A reason to escape journalism...

Right. So I'd been on the unemployment rolls for a long time. Over the past two months-plus, I've been working at a call center for a big bank where I've been taking inbound calls and helping primarily small business customers.

I can't begin to tell you the difference in working environment between working where I do now and when I worked at my last newspaper gig. For one thing, even though I'm much lower on the totem pole at my current job, I'm actually making a little bit more than I did when I was a managing editor of a weekly newspaper.

However, money alone is just the beginning of the story. I had so many stories of what amounts to an abusive relationship as far as the treatment I got from the bean counters at the paper was concerned. At my current job, my manager has been outstanding as far as professionalism is concerned.

More importantly, when one customer was being especially difficult, he asked me to transfer the customer directly to him rather than to our advocacy department, where I'd usually send calls that escalate past me. When he did, the implication was clear: He had my back. I also noticed that the guy had a book entitled 1001 Ways To Reward Your Employees on his desk.

Today, when I went in to work, the manager who was on duty (not my direct manager) that day brought in breakfast for us. I hadn't sat at my seat very long when she stopped over and offered me breakfast.

It's been a long time since I've been in a working environment this good. Please don't wake me up from this dream I'm having!

 

Congrats man! I would consider your job a positive situation...my guess is you struck it lucky though, so savor it.

 

But wait.

I thought there were only two choices: (1) Be a sports journalist at a newspaper; or (2) Hate your job.

 

Good post, f_t.

I hope I end up as fortunate as you.

 

For every f_t, there are 3-4-10-20 ex-journalists who are still subsisting on unemployment because the economy blows.

So "escaping journalism" sounds awesome, but sometimes having a full paycheck in a time like this is worth a sacrifice or 12.

 

So....is your place hiring?

 

Actually, yes.

 

Agreed.

And call center work isn't for everyone either.

 

* Raises hand *

Although I'm hopeful something's coming up pretty soon.

 

One problem is, some of those 12 sacrifices lead to something significantly less than a "full" paycheck. More like a 15-percent-cut paycheck, bringing us down into a range of a lot more job alternatives.

I still think there are a larger percentage of jerks managing in newsrooms than in most business settings. Reason: They work in subjectivity, not in profit/loss results.

 

f_t, here's another thing you'll discover about call center work ... if you need to make extra money, you can write on a freelance basis, or you likely can get overtime at the call center. The way those places operate, they have to have warm bodies to man the phones, especially if it's a 24-hour call center. If you have good people skills, the work isn't hard at all.

Down side: (not to denigrate call cente work, but this is voice of experience) They're watching every second. It's like Shawshank in that most of them require you to get permission before you go take a piss. Those who are stressed out by constant scrutiny should look elsewhere.