When to call it quits?

[WriteThinking]

I'm a regular poster here who decided to post this anonymously because, well, it's easier to show some discontent for my industry in this manner.

I graduated college not too long ago, and while I have found work in this industry, it didn't take me long to discover the downsides. These include, obviously, low pay, few benefits, small towns and lots of late-night questioning of why I got into this industry.

Why do I continue doing this? Probably partly because I have a misguided dream that I can one day reach the top, covering elite college or professional teams. Partly because at the end of the day, when journalism is done correctly there is little that can match the satisfaction. And your best work (and, unfortunately, your worst) is marked with your own byline.

But HOW can I get out is the question. One, I don't know what else I'm good at; two, I can't exactly afford to go back to college and get a different degree; three, I don't want to look like a failure to my peers both in age and profession; four, if I get over my fears and could figure out what I wanted to do, I wouldn't know where to look.

What fields are we, as journalists, qualified for that pays enough to live comfortably on while providing us with the satisfaction of enjoying what we do? Journalism jobs often fetch 100s of applicants. Are we going to have to compete with similar numbers of applicants elsewhere, with most of these applicants having degrees more suitable to the job at hand?

I don't even know where I'd go to apply for a job I think I could get. I took a job in a state I'm foreign to and would like to move back home. Even these government jobs sound tempting, but I don't even know how to go about picking out one I'm qualified for and one that I'd enjoy.

In short, I'm lost. And that's scary.

No one has said that getting out is or would be easy. It can end up being better. But it isn't easy.

If you haven't figured out what else you'd be qualified for already, think about what else you might be interested in and go from there. See where it takes you, and if that would be easier to figure out, you know, because of your genuine interest. There is a reason many people end up in fields totally unrelated to journalism.

I know I have thought that, once you want to (or are forced to) get out, you really want to get out, and do something completely different. That's what I found after a while, and I stopped caring that I had to start over completely. In fact, I wanted to do so.

You might be different, and I have more to say on the matter, but I don't have time right now. But perhaps this is something to think about and with which to start.

Try not to stress too much. Things will eventually turn out OK.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It isn't easy. I'm guessing it's easier when you make the decision to leave on your own. Maybe that makes it harder, all I can base it on is what happened to me and watching how friends and former co-workers have dealt with it.

A lot depends on your situation. If you're just a few years out of school and you don't have a spouse or kids, that gives you some flexibility. A lot of us don't have that.

The job market is a lot harder for people who are older. I had a few places that seemed hesitant to hire me because I was in my late 30s. I can only imagine how it would be for someone who is 50+. A lot of places (certainly not all) want people who don't have preconceived notions about things and higher expectations about money...

Don't romanticize your journalism experience to potential employers. As we all know, there are a lot of people out there who think if you worked at a newspaper (especially in sports) that all you did was go to games and it was all a party and every aspect of it was wonderful. No matter what you tell them, you can't convince them otherwise unless they know someone in the business.

My first job post-journalism, they hired me for one reason and one reason only, they thought the stories I could tell from my years in journalism would be a draw for clients. It often was... I hated it. That job went away very quickly.

I found out later that the more they asked me about teams I covered, the less likely my chances of getting the job would be. They have an idea of what covering a NFL team was like and they thought I would jump at the chance to go back the first time that opportunity presented itself.

It's good to be very direct with potential employers. Once I said, somewhat out of frustration, "I'd prefer to work for a company that will exist 10 years from now..." The HR lady laughed and I got the job that I have today where I've been for the last three years.

 

[Dick Whitman]

My advice - and others may reasonably disagree, as there is some understandable hostility to student loan debt here - is now and has always been to think big:

Medical school.

Law school (carefully planned and plotted, though).

Business school (see law school).

Even some combination of the previous three. Or something equally grandiose - but, at the same time, practical. For god's sake, don't go get an English literature PhD. My best friend from high school spent 10 years working at the local Lowe's. He then spent a few years in plumbing trade school. Now he's a union plumber making $34/hour. Doubled his salary, just to start. But it meant some evening classes. And some hard work along the way. And some time put in before the rewards (we'll get to that).

You don't think you're qualified to do something else? Get yourself qualified.

There are legitimate reasons that people don't want to go back to school, of course:

Family is one, though I did it with a family. I won't lie. It was heck at times. But worth it.

I mentioned student loan debt - as did you, in an indirect way with the comment about not being able to afford school. But the student loan debt debate is pretty nuanced, and doesn't break down into a binary decision between "debt good" or "debt bad." Or vice versa.

Some of the arguments against thinking big are legitimate, like I said. But some of them also come down to a resistance to delayed gratification, which is an epidemic in America writ large over the last few decades. A lot of the other arguments I see against re-training for the job force seem like pretext to mask what is really going on: That stubborn, self-defeating resistance to delaying gratification.

Invest in yourself. No one else will. The particulars are certainly up for discussion. But before anything else, you have to decide to invest in yourself and in your career, and then you have to decide to delay gratification. Everything else is details. Important details, of course. But once you realize that life is essentially the Stanford marshmallow experiment (look it up), then the details will be the easy part.

 

[reformedhack]

Don't romanticize your journalism experience to potential employers. As we all know, there are a lot of people out there who think if you worked at a newspaper (especially in sports) that all you did was go to games and it was all a party and every aspect of it was wonderful. No matter what you tell them, you can't convince them otherwise unless they know someone in the business.

+1. I cannot emphasize this enough, especially for those of us who cut our teeth in sports departments. As I've said to others who I've helped find new careers outside of sports journalism, and as I've mentioned in other threads over the years, there are a lot of stereotypes about sportswriters. Be prepared for them ... and how to overcome them.

Sure, you can acknowledge the interesting aspects of the job, but you need to quickly move past them. You must be able to discuss the skills you learned as a sportswriter thanks to the unique, multi-faceted nature of your job -- handling deadlines, juggling multimedia platforms, dealing with bureaucracy, producing large volumes of original content, becoming a quasi-expert in business and medicine and the legal system, etc.

And then you must be able to relate those skills to the needs of the job you want to apply for.

It can be done. As others have noted, it takes some work ... but it can be done.

 

[da man]

It isn't easy. I'm guessing it's easier when you make the decision to leave on your own. Maybe that makes it harder, all I can base it on is what happened to me and watching how friends and former co-workers have dealt with it.

A lot depends on your situation. If you're just a few years out of school and you don't have a spouse or kids, that gives you some flexibility. A lot of us don't have that.

The job market is a lot harder for people who are older. I had a few places that seemed hesitant to hire me because I was in my late 30s. I can only imagine how it would be for someone who is 50+. A lot of places (certainly not all) want people who don't have preconceived notions about things and higher expectations about money...

Don't romanticize your journalism experience to potential employers. As we all know, there are a lot of people out there who think if you worked at a newspaper (especially in sports) that all you did was go to games and it was all a party and every aspect of it was wonderful. No matter what you tell them, you can't convince them otherwise unless they know someone in the business.

My first job post-journalism, they hired me for one reason and one reason only, they thought the stories I could tell from my years in journalism would be a draw for clients. It often was... I hated it. That job went away very quickly.

I found out later that the more they asked me about teams I covered, the less likely my chances of getting the job would be. They have an idea of what covering a NFL team was like and they thought I would jump at the chance to go back the first time that opportunity presented itself.

It's good to be very direct with potential employers. Once I said, somewhat out of frustration, "I'd prefer to work for a company that will exist 10 years from now..." The HR lady laughed and I got the job that I have today where I've been for the last three years.

The bolded part is undoubtedly true. Every interview I've ever had for a job outside of sports journalism has included some sort of question about wanting to go back into it. There was one job I was convinced I had and I was really excited about it -- good pay, exceptional work environment. I aced their tests, they flew me into D.C. and showed me around, interview went great. A couple weeks later, they told me I didn't get the job because they were afraid I wasn't committed enough and I'd be gone as soon as a sportswriting job opened up. Still pisses me off.

 

[LookingForAnswers]

What about these government jobs, how hard are they to get? And does just having a journalism degree make me on an equal footing as someone who didn't attend college for several jobs simply because it is unrelated to the field?

Ideally, I'd like to stay in the comm field, but who knows if that'll happen.

 

[JackReacher]

You don't think you're qualified to do something else? Get yourself qualified.

Probably the best advice on this thread.

 

[PaperDoll]

Sure, you can acknowledge the interesting aspects of the job, but you need to quickly move past them. You must be able to discuss the skills you learned as a sportswriter thanks to the unique, multi-faceted nature of your job -- handling deadlines, juggling multimedia platforms, dealing with bureaucracy, producing large volumes of original content, becoming a quasi-expert in business and medicine and the legal system, etc.

And then you must be able to relate those skills to the needs of the job you want to apply for.

It can be done. As others have noted, it takes some work ... but it can be done.

I agree wholeheartedly. I've survived quite a few rounds of layoffs -- including a dark period when we lost more than half of our newsroom over an 18-month span -- and I've asked the question about getting out many times. In fact, I'm still asking.

I also agree that it's much easier to find a new job when you still have one, so update your resume and send it out regularly.

It's very difficult to overcome the worries about layoffs and furloughs. But journalism is not the only field with major cutbacks. Remember that -- and everything in WriteThinking's very astute post on this page -- and tread carefully, particularly if you've been around awhile and have some level of status at your place (even if that's measured in the fact that you can work from home sometimes, or not get questioned if you call in sick or get stuck in traffic and wind up late.)

At some point, the fun parts of the job will be overwhelmed by the negative. Just make sure (most of) that negativity isn't coming from you. Paychecks may be larger on the other side of the fence, but there's a lot more that got you into this crazy field which can't be replaced at a "regular job."

In short, get the @%@# out if you can, but look before you leap.

 

[BTExpress]

What about these government jobs, how hard are they to get?

A lot easier if you have a military background. The bonus points for that zip them right past others.

For anyone in their 20s, I would suggest looking into becoming an air traffic controller.

 

[Captain Obvious]

What about these government jobs, how hard are they to get?

A lot easier if you have a military background. The bonus points for that zip them right past others.

For anyone in their 20s, I would suggest looking into becoming an air traffic controller.

A lot easier if you have a master's. On the referred step for a few positions out of the hundred I've applied for. Having an in helps for local and state positions. With a bachelor's, you're likely just eligible for GS-7 positions, at most. Some positions require a GPA greater than 3.0 or 3.5.

There are also jobs for recent (two years and less) graduates.

 

[Mark2010]

I got out two years ago today.... of my own choosing. I had been at one shop for a while and could see the downhill slide the place was on. I was working my ass into the ground (50+ hours per week typically) and a new manager was going to cut out the "fun" parts of the job. I decided a few months in advance I wanted out and finished the school year before jumping.

I took another job doing news for a few months before a family emergency forced me to relocate and put everything on hold. It's given me time to reaccess what I want to do and what I'm willing to tolerate. Financially I don't have to stress over things, so I can find something I really have a desire to do.

That's my story and others' stories will vary. There is no right or wrong answer. I've seen lots and lots of people enter the business out of school with the intention of traveling the world and covering major events, only to be sitting at a desk at age 40, working past midnight and taking calls on high school soccer and feeling disillusioned. So each person has to decide what's right for them.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

My advice - and others may reasonably disagree, as there is some understandable hostility to student loan debt here - is now and has always been to think big:

Medical school.

Law school (carefully planned and plotted, though).

Business school (see law school).

Even some combination of the previous three. Or something equally grandiose - but, at the same time, practical. For god's sake, don't go get an English literature PhD. My best friend from high school spent 10 years working at the local Lowe's. He then spent a few years in plumbing trade school. Now he's a union plumber making $34/hour. Doubled his salary, just to start. But it meant some evening classes. And some hard work along the way. And some time put in before the rewards (we'll get to that).

You don't think you're qualified to do something else? Get yourself qualified.

There are legitimate reasons that people don't want to go back to school, of course:

Family is one, though I did it with a family. I won't lie. It was heck at times. But worth it.

I mentioned student loan debt - as did you, in an indirect way with the comment about not being able to afford school. But the student loan debt debate is pretty nuanced, and doesn't break down into a binary decision between "debt good" or "debt bad." Or vice versa.

Some of the arguments against thinking big are legitimate, like I said. But some of them also come down to a resistance to delayed gratification, which is an epidemic in America writ large over the last few decades. A lot of the other arguments I see against re-training for the job force seem like pretext to mask what is really going on: That stubborn, self-defeating resistance to delaying gratification.

Invest in yourself. No one else will. The particulars are certainly up for discussion. But before anything else, you have to decide to invest in yourself and in your career, and then you have to decide to delay gratification. Everything else is details. Important details, of course. But once you realize that life is essentially the Stanford marshmallow experiment (look it up), then the details will be the easy part.

This is what I had wish I had done. There was no way realistically to do it, not with a wife, two kids and a sizable mortgage, but if I had gotten cut loose a couple years earlier, I would have gone straight to dental school.