Where would you rather start...?

If one of your choices truly was Marietta, you'd be better off working for someone's family newsletter.

 

I've seen many paths.
But, look a little beyond the job.
How is the Sports Editor?
Has he been there for a while?
Do writers have a history of improving at the paper?
Secondly, if you're a writer, you want a little turnover. That means one of two things. Either the place sucks. Or, the paper has a reputation for turning young writers into good young writers. Obviously you want the latter. Why Writers are getting noticed outside the paper. And, it's good for changing and advancing in beats within the paper.

 

C+ -- Ace you give me way too much credit... ;D

 

I didn't want to undersell you, zags.

 

Started out by moving cross-country to Abilene, before it became the festering shithole it is today (or at least, was last year). Got a chance to work with great people and do a little bit of everything. Learned a lot and left with great experience. Didn't mind the drive to DFW.

Find a place like that and you'll be in pretty good shape.

 

You beat me to it. I was going to say Marietta is a bad example. It can be a career-killer.

 

You'll know when you meet with the people at the different papers. My first job was at a smaller-type (30-35k circ) and about half an hour from a major city with a couple of pro teams. I learned more from that job than any since. Write, edit, paginate, write on deadline, agate, features, breaking news, sports, occasional news, write headlines, take call-ins (ugh). Never took a photo, though. Still, experience was second to none.

That being said, times have changed. You have to decide what's right for your skill set now. If you're on the desk, you could probably aim a little higher. Writers can't be too choosey.

 

Ill take any paper that gives me an opportunity...

 

I interviewed at the MDJ out of college. I chose a small community weekly with a 4K (thats right, 4,000) circulation.

 

I'd go back to school, get a finance degree and a job that paid better.

 

this is an interesting topic for me, since I'll be graduating soon. I'll echo Skinsnoles21 in saying that I'll go wherever I'm offered the opportunity to start my career.

That being said, if I did have the good fortune to have multiple offers on the table at the same time, I think I'd be less concerned with circ. size and location relative to major markets than I would be with the quality of the paper. In a perfect world, I want to start at a paper that will make me better. I want a sports editor who isn't afraid to tell me my stuff was horseshit, but at the same time will tell me why it was horseshit and how I can stop my next story from being horseshit.
How's the town? how's the staff? How's the cost of living?

I think there is a lot to consider - but here's hoping we're all lucky enough to have several offers to choose from when it comes time to choose a job.