"Getting out of the business" resource thread

Depends on where you mention it.

 

I work 40 and get paid for 40 and have done so for about 15 years now. Hell, I often work about 30-35 and get paid for 40. Nobody at my shop is working their fingers to the bone.

 

I worked 40 and got paid for 40, too. But I know plenty of people in the business work 60 and get paid for 40. And there were weeks, like football tab, when I put in my share of unpaid OT.

 

Don't have a degree (and have never said I did anywhere on this site). I was a sophomore in college when offered a full-time job at the paper where I spent 15+ years.

And I didn't say I was selling eclipse glasses. I was accused of selling them, i.e. solicitation, which is illegal/frowned upon (in this establishment) at many businesses unless it is for charity or non-profit. Solicitation would have been a writeup offense at the paper I was at, too. Fortunately this was not a documented sit-down offense because no one could prove I ever demanded money or took money (turns out a coworker, one not even in my department, heard incorrect second-hand).

As far as the pay, I was $10.85 as a veteran sports writer at a six-day, 18K-circulation daily paper. That's roughly $22,600 a year according to the Calulators.org wage calculator (with NO 401K and worse health insurance at the paper I was at).

I'm now making nearly $9,000 ($31,200 per year) more a year with better benefits, better hours, easier to take days off/vacations AND I still get to stay in journalism by writing weekly for the biggest paper in the state (and freelancing for other outlets). And every single minute of overtime is documented.

FWIW, the college-aged son of the News Editor at the paper I was at spent the peak holiday season at my warehouse. The kid, with no warehouse experience whatsoever, made more per hour than almost every hourly employee in my former newsroom. I had athletes I covered, or family members of kids I wrote about, working beside me last Christmas. First they asked why I left the paper. When they found I got paid more at my new place, they didn't question me as much.

At the small daily, I worked plenty of Easters and Christmases because my family lived the closest and other workers' families were out of state. Now I get those off to spend all day with my family.

 

Have you ever thought about going back to school? There are online classes now, and scholarships based upon income. Plus, depending on what you're studying, you can claim lifetime learning credits for life experiences.

 

I gotta say, the numbers you're talking about at that newspaper are slave labor. Plain and simple.

 

Have thought about going back to school, but is the payoff worth it?

I could spend 5 grand (if I'm lucky) and finish my degree, but then what? I do NOT need it to vault up the ladder at my current locale.

If I get it, it is NOT going to help me get a journalism job, at least close to home. I'd have to move and my parents, in laws and brothers are all within 10 minutes. Most of my family is within an hour tops. Plus, I live in an area that is cheap (Kentucky is easy on the wallet when you are in a dual income, no children household).

I believe I am a good journalist, but I was never major-league good. I had a good minor-league career and sometimes homered off the pitchers doing rehab work on the double a level. And I am OK with that.

I'm thankful for the career I had in my hometown and I appreciate The Courier-Journal trusting me that I can ne useful to them (while padding my vacation budget).

And believe it or not, I like what I do now. I am not on any assembly line and no two days are ever the same. I am challenged to find the right solutions and make sure my company isn't making a costly mistake.

 

What is the average age of your co-workers? How long will Best Buy be around? Need think 10-15 years down the road when you don't want to do physical labor.

 

In the 7-person department I work in, I am in the middle as fourth-oldest. I'm 36.

As far as BestBuy being around, I work for BestBuy.com, which continues to do record-breaking sales year over year. The brick-and-mortar stores are leveling off, but our permanent staff has gone up 25 percent in just the 2 years I have been there.

As far as physical labor, I am not your average or perceived warehouse laborer. No more packing. No more picking. No driving or unloading. I am part of the clerical team, which is interview based and merit based. Raises of 3 to 5 percent each year. I spend most of my day near a computer sending emails to carriers, vendors or corporate partners about why deliveries were not received correctly. Because of my background with the written word and being able to look at data, this made me a good fit.

Working at a online distribution center for a nationally known company has been a hell of a lot safer financially and job-security wise than journalism.

Online purchasing ain't going anywhere and the city I work in (one county over from my hometown) has Amazon and ebay (plus like 6 others) because of its access to UPS (20 minutes away at the Louisville airport) or I-65 (located directly on it).

Should BestBuy not work out, there are plenty of other options. Can't say that for journalism in Kentucky.

 

I'll say...

There really are a lot of options once you have extensive retail experience, particularly, these days, with the e-commerce side of things. Nobody should pooh-pooh it, and you don't need to make any apologies for it. Opportunities abound in the retail business, and actually, as you get older, it is one of the better, more forgiving industries to be in. There are so many different types of positions that, if the time comes when you can't do one thing, oftentimes, another thing to do can be found for you.

And it sounds like you're in a nearly ideal spot for your background, anyway, and in the perfect place considering you'd like to stay close to your family.

 

@WriteThinking, it is pretty ideal. I am quickly moving up the ladder, both role wise and financially, for a company and in a business which has stability. Weekends off allow for dining out or travel (and we travel a lot). Being diabetic, my medical burden has been eased with medical plan benefits. Much easier to take off in a 7-person department (because others can absorb it) compared to a 3.5 person staff. Also easier to take off because of it doesn't get done, you just do it when you can and no one notices. If you do NOT cover a rivalry game in a preps-heavy area, people notice in a small town.

And I get to stay in the game journalism wise. One of my dreams, growing up as a sports-loving teen in Kentucky, was to write for The Courier-Journal. Now I can, and on my terms. If I don't want to cover a football game, I simply don't. No way in hell that was an allowable option in my 15 years at a small-town paper.

I tell people all the time that I was heaved off the sinking Titanic and landed on a yacht and handed a mixed drink when I arrived.

Thing is, my family wanted me to get out of relying on journalism to make ends meet years ago. Not the way I would have dreamed for it to go down, but it has been working great so far.

 

To those of you who have read Fredrick's posts. I don't think I can take it much anymore. My family is disowning me. All I do is work. And I'm still on the chopping block like everybody else as layoffs continue. It's in my blood though as it's in yours. Should I a.) get out. Or b.) get professional help. If I get professional help insurance won't pay for it I'm sure. Thank u. Don't worry bout Fredrick though. I am a survivor.