Sick of it...

Hey...I'm new here, so if this isn't the right place for this, forgive me.

Just stumbled upon this board--wish I had found it years ago...I've been working as a sports editor for a group of weeklies for well over four years, I've been with the company as a general assignment reporter and editor for almost eight years now, and I'm just kind of done with this gig.

I like the sports aspect of the job, but everything else has just gone downhill. We cover a wide area, and now it's just me and some freelancers (with really no experience). I'm in the office all day editing and then covering games at night and on the weekends, so it gets to be a bit of a grind. To top that off, the only salary movement I've seen in 4+ years is a cut about 2 years ago. I'm looking to get out, and thought about going back to school, but with a young kid, that's really tough to fit in the budget (thankfully my wife makes good $$$ and carries the insurance). School is still an option, but I'm also looking for a new job at the same time. I've been looking into trying to find a telecommuting job so I can work from home and pick up some freelance stuff on the side to keep a hand in and make some extra money. Does anybody have any advice on where I should look? Has anyone gone back to school? I was thinking of PR/Communications, I have a BA in journalism, so I thought that field would dovetail with what I already have....

Thanks

 

welcome, newbie ... now fetch me some chowdah and cidah!

 

I'll have a Budweiser tall...

You're on the right track. Be on the lookout for jobs that delve into media relations or public relations... you may have to look hard to find them, but jobs are out there.

If you have experience with StatCrew or other stat programs, think about joining a college as an assistant sports information director or an SID.

Just a few thoughts.

 

He does have a good question.

Is there much legit work-from-home stuff that a writer/editor can do that's not a scam and that pays more than $1 for a 500-word SEO-enriched article?

 

Push for an SID job at a small school if you can. I had 12 years in small daily newspapers as an SE, and went through the same thing. I couldn't handle the idea of covering preps into my late 30s. (No offense to those who love it; I just lost the passion for it in a small town). I didn't know StatCrew, but I have a boss who values laying the writing on me and is patient while I learn the program, which isn't tough to navigate, but does take some getting used to for inputting stats. Also, I handle most of the media relations while he focuses on game operations, so it's a good fit. I have a pretty extensive commute, and there's some travel involved, but I also work from home about one day a week, and pretty much all of May-through-July. Oh, and I haven't had one complaint about my writing in 16 months. You don't know how good that is until you experience it.

 

LOL---I'll think about it Dan...

Thanks for the good advice there though--I was wondering if I was on the right track...I've been looking at the colleges for a while...I'll keep doing that...

 

Higgs, I love your Twitter feed!

http://twitter.com/#!/dadboner

 

First, Higgs, unless you really have a great relationship with your bosses, I would have tried to have been just a bit more anonymous, otherwise, you might be forced into looking for a new career, instead of just looking on your own, if you know what I mean.

Second, as has been advised on here before, are there ways to cut down your workload (coaches sending in results, less game coverage)?

 

Higgs ain't his real name ....

 

Always thinking one step ahead. I like that.

 

Perhaps, but "digital index operator at Spacely's Space Sprockets in Orbit City for four years" winnows the field quite a bit. Unless he's the chief cognator at Cogswell's Cogs. In that case: well played, Mauer.

 

What type of degree is the OP looking for if he went back to school? You don't have to pay for it out of pocket if you find the right program. I won't pay any tuition for my masters, and work on campus, plus teach a community college class. Teaching might be tough without a masters, but you should be able to piece together something to get by for a few years.