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Is it even possible to "move up the ladder" anymore?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by spud, Apr 6, 2009.

  1. thegrifter

    thegrifter Member

    Sadly I think the whole networking system is going to play a larger role than hard work. Sure, I think that's always been the case and it shouldn't be, but with so few guys, I can see lots of people leaning toward people they know instead of doing a time-consuming and costly search for new talent.
     
  2. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Forget networking to keep your job. Networking is also 90 percent of finding another one.
     
  3. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Run away to what? Can't get a job at Taco Bell. I'm not kidding. I applied for a manager position at taco bell last year just to see if I could get a call back. Nope.
     
  4. Piotr Rasputin

    Piotr Rasputin New Member

    It heartens me to see that more of our journalism brethren appreciate these threads as a source of helpful information that may spur action.

    Better for a site to be full of former sports journalists now pursuing new ways to feed their families than to be full of laid off sports journalists wondering what to do next.

    Oh, and the ladder doesn't exist anymore. Maybe one of those stepladder things that people have in the kitchen. You know, move from clerk phonegeek to underpaid, overworked preps writer . . . and then find yourself still unable to reach the paprika on the high shelf. Have to settle for garlic salt.
     
  5. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Start hourly. Once you demonstrate that you aren't a mouth-breather, you'll get promoted.
     
  6. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    saddens me to say, but i'd probably be running to a law school to prep to be another miserable lawyer. so glad i was able to dodge that alternative.

    i am sooooo much happier i came along when i did -- before i ever had to really work for a living. like i've said many times, i've been blessed many times over, which is why i'm among those hangin' on for dear life. at my age, the alternatives are not pretty. i've been spoiled far too long.
     
  7. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Let's not neglect this bit of reality, too: At a lot of shops, the preps writers, however underpaid and overworked, are the new "stars" of the staff because of the hyperlocal mania. Unfortunately, a lot of people got into this to move on to college and pro stuff, even to "national" beats, where much of the cutting and slashing is taking place. Don't hear of many places pulling off the road on high school coverage. But do you really want to do at 45 and 65 what you got your fill of at 25? If you want a safe job, in many places, you had better.
     
  8. Not all lawyers are miserable.
     
  9. I feel ya there
     
  10. shockey

    shockey Active Member

    no offense intended. many i know are miserable. and i have little doubt i'd be among them. it's one of the many reasons i went this route after letting my 'rents think i was pre-law into my junior year. one of the many reasons i tell everyone my folks are the greatest is 'cause they were as supportive as could be when i told them of my change of plans. 8) 8) 8)

    even though i know they worried that i'd have little future. it was super when it all worked out. they could not have been prouder. they're the best, as much as i enjoy telling passover/chanukah tales about them. :D :D :D
     
  11. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    There was an article in the NYTimes the other day about how the law profession has finally broken its taboo on layoffs and are slashing staffs left and right.

    So glad I didn't go to law school.

    But then, pretty much any lawyer can get a job if they are willing to work somewhere small and "settle" for 35k/year.
     
  12. Joe Williams

    Joe Williams Well-Known Member

    Here's the other thing that has dismantled the ladder we once knew and relied on:

    Climbing that ladder often meant switching from company to company, market to market. Fine. But now, that means you're at the bottom of whatever seniority ladder exists, quite separate from your li'l career ladder. So when cutbacks hit, you're in the crosshairs. Gone!

    That's another reason the ladder no longer applies. Makes you want to cling to whatever rung you're on, wherever you are, hoping that they have to pry it from your cold, dead fingers. Thought of this when reading about the Dallas Morning News cuts, where someone who came aboard a year ago -- from a solid job elsewhere -- now is headed to unemployment.

    So no upward mobility where we're at, and way too scary out there to grab at some other ladder where, regardless of your rung, you're the new kid most likely to go at the next round of layoffs. Bonus pain if you relocated your spouse and kids for that (cough) opportunity.
     
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