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How to keep moving forward

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by NotMikeLupica, May 25, 2016.

  1. CD Boogie

    CD Boogie Well-Known Member

    Wow, slow down, man. If you're already angling for a new job, people can smell that on you and it can seep into your work. First, I'd plan on being there till you're 25 at least. So just focus on making the most of it for the next three years. You literally just started, so my advice is to do your job and worry about keeping it. You'll learn plenty over time about what the next step might be, but they're won't be a next one till you ace this one.
     
  2. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    Just wondering is the salary at least 35k a year? Which state?
     
  3. WriteThinking

    WriteThinking Well-Known Member

    Geez, I've seen/experienced many of the negatives of this industry, but people are getting really, really, unnecessarily gloomy and doomy lately. Has nothing good at all happened to anybody lately, either in or out of the business, that might make them not hold on to the negativity quite so much?

    There will still be plenty of big and good-sized, medium-range circulation/influence outlets available for people to work at for years to come. You will just have to be more comfortable and conversant in and willing to focus most on social-media, video and technically-based work than we've always been used to doing. And you will have to be willing to work for a salary that isn't as great as in some other fields. But that isn't any different than it's ever been.

    And, the original poster doesn't have the perspective to know that his current ambitions, circumstances, needs and desires might change in the months and years to come. He might like the job he has, and decide that he's comfortable there and doesn't really feel like going to the effort to keep moving up the ladder to become the next Mike Lupica. Or, he might move on from where he's at after a year or so, and then decide that that step is great, and be happy with that. Or, he might want to keep going.

    He just doesn't know yet. But he doesn't know what he doesn't know.

    The best thing he can do right now is just to do the job he has, and do it well, keep his eyes open for other opportunities, and keep applying for the ones he's interested in, and go on from there.
     
    NotMikeLupica likes this.
  4. I Should Coco

    I Should Coco Well-Known Member

    Best advice? Give it all you've got and be willing to take advice/constructive criticism from those who have more experience. When the opportunity for a special project or story idea comes along, give it your full time and attention and it will be a good clip/experience for you down the line in your career.

    When I was a do-everything "editor" at a weekly paper early in my career, the first year was a blur. The second year I had a pretty good idea what was coming and did my best work. When the third year started and I was covering the exact same events for the third time, that's when I knew it was time to start looking for something else.
     
  5. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    This is enormously different than it's ever been.

    Salaries at midsize and large papers used to be pretty good. You wouldn't be rich, but you could live in a nice area, afford a home, maybe one spouse could take some time off for a newborn. There were also pensions and then after that 401(k) matches. Even the stock purchase was a pretty good deal. And, topping it all off, the job security was there.

    Now salaries are 50-75 percent of what they were and continuing to go south. Major metros are paying $40-50K (or less), in areas where a house costs a bare minimum of $500K (or more).
     
    Tweener likes this.
  6. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    With all that said, though, I'd echo the thoughts from people who told the OP not to worry about that next job. Writers can be a lot like football coaches -- they reach the pinnacle of the profession, and they look back wistfully at the days in Podunk when everything was so simple. Just be 22 (or whatever age) right now. There's a lot of enjoyment and natural growth in that.
     
    I Should Coco likes this.
  7. WriteThinking

    WriteThinking Well-Known Member

    Exactly. When it comes down to it, you just have to play the hand you're dealt. You have to live life.

    And remember the old saying (so true, but sometimes you don't realize it until you get some perspective): Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.
     
  8. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    You get to create your entire professional universe as SE of a 1-man weekly. There is a lot of joy in that. These are the days of the forest for trees.
     
  9. TyWebb

    TyWebb Well-Known Member

    My first job in the business was as the one-man SE of a small weekly. I was there about a year and a half. I would say I spent the first six months just figuring out what the hell I was doing, figuring out my voice. That are the things I would focus on right now. Right now, you aren't half the writer/reporter you will eventually be. Improvements are made in small steps, and you have to seek them out. It is very easy to fall into the same old story structure, fall back on the coaches you know are good quotes, rely just on the daily coverage. Doing this won't help you improve. Trying new things, and even failing miserably, is the best way to improve. Then, you'll be doing your job better and your readers will be happier. It is a win-win.

    Also, if your situation is at all like mine starting out, you may be lacking in support. I had no one to tell me how well I was doing. I was the only sports guy there. So I sought out the SE at a mid-sized daily nearby, where I would eventually work, to give me some tips from time to time. This was enormously helpful, both in writing better and building a network of people.

    Last thought: if you are serious about sticking in this business, don't ignore those of us who have been chewed up and spit out by it. Listen so you can get a good idea of what is ahead and things you may want to avoid.

    Last last thought: try not to cost a kid a scholarship. Jerk.
     
  10. This is the best point made in the thread. I read the original post, shook my head and grimaced, then reflected.

    We all thought a bit differently at ages 21 to 23. You'll figure it out, OP.
     
  11. Potsie Weber

    Potsie Weber New Member

    I recently left my paper (first full-time job) after almost 21 years. When I started, I said, "Two years. Tops."
     
    Donny in his element likes this.
  12. Southwinds

    Southwinds Member

    A lot of the above advice is really, really good. Look beyond the gloom some of these folks have written and consider this: You have an actual job, which means you're getting paid, which is a start.

    Aside from all of what the other folks have posted, consider this: See what your freelance opportunities are, too. I would assume you'd be allowed to freelance; hopefully, you're near a quasi-metro area with either a college team or a pro team or two and monitor those chances. Hit up the local AP bureau. Track down the college teams' schedules and reach out to the newspapers of the teams they're playing non-conference games against. Find good local stories that, if not applicable for your publication, you can sell elsewhere.

    And, keep learning and grinding.
     
    Double Down likes this.
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