Opportunity Cost

I spent 9 years in the business.

Then, I became licensed to teach economics, and now I can spend 6 hours a day teaching "opportunity cost" if they'll let me (instead, I'm procrastinating planning tomorrow's scintillating lectures on WWII in the Pacific and the Federal Bureaucracy).

Seriously, I love journalism. I love reporting. I love writing. I love digging for info. I love putting together that really well-done feature that you know will leave an impact with your reader base. I love the people I've been fortunate enough to work with -- both as colleagues in the business and as sources. I love deadline pressure (seriously). I love picking up the paper the next day and seeing my work and thinking "this was well done."

But I got to the point where I was tired of dealing with the front-office BS, the low pay and the fact that I couldn't make plans three days in advance. I didn't spend thousands of dollars of my parents' money on college to be running around covering cross country meets because the suits transferred my stringer budget to a companion publication, or being forced to ditch working on that really good feature because I have to spend six hours on Tuesday putting together (and chasing down -- because this is the "most important thing in the sports section") the youth sports package of submitted info.

The beauty of journalism is, as long as someone is willing to hire you, there will be opportunities to find part-time/freelance/stringer work and stay involved. And so I can still do a lot of what I loved -- and be a part of this profession -- but do it on my own time. There aren't any cross-country meets in 35-degree weather anymore. But I do get some decent work and I can enjoy the craft without having to deal with the corporate B.S.

And I get paid better, too, which was reason No. 1.

So, the opportunity cost worked out for me. I am able to put my creative talents to use by writing killer lesson plans on Iwo Jima, the Electoral College and the Cold War (OK, maybe not killer lesson plans, but ...). But I'm still also able to do it by trying to fire off a good prep basketball gamer on a tight deadline (which I haven't quite done yet in a while to my standards, but I'm getting there ).

 

I think the journalism industry is awash with people who have the same thoughts as you.
Most who enter it seriously are fairly bright, but have a sense of purpose - perhaps over-inflated - that initially eschews chasing money.
What I think happens, though, is that over the years we encounter so many knuckleheads making vast amounts of money more than us. We realize we are smarter than most of the idiots in the world and, by god, could have done pretty darn good in business and been set for life.
Instead, we chose what we thought was a principled road that, unfortunately, becomes full of potholes created by the very knuckleheads that make a ton of dough.
The realization usually comes in teh early 40s, when its really too late to pursue somethign else. We feel stuck in our choice.
But maybe that's just me ...

 

get married. two incomes of about $50-75K each, which is around what you'll be making at a decent size paper, is enough to live on.

and remember that the grass isn't always greener. i was in the business for about nine years. in a couple months i'll be graduating from law school. if you get a high-paying first-year lawyer job, the firm is getting its money worth out of you. unfortunately, even many of the lower paying jobs - while paying more than journalism - require long hours of drudgery.

 

True. The wife and I pull in almost $50K per year gross. We make it fine, but would be fairly well off if not for some dumb financial decisions (like both of us buying a new car). Now, if I hit 30 and can't crack the $30K ceiling, something will have to change.

 

Happily married for five years and my wife (definitely the "better half" when it comes to salary) has accepted me for who I am and what I do. I guess it just plain comes down to ego and my own insecurity when looking at male "peers" of my age. I know one thing for sure: I don't want to be on TV or radio (just to "have a take and don't suck") or have to be contrived in the contemporary American way. I do, and very much, appreciate all the insights.

 

I had my "opportunity cost" moment tonight.

Got my state tax refund check in the mail. They included with it the "How to Get Food Stamps" brochure.

I'm almost 30. I have a master's degree. I have no dependent children. And yet the state is encouraging me to get food stamps. Damn.

 

come on dude, they coulda sent that out with every return.

 

Always a blast when my feerless leader, the one with the big office and the million-dollar house, gathers us around for a pep talk. At some point he'll always work this into the speech: "Now, we all know we didn't get into this business for the money ..... " and then blather on about the need to keep busting our humps for the greater good of Mother Company.

I wanna say "Hold on there, pal. I got in for more than the money, yeah, but I didn't get in to do the work of three people while you keep cutting back on the raises and the staff and anything else you can think of while wondering aloud why we keep losing readers."

But that only works in the movies..................

 

the "stars" never care when they become unemployed in the movies. they usually end up having some sort of excellent adventure much like angola soon after, while the rest of us eat cheetos for lunch and dinner until finding the next gig.

 

when i work 80 hour weeks with no overtime or comp time, i think about how much i'd be making working the same schedule at a law firm. when i graduated from college, i gave myself a deadline to get where i want to go in this business. if it doesn't happen, then it's time for career change. i'm not saying i'm the smartest guy out there, but i'm bright enough to not stay in poverty when there's something i can do about it.