If you left the journalism biz today ....

I told a colleague the other day that I'd like to be a professor.

He said, "No, you're a writer."

Like you can't be both.

Newspaper people are a loyal bunch - we think that this is the only path to fulfillment. It's not.

 

Whitewater tour guide spring through fall, ski bum in the winter.
Or, become a brewmaster.

 

Doesn't surprise me. We're now a society of low-paying service jobs, and that's only until corporations outsource everything they can justify. Does this country really produce anything anymore? Lots of us here have talked about other professions, and at the heart of them, they're all some form of service. Nothing gets produced.

If I could get a business loan, I'd open a by-the-slice pizzeria in town. Cater to the lunchtime/business crowds, and probably make decent money as there isn't a pizza joint that sells by the slice here. It's a service job, but at least I could try being my own boss.

 

Im taking a huge leap and leaving this industry in a little over one week. I'm burned out, sickened by the incompetence, and frustrated by the low-pay. Ironically, I realized that I was getting out of the biz in almost exactly the number of years it took me to graduate college to get into this biz (5 years).

luckily, as a shooter, I can freelance and do various things on the side, and keep photography as a hobby.

My lure was that the new job is for a company my father co-owns. If I play it right and work hard, I can be making six figures in less than two years, and seven figures within a decade. The adrenaline and excitement may not be there, but hell, if I can take his share of the company over when he retires in 6-7 years, I can retire by the time I'm 40 (I'm 27 now).

Downsides? They say "life events" put stress on you. How's this? Just got married, I'm moving out of state, taking a new job, training 2000 miles away from my wife for 3 months, and then working 50 hours a week when I get back. Did I mention a bunch of family members just died?

;D

 

Other than that, everything is peachy.

 

f8,

I got divorced, moved to a state I had never been in and started a new job (my first as a section editor) in the span of one month. I'll see your stressors and raise you a really fucked up transition period.

Having said that, good luck with all the changes.

 

I'm about to find out.

I resigned today without a backup plan. I just couldn't take it anymore.

Where I live, there's no chance of a journalism job, which leaves me looking for some kind of office work.

Sports writing is all I know. I love it. In a different scenario, I would still be where I left.

I could use some prayers if you want to throw some my way.

 

Consider those prayers thrown your way.

I think there are times we all consider quitting, and not so long ago, a brother of mine did what you did: threw up his hands, and said he had enough of this crap, and quit with no backup plan. I don't envy you the weeks to come, but I do envy you the peace of mind and relief you'll have when you find your new landing place.

Good luck to you.

 

Good luck HH and f8. I wish you both all the best.

 

Yes, good luck to you guys. We'll be thinking of you.

May you be comforted by Boston (hoping it provides a little smile, anyway):
Now you climbin' to the top of the company ladder, hope it doesn't take too long / Can't you see there'll come a day when it don't matter; come a day when you'll be gone / I understand about indecision, I don't care if I get behind / People living in competition; all I want is to have my peace of mind.

If I lived close enough to an airport, I might have gone into a different line of work - commercial airline pilot. Fortunately, that industry doesn't have to deal with so much boobery and constant workforce flux.

 

I've never cared about climbing corporate ladders.

I just want to find a place where I can enjoy my job, have the respect of my peers and get paid halfway decent. After that, I just want to watch my kids grow up.

 

That verse fit in better than the rest. :-\