Probably been asked before but...

I will never tell someone not to get into the business or any business for that matter. If you go into it with your eyes open and it's something you really want to do, then do it.

I'm 32, went back to school for a degree after working in IT without one (making more money in 2000 than I do now), with a wife and three small kids, and I enjoy writing.

As for real advice, learn how to tell stories in mediums other than print. Think video, audio, slideshows. A good storyteller will always be needed in our society.

 

Shitty. Think "food stamps."

Shitty. Less than a first-year teacher. Sometimes significantly so.

Shitty. Slightly more than a first-year teacher.

At the moment, living in India helps more. Figure every job --- writing and editing --- that gets posted at all but the worst and/or smallest newspapers is going to get upwards of 150 applicants, many of whom will be trying to continue newspaper careers after having been suddenly laid off from major metro papers that were slow to confront reality.

Or, if you live in India and work cheap, you can be part of the Miami Herald's copy desk.

I strongly suggest an alternate plan.

For nothing, probably.

 

I'd still recommend this profession that anyone with the desire and stomach for it.

I'd just advise going in with eyes wide open. There's a chance, a good chance, you're going to be somewhat poor. The industry is such that there aren't a lot of jobs out there, and even if you have one, you might not for long. Have a decent backup plan, whether it's PR or teaching English or something.

If all that is cool with you, by all means, have at it.

 

If you get in this business, know the pay won't be the same as other professionals, but if you manage your money well, you can live well enough in most cases (I'm not addressing the issue of job security, which to me is a more frightening aspect of this business). Since I started dating the girl who is now my wife, and is very good with money, I have come to realize that I make enough to live comfortably and I stressed myself out too much over money in the past because I simply didn't make myself manage it. Once I learned some money managing skills and got into the groove of practicing them, my mid-30k salary (in the cheap deep south) has started taking me a longer way.

Americans have awful money habits. We tend to eat out more than we should. We tend to buy more crap than we should on impulse. We tend to let pocket change go to things like vending machines (where that coke is usually more expensive than the same one bought as part of a six-pack in a store).

Since I started dating my wife, I went from a paycheck-to-paycheck guy who would, about 3-4 times a year, overdraw his checking account, to someone who easily manages a budget with more expenses than I used to have in the overdrawn days. My wife makes less than I do (low-20s), yet between us we manage a $700ish a month mortgage and our bills. We bought her a car this spring in cash (with plans to do the same for me this time next spring).

The keys? It's easier to save on the front end than to pay interest on the back end. It's easier to put money into an account where you can't easily draw from it in order to save. It's more enjoyable than you think to cook (Well, at least that's what my wife tells me, I'm useless in the kitchen). Pay yourself first. Buy if you can because even if your house loses value, you'll still get more of a return of what you put into the property than if you just rented and got NO return (I've gained $15k in equity from appreciation...of course, I don't live in San Diego or Phoenix either).

If you really learn how to manage money AND you love the business, than it can be worthwhile. If you don't have money management skills, the stress of the money issues will probably overwhelm the enjoyment of the job. That's even true if you make more money.

My wife always jokes that it seems like we struggle less than her sister and her husband who, combined, make almost triple what we make, but get killed because they overstretch their resources (basically, they bought a house out of their price range on an adjustable rate mortgage), they buy everything on credit (always trying to get out from under multiple car notes), have bad credit and high interest rates and have a tendency to just buy crap they don't need (that elliptical walker that just hit their curb would be a welcome addition in my living room but for them it was just a clothes hanger and a plaything for a 3-year-old).

The point to all this? Americans tend to waste a lot of money. If you learn how to be good with money, I think you'll find that the money you make isn't as bad as portrayed... Unless you get stuck longterm at one of those $15-$20k community rag jobs...

 

Also, remember if you do stay in papers for a long time and make some good money, after about 20 years upper management will start wondering when you'll retire. Mostly so they can hire a younger version of you.

Or, if you continue to make shitty wages and bring it up at review time (when you can hope for no better than a four percent raise), you will be reminded by your managers of how many other people applied for the job and will be more than happy to work at the proscribed wage.

Newspapers are textbook chapters in how not to treat employees. Caveat emptor.

 

BG, I applaud your money management efforts, but I ask you this: Are you one major emergency from financial disaster?

God forbid, what if you or a family member had a medical emergency or lengthy hospital stay? What if your car is destroyed? What if one of you loses your job? What if your home gets Katrina'd and you have to fight with the insurance company to get the money you are owed?

The 'bootstraps' approach just doesn't work anymore. Yes, it's good to be financially smart and sound. But there are more forces at work.

A good OpEd from the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-gosselin6-2008jul06,0,4670416.story

 

Cadet, I agree with you that needing money for an emergency is always a possibility. But there are ways to deal with these issues better. That new car I'm saving for next spring? If, god forbid, we had a medical emergency, that car would bite the dust and the '02 Mazda I'm in now would have to push it a little further (it's about to hit the 100k miles mark...relatively low, thanks to my habit of renting on road trips to save the wear and tear).

I did take a direct hit from Hurricane Rita and dealt with insurance companies after.

The bigger point is that moving into a business that will pay you a little more won't save you when disaster hits. There are costs that as a country we simply aren't equipped to deal with. That's a different topic altogether. I mean, we do 401ks instead of pensions now. But a lot of the "Republicanism" changes of the 1980s and 1990s came down to this: The money was taken out of public pools and put into individual hands. Many of the individuals have made shitty choices with that money and now there is no safety net, which is why safety nets existed in the first place.

It was bad policy that has put our economy in a bind, along with a lot of individuals.

 

I wasn't picking on you, specifically, BG. And I appreciate your point about some people not having good spending habits. I just wanted to point out that even good financial planning can only go so far when you're not making much in the first place.

 

Amen

 

WFW!