Career suicide?

[CarlSpackler]

Let's say an SE at a smallish daily is looking to move on by the end of the calendar year due to horrible circumstances and 50+ hour weeks with no OT. Would going to a much larger paper as a part-timer who works about 40 hours with no benefits be a horrible idea? Or would moving laterally to another 15,000-type paper be a better move? Or is joining the circus the best choice altogether?

 

[lone star scribe]

OK, Carl, let's take your points in order. 50+ hour weeks and no OT is standard for an SE, no matter what size the paper. I was in your shoes back in the day. And today my SE regularly puts in extra time. It goes with the turf when you're the boss.

The part-time position at the much larger paper would only be an option if you had health benefits from another source, like a spouse. Or if the paper had a history of promoting part-timers to full-time and promised you a shot at the next opening. However, some papers have two tracks, full-time and part-time, and never the twain shall meet. Caveat emptor.

Moving to a similar size paper. I wouldn't unless you would be SE and there is something about that makes it more than a lateral. Better gigs to cover, an extra week of vacation, bigger staff, better living conditions. Something that makes it better. Because all places have their warts.

Joining the circus? Unh-unh. Think Siegfried and Roy.

 

[Cadet]

I think you should start your own gopher-control service.

 

[sportschick]

I bet gopher control pays better anyway, and you get to work outside.

 

[Cadet]

And you get to listen to cool music!

 

[Cadet]

Gopher jokes aside, if you've got kids, don't even *think* about taking a job without benefits.

 

[CarlSpackler]

Kids? That implies that I've come even remotely close to impregnating someone lately. Not so much.

 

[Cadet]

TMI ... stick with the gophers ...

 

[e4]

what you do and how you do it carry more weight than where you're doing it...and screw what the resume looks like if the clips are golden... trust your gut, put yourself in a position to do your best work and have a little faith that things will work out in the end. they always do.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Not golfers.. GOPHERS! the furry little rodents!

 

[Tom Petty]

carl - why don't you do the obvious and look for an SE job at a paper with a circ. of 20-25 thousand?

 

[CarlSpackler]

carl - why don't you do the obvious and look for an SE job at a paper with a circ. of 20-25 thousand?

Because I hate being an SE. It was a promotion from within I did it out of obligation to keep our operation running as smoothly as possible when it happened many months ago. I just want to write. If that was all I had to worry about, I don't think I'd care about how much I worked at all.

 

[Tom Petty]

carl - then apply at for the obvious step up as a writer. why settle for something less just to save you 30-90 days at your current job? get you resume and clips together and make your cover letter sing.

don't give up before you even try.

 

[Tracy Ringolsby]

If you are concerned about working 50 hours a week and getting no overtime GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

 

[FileNotFound]

If you are concerned about working 50 hours a week and getting no overtime GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

Ditto. It only gets worse as you move up. If you want to write, and cover a beat, get ready to put in more than 40 -- sometimes way more -- without being asked, or paid.

 

[da man]

Oh, sorry ... I saw the topic and naturally thought this thread was about me. My bad.



Carry on.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

50 with no overtime is a light week

(my editor is good about comp time, though -- too generous to certain staff members)

 

[Ace]

Oh, sorry ... I saw the topic and naturally thought this thread was about me. My bad.



Carry on.

It's not all about you, da man.

I echo lone star. No benefits gig could be a possibility if you are single and healthy (or covered some other way) and it looks like a real good shot at a full-time position.

By the way, I do not think it is legal for a company to work you more than 30 hours a week on a regular basis and deny you benefits, so be wary. It may be that you work 40 hours for 4-5 months then are cut way back or are "laid off" till the next busy time comes.

 

[Human_Paraquat]

OK, Carl, let's take your points in order. 50+ hour weeks and no OT is standard for an SE, no matter what size the paper. I was in your shoes back in the day. And today my SE regularly puts in extra time. It goes with the turf when you're the boss.

At a "smallish" daily, 50 hours a week is the bare minimum the SE should be working. I'm a preps reporter at a 40K daily, and if I don't work 50 hrs in a week, I'm probably not doing my job.

Not to offend the deskers on the site, but the hours for those positions seem more normalized and require less off-the-books time. Maybe you should look into taking a desk-only job at a bigger paper. If you want to be in management or on a beat, you can't punch a clock.

 

[Songbird]

If you are concerned about working 50 hours a week and getting no overtime GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS.

I worked 75 hours last week, 75 hours the week before. Granted, I'm a one-man gig here, but it's part of the biz. There are plenty of writing jobs out there. I need a part-timer (I could pay up to $300 a week) but there aren't benefits.

Anyway, you'll find something.