What if....?

LOL...Coming from you, that was a good one, nw...

 

I am regretting it pretty bad right now, especially since I'm only a year into it...which means the mistake I made in choosing my journalism major was only 5 years ago.

I've basically wanted to be a sports writer since I was about 14-15 years old, and it was my dad that talked me into it. From then on I practically did everything I could do to prepare, but now it looks like the efforts were pretty useless. The industry doesn't look like it can truly recover, and I'm not sure it's even worth finding out. If I had to take a one week furlough it would take me 3 months to recover, because I barely make enough to cover all my bills each month.

I just took the GMAT recently and am looking to go to business school. I ask myself everyday if its the right decision, and then I hear about McClatchy chopping 1,300 people and I figure I am. Don't know if I'm taking the coward's way out, but it seems like the only logical decision in the long run. I can always freelance to get my fix I suppose (if there are any newspapers to write for). Can't help though but to sometimes feel like I'm giving up too soon.

I've also wondered about the day I have a family. I don't want to be the dad that's never home....when I played sports in school my dad was never around. Is anybody interested in maybe sharing their experiences? I want to go to games someday....as a proud father and supporter....not a scribe with a notepad and 10 dollar shoes. It doesn't seem worth it to be away from my family all the time to make the money that would barely support them.

So ya, before I keep babbling on, I regret it. As much as I enjoy it, I regret it. The whole "do what makes you happy" and "there's more important things than money" seems to be a bunch of BS. If my car craps out tomorrow, I'm left walking....and that won't make me very happy.

 

W-R: Reading your post takes me back. I was in your shoes about 15 years ago, slinging tacos during the lunch hour and working night shift in a grocery store to pay the bills while I was a stringer the first eight-nine months I was out of college. Back then, it was a "bad time" for finding journalism jobs -- but of course it wasn't nearly as bad as it is now.

You are correct about being able to cover games as a freelancer no matter what business you end up in. There always will be a need for skilled reporters to gather the information. Where that information will be shared remains the million-dollar question.

And your insight about having a family and being able to spend time with them is spot-on. Those of us with kids try to balance job and home as best we can. For me, it meant moving from reporting to nighttime desk work once the kids got into elementary school, just so I have a consistent schedule. I still get my writing fix from time to time, but regular hours are a must if you want to spend any time with your family.

Of course, when you have a spouse who works regular daytime hours, the balancing act gets really complicated. It helps to marry a saint.

Bottom line: Hang in there, and do what it takes to pay the bills. We all believe/hope the newspaper business will survive this rocky stretch, but each day brings more layoffs and more doubt.

As much as we all like writing and reporting, a job is what we do. It's not who we are.

 

I try very hard not to critique people's feelings, because everyone's entitled to their own and I can't walk in anyone else's shoes, but I just want to make this point:

I think you're drawing a false conclusion on the validity of those two proverbs based on what you say is a limited experience in this profession. There is a distinction to be drawn between there being "more important things than money" and having enough in the bank to pay for your car repair or other household bills. It's like the Mendoza line of personal finance -- if you're regularly below it, it really doesn't matter how much you love your job because there are too many other day-to-day worries to keep you from truly enjoying anything except getting by.

But if you're above that line -- and very few people who are "only a year into" any career are above it -- then you will realize that there ARE more important things than money and that, if your finances are secure, you can take a little less money to do what you love. The trick is in figuring out how to get there, and it's not easy.

Don't let your experiences in this shithole profession make you so cynical that you believe what you just posted up there. Be patient and keep plugging -- maybe not in journalism, but that's OK.