maybe i've had enough of chasing the dream

rcsoxfan,

Do you enjoy what you do?

There are a lot of people who go into this business thinking they'll be covering the NFL or pro baseball or basketball only to end up at a small daily in the middle of nowhere covering community sports or at a weekly covering preps.

There are dreams and then there is reality. If you don't enjoy what you do, then go try to find something you do enjoy and can pay the bills. Life's too short. I'd like to be covering a pro beat, but I enjoy what I do and take satisfaction in trying to put together a good product and trying to make sure my next story is better than my last story.

 

I guess I'm in the same boat as RC.

I'm feeling burnt out and looking for a way out ... maybe. I'm torn on the issue of whether to look for a different job and jump ship, or stick it out and see what happens.

I love the job. Love doing what I do on a daily basis and can't imagine doing anything else (cliche, I know). At the same time, I'm scared as fuck about the future of this business. No one knows if papers are going to be around 15, 20, 25 or even 30 years from now. Hell, it may even be sooner than that for some.

But ever since I graduated high school, this is the only job I've known. It's who I am, which may or may not be a good thing.

There are times, though, when I hate the job. For instance, I don't get to see my family/friends much because I'm almost always at work. The schedule doesn't allow for much of a social life, either, and that sucks at 23.

I don't feel as if I'll be able to move up in the company I'm in, and that's if I finally go back to school and finish at least my two-year degree in English.

I've had job offers that I thought were sure things in the last two years; one in Ohio (we all know what happened there) and one in Florida that didn't pan out because the paper is on a hiring freeze. I even had a former colleague ask if I would consider going back to my former paper after they fired a guy a few months back. In the end, I couldn't see myself going back to that paper because of some stuff that happened the first time around, but that's another story.

To make a long story short, I've thought about getting out for the last several months. I just haven't been able to pull the trigger, mainly because I've yet to get another steady, reliable job set up. I've filled out no telling how many applications over the last few months, but not a damn one has called and asked me to come work for them.

I'm also the youth minister's assistant at my church and get paid $50/week for that, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be in that capacity. I had originally wanted to be a youth minister, but now I'm not so sure about that idea, either.

Anybody got any ideas?

 

You're in a tough boat without a degree. I would think an SID gig would be out of the question without one. If you jump ship, go back to school. Recessions are the best time to get an education.

 

Why are there 10 stories per day? That seems crazy, even for a one-person shop. Someone else referred to this, but that type of quantity can't really help the quality you are producing. This business is easy enough to burn out on, but it certainly sounds like you are overextending yourself without much in the way of a support system.

 

Usually its just four or five depending on the schedule of the three schools that I cover on a daily basis...but during the spring season when there's high school 1) baseball, 2) softball 3)track 4)boys golf 5) girls tennis all on going with two schools running all five sports and the other running three of them...at times it works out to 10 stories...and in rare cases more...per day. at this time of the year (winter) I have only three boys basketball teams, three girls basketball teams and one wrestling team to cover...just finished with three football, three volleyball, two girls golf and two boys tennis teams...and all of that now with a 9:30 p.m. deadline Monday through Thursday nights...I told the boss this week I'm taking Sunday off regardless of having to work some Saturday nights until the wee hours to get things done and not come into the office before 4 p.m. on Monday...And yes No stringers, No photographer other than my wife who does it for the love of taking pictures and to try and help me avoid the burnout factor...