnut yes, I'm still following this and as long as people post on this, i'll read and take into account. I check it normally when I get off work (Deli Clerk) and once every few hours. The relocation thing sounds scary, but seems like it would be a good way to start somewhere. Ideally, I don't want to, but am willing to. The going back to school route has crossed my mind at least a few times a month since graduating. The debt thing is what's making me think twice. I'm already in crazy debt and my loan payments are a stretch as it is (Citibank is the devil in case you didn't know). Ringer, I agree on your advice on being versatile. I covered the entertainment beat while in school and for this local paper that gave me non-paid work, but once I asked for a little compensation, well, that was the end of that. And I'm not sure who posted it, but I didn't study this profession just to run away from it. No way. It's what I love. As long as Sports writing exists, I'll be trying to get my "roster spot" so to speak. I've already sent my resume and clips to places in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and a few more. Like I said, I really don't want to leave NY, but it seems that the job market is telling me differently.

 

Golf nut,

I wish I could share your peachy outlook but this is not going to end well.

I'm on the web side of things and even I see the writing on the walls. There are too many old people in newsrooms that are too stubborn to accept change and there are too many young people in newsrooms who think too old. There are people in my newsroom probably about 30, who don't read the web site or even know what the hell is going on. It's embarrassing. There are bosses who don't understand social networking and people who don't feel like waiting for newspapers to get their act together.

So while you may tell the youngsters to stick it out, I'm going to give my own advice.

Get out when you can. Find a decent job that will enable you to buy a house, take vacations or do whatever it is that you want to do.

My goal: its to buy a house. And sooner than later. I'm never going to accomplish that goal working where I am. I'm never going to get promoted or get a raise, so I have to look elsewhere. Yes, it is disheartening that I wont be able to reach my life goals along with my career goals but journalism isn't what I am, it's what I do.

So that's the hand I've been delt. Whatever, I can only suggest you do the best you can to find a job you can tolerate. Maybe it is construction, maybe it is a deskjob. I am looking at positions in social media, advertising and marketing. Maybe those won't pan out and I will have to go back and get a teaching degree, or a computer science degree and struggle for a while... but ten years down the road, I wont have to worry about how I've never met my life goals because I wouldn't leave journalism.

 

In this economic climate, nothing is a guarantee that you'll find work. My advice was simply that, if you're not willing to relocate, you're severely limiting your possible opportunities. I know if I only tried finding a newspaper gig in/around my hometown, I wouldn't be in journalism anymore. Some papers would rather have homegrown guys, but many just want good, hungry, young writers. Just trying to give Boyz as good of an opportunity as possible to land work - even if the chances are still below average at this time.

 

A house would be nice. I'm just glad that student loans are now capped for those making typical newspaper money.

 

Good post. A lot of good insight here.

One thing I want to touch on to both you and especially Boyz is that there is a lot more to sports journalism than just newspapers. Newspapers suck ass right now. We all know that. But that doesn't mean sports journalism as a whole sucks ass. There's websites. There's magazines. There's writing jobs for tv and radio stations. And 20 years from now there will be something new that makes the internet look like the ice age. So remember to think outside of the newspaper box and you will open yourself up to a whole new set of opportunities.

Newspapers may be hanging on for dear life but sports journalism is not. As long as sports are being played, there will be a need for people to report on them in one way or another. People will always have a need to read about, listen to and watch sports news. It may be with newspapers it may not. But just don't limit yourself to newspapers. Even if it's what you really want to do eventually, look at other sports media jobs as a way of getting that foot in the door.

And as far as relocating is concerned --- it's actually pretty cool. You get to see a new place, maybe a new part of the country. Meet some new people, make some new friends and memories (hopefully bang some new girls ) Put in your two years and then get the hell out and do it all over again.

 

Boyz - In all seriousness - your goal should be to make money.

Fuck everything else, just try to make as much money as you can and stop these flights of fantasy about fulfilling your dream.

I'm telling you this - if I could go back to college, I'd have gone into something that I can make as much money as possible and do my writing on the side on my own terms to fulfill my "dreams."

Go make money.

 

Idealism doesn't pay the bills. It doesn't keep a roof over your head or put food on your table.

Realistically, get as far away from journalism as you can. The hours are crap, the pay is worse and the jobs are disappearing faster than an ice cream cone on a Phoenix summer day.

 

.. and soon, you'll be on fries. After that, you'll make assistant manager. And that's where the big bucks come in.

Sorry, that's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw that.

Boyz, if you really want to go through this journalism thing, one thing that I would advise is to expand your web skills. Papers nowadays are looking for reporters who not only can write, but can shoot and edit video, and BLOG! and social network at the same time (when you think about the demands papers are placing on reporters, it's ridiculous). They are looking for versatile people, not just writers.

Honestly, I'd try to find a different field, and just work freelance on the side to continue your sportswriting dream.

 

What small papers are paying $30k/yr for entry-level reporters?

 

Fixed

 

And that's just it. Not only do papers pay much less than that, often times you have to uproot yourself and move to an unfamiliar town leaving all your family and friends behind. Moreover, there are no guarantees of job security. We've all heard the horror stories of people moving across the country only to laid off weeks or months later.

There are also no guarantees of moving up the later. Generally speaking, a promotion means moving to another paper, uprooting again and ending up in another gig with zero job security or guarantees that you aren't going to have to start over again.