A must read for Journalism and Communications majors

For what it's worth, I graduated (a fairly reputable, but not Northwestern- or Missouri-level) journalism school a little over a year ago, and not only do I have a full-time job but so do a half-dozen or so of my fellow journalism school friends -- nearly all of my friends who graduated before this spring, actually.

And not only do they have full-time jobs, they have <b>newspaper</b> jobs in almost every instance.

 

Mine too. Several of my friends who even graduated this spring have full time jobs in newspapers, radio or television.

 

I graduated from a rather large journalism college at one of the largest universities in America in 2006. Most of the people I knew who entered the work force after earning a bachelor's degree rather than going to law school found jobs pretty quickly, but not as journalists. Of the probably 50 people I can think of with whom I am still in contact with from J-school, maybe 15 have journalism jobs while most of the others are things like high school teachers, chefs and retail managers.

I remember a lot of them would never have dreamed of applying for a job at a paper with a circulation less than 50,000. If that's the case, maybe kids are just getting pickier about jobs and the reason fewer are finding them is a snowball of factors, such as the smaller job market, the low pay and their own hubris.

 

Sure, newbies can get jobs because papers can get by paying them entry-level. What happens after that? You've worked 5-10 years at the same paper or equal, making peanuts or less, with little chance of real career advancement. Good luck with that.

 

If AS USUAL people failed to see the humor, I'd look at the constant in the equation, which is the person trying to do the humoring.

 

I especially loved the three different types of charts that added virtually nothing to the story.

 

This, sadly. If anything, I think in many ways it's easier for some to get their foot in the door now because a fresh grad will do more work for less money and not really know how badly they're getting screwed. I found the section on how benefits have eroded and salaries stagnated particularly chilling. Though I'm honestly unsure how much of this doesn't trend across the board to all sectors right now. It's a scary time to be leaving school and competing in the job market.

This guy had it pretty much right:

 

It's an even scarier time to be 35 or older and still needing to work.

Just look at all the copy editing jobs being turned into "internships." Just look at all the ads specifically telling you that they are only interested in people with five years of experience, or, usually, less. Just look at all the people under 30 on prime beats and moving into daily editor positions at major papers.

And, it is happening across the board. I have recently begun looking, in earnest, for jobs outside of journalism.

I'm interested in city and county library positions and have tested well for them. I am on the official hiring eligibility lists for positions up to Library Technician II, a mid-level position. I also have interviewed for positions of three different levels at three different places, and believe I did well.

I found out today that three recent openings at the library in which I'm most interested and which is located three miles from my home have been filled on a part-time basis -- with students.

A frightening prospect -- and a major story if a newspaper would really sink teeth into it: The age group of people that is the most populous, most critical to economic solvency, most likely to have families, most likely to own homes, have bills, and be most likely to really have to work, will soon be unable to get a job.

Between companies trending toward mostly part-time jobs so they don't have to pay retirement or other benefits, between not wanting to pay health insurance and fearing that middle-aged and older people will need it more, between thinking, or deciding for them, that older workers will not work or want to be offered less than $60K even if they really need the job, between not wanting to pay for job-interview flights or moving costs, etc., it IS happening.

 

Hang in there Write.

 

Thanks, Drip.

I am doing OK for now.

I really do think this is a potential major trend story, though. If I were on staff at a paper right now, I'd be suggesting it for a Column One, even. Just look around. It's easy to see if you watch what's going on, and examples and anecdotes would abound, I'm sure.

All the part-time, on-call only and/or low-paying jobs are making the idea of a really comfortably livable job is much harder to come by for people with real living expenses.

Hence, much greater need for reliance on other family members, roommates, renters, multiple jobs, going without insurance, etc., than has usually been typical of people of ages from about 35-65. And yet, this group is absolutely critical to the economic health of society.

I'd be very curious what the breakdown is, by age groups, of people living on unemployment benefits. And, I wonder how long it is lasting, again, by age groups.

It'd be interesting.

There's a real story in these hiring trends and the related associated issues.