Has your career been that bad?

I attained my initial career goals: work for a major daily, earn a national byline. Now, let's see if those good names can pay off for me now, when I need them most.

 

Needing to work until 75 and being permitted to work until 75 are two quite different things, Herr SF_Express, aren't they? :-\

Ve vill decide that. Sign zese papers!

 

I've been in the business less than five years. I've been relatively unscathed when it comes to all the shit that has happened, but a lot of my friends haven't. I also have a lot of former co-workers. Meanwhile, I'm saving my money, despite a pay cut and possible furloughs, and trying to get into another field, should my luck someday end. That's the only reason I feel I've been able to keep a job this long. But also, I'm tired of working in a miserable environment. It was like that long before the layoffs and pay cuts started.

 

I had an enjoyable career until 2005.

 

Been in the biz F-T for three years, all in same place I came to the day after I got my BA. There are good times and bad, but I think that's more of what life is like in my podunk locale than the actual career. Sometimes, it's a paycheck. Others, it's what I've dreamed of doing since I was a kid.

Do I wish I was paid more? Of course. Do I wish I had some more upward mobility around my neck of the woods? Sure. But I'm 23 and single. I've got plenty of time to hone my craft without really having to be responsible for anything else.

 

My first 20 years in newspapers were a pretty fun ride, even factoring in the downs with the ups. After that, less so, dropping off in a pretty steady slope.




Finally it was down there where I imagine most jobs are, kind of the baseline.

And then the streams crossed.

 

I'm young.

I got insanely lucky and got to write sports an hour away from my hometown in my first job out of school. I've managed to make SE of a small daily before my 25th birthday. I like what I do, and if it all goes to hell tomorrow, at least I've gotten to do something I've always wanted to do.

Way back when, I dreamed of being the Tigers beat writer for the Freep, or some other MLB team, but if the only time I get my byline in there is getting picked up on a state exchange package story, that's cool for me, too.

God's given me a lot. Can't complain.

 

Exceeded all my individual expectations in terms of awards (in the high teens) and scoops (several hundred if not a thousand) and met my dreams when it came to the beats (pro and college) I aspired to cover.

Only goal I haven't reached is working for a good, well-respected newspaper. I had chances to get away from an underachieving paper with poor management and didn't pull the trigger a few times and/or didn't get the job offer as a finalist.

But now that I no longer work for the underachieving paper, I feel like I have gone to heaven. Life is great.

 

good to hear. atta boy! ;D 8)

 

To the original poster:

Methinks you mean that there have been a lot of complaints, by a lot of people, about what has happened to their careers -- not that there have been a lot of complaints about their actual careers.

 

If I died tomorrow, I would go to my grave believing that my efforts at reporting/writing/photography played a small, small, small role in keeping a power plant in northern Michigan from burning tire-derived fuel (shredded scrap tires) without pollution control. That's comforting to know.

I've also met dozens and dozens of great characters over the past 15 years in the newspaper biz, and I'll be meeting a few more, I'm sure, as I change employers (and regions of the country) this summer.

One more thing I'm proud of: I've always worked for family-owned newspapers. Other than a few stringing gigs, I've never worked for a corporate-owned media outlet.

While the pay certainly isn't great, and the hours can be rough on sleep/health if you also have a family, I wouldn't change a thing.

My only regret: that there are so many journalists (including several SportsJournalists.comers) with much more talent and experience than I have who want to work but have lost their jobs. Not through their own errors, but by the errors and poor judgment of suits who were blinded by corporate greed. I wish the best to all of you and hope you'll be able to be justly rewarded for your skills and background.