Unrealistic expectations of the business?

There's a lot of talk on here about guys like Jeff Passan and Wright Thompson and their meteoric rise to stardom in the business - not to mention paychecks that a surgeon would like to check.

I know of some people who avoid this site because they find it discouraging to read about success stories like this while they bang their head against the wall just trying to figure out what they have to do to get off of prep tennis.

How high is the level of disillusionment in this business? And how much of it stems from seeing the tiny percentage of "effin' studs" who get ahead so quickly?

 

Why would people being successful in the business by disillusional? I get disillusioned by waves of cost cutting, deadlines getting earlier, space getting smaller, more expected with fewer bodies, readership numbers shrinking.

Someone succeeding isn't the last of my worries, it's a freakin' hopeful sign.

 

The thought process being, "I'm falling behind. I've missed the boat because I'm 25 and not at a major metro or national Web site."

 

I marvel at it. I'm very happy for the two of them. Hard work still has its rewards.

There was a time when I would have been really bothered by not being in Wright's position at my age. But I matured, and my perspective has changed.

Do I still aspire to do great things? Yup. Do I want to be stuck doing the same thing a year from now? No. I believe I was given a talent to do what I'm doing, and think it would be criminal to remain complacent. I don't want to limit myself, but I also want to get married and hopefully have a family someday, too. I don't worry about getting a break, or trying to catch someone's attention. Someone much, much bigger than me is in control of that, and I have faith it will all work out in its own time.

 

This is such a dangerous mindset. It's not limited to reporters, everyone can feel that way at times. Its got nothing to do with 'effin studs.'

Quit your bitching, be grateful for what you have, try hard to keep getting better and things will happen. Is your motive your own career advancement? Or is your motive the wam fuzzy you'll get from knowing other people know your name?

 

Not about me. Just riffing off the minority reporters thread, the Wright Thompson thread, the Chris Snow thread and others.

That being said, I think the salary at low-level jobs frustrates people more than the (lack of) notoriety.

 

Lesson 1, Day 1 - Thou shalt not become a sportswriter for the pay.

 

For sure. But having no money seems like no biggie when you're 21 and idealistic. A little different once you have a mortgage and mouths to feed. Suffering for one's art doesn't seem so noble then.

 

Hey, I understand. I'm amazed at how some writers I know who are married, with kids, get by. This has always been a tough as hell business, when it comes to finances. I hope it all works out for you.

 

I didn't think that i would get poorer as the years went by.

 

It depends man. Every time I've gotten a bigger paycheck -- from the time I took my first internship til the time I accepted my current job -- it took a few months to adjust to making MORE money. You think you can blow a little more.
There are times now with what I make (less than $40k) that I feel like I'm doing pretty f-ing well for myself despite the fact that I have enough student loan debt to kill a small horse. Make no mistake, your biggest pay hikes are going to come when switching papers. Most companies have figured out that they don't have to give more than 3 percent raises, and that sucks because inflation is much worse.
But like Soprano said, no one does this for the money.

 

Extremely.