Assistant Sports Information Director, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit

The best deal for a medium- to small-college SID is to get into a tenure deal. In fact, I know one SID who was actually afforded professor status after 15 years.

Even so, you will not get rich. If you could, I'd probably be doing that job in my hometown today.

 

I made less than that when I started in Detroit. Ah, a dive apartment in Dearborn. My room was 9x9.

 

If you stay at an SID or similar job for a long time and have college-age kids, it can be a good deal. I have a friend who works in the athletic fund-raising department at my alma mater and her daughter will receive free tuition there for the next four years, which amounts to roughly $130K.

That said, unless you've taken a vow of poverty (which no good Jesuit would recommend), I'd hate to be living anywhere near the University of Detroit, or trying to raise a family on 28K.

 

Or you could do something else.. the SID Mark Engel is also the golf coach... For the amount of work that needs to be done with an athletic program the size of U-D, 28k is right...

 

Something is really twisted when the words "28k" and "right" are used in the same sentence. Sure, I understand the economics. But it should be freaking illegal to pay college grads that kind of wage. Until you get out of journalism, sports information, etc., you don't realize just how bad these kinds of wages are, especially for somewhere like Detroit.

 

WORK SCHEDULE: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. plus evenings, holidays and weekends.


Where do I sign, sir?

 

Sorry scotty. But I didn't make 28K until my second newspaper and sixth year in the business -- and four of those six were spent in more or less suburban Detroit. Granted, it was several years ago, but dont say 28K is wrong for a "college grad"
Yes, those wages are low. But if you're in this business, you aren't in it for the cash.
You don't like the wages, go be a fucking CPA...

 

Besides the long hours, your stuff is rewritten, challenged, scoffed at and ignored much of the time. And the cross country coach wonders where the pub is. But if the alma mater ponies up some change ...

 

Don't be so defensive, Slappy. I'm well aware of what wages are in the business. My first reporting job out of J-School? I made $185 a week. Even in 1990, that wasn't much better than McDonald's money. I spent nearly seven years at another newspaper in metro Detroit and never made $25K. The point is, and I guess everyone knows it, that wages are shit in the industry. I simply think it stinks that employers can get away with it.