Leave of absence?

[Tyler Durden]

Got a friend looking for some advice...

He has a job offer that will take him out of journalism as far as newspapers, but would keep him under the overall umbrella of "media." The job would pay significantly better would have enough time to freelance. On the surface, it seems like a good opportunity.

Question is: How difficult is it to get back into the business after you leave for a year or two or more?

 

[Flip Wilson]

I taught part-time for a year-and-a-half and I'm about to finish my first semester of fulltime teaching. It was a good, good move for me. Previously, I was an SID and had hours similar to a reporter's. I taught four classes this semester and am teaching three in the spring. I'm never at work later than about 5:30, and I had two weekend meetings this semester. I freelanced some this semester and am looking to pick it up in the spring. I don't teach in the summer, so I'm planning to freelance a lot then. I've already started making some contacts.

As to your original question, I don't think teaching journalism is taking you a step away from the business. If anything, I think a future employer would look favorably at anyone who knows enough about the process to teach it.

 

[Bears00]

Flip, not to derail the thread, but how long did it take to get your teaching degree? Or did you already have it?

 

[dooley_womack1]

Teaching would be neat, but I'm probably too far into things to take the cut in pay. If you can fit it in your budget, I'd say go for it. Influencing future journalists sounds cool.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Flip, not to derail the thread, but how long did it take to get your teaching degree? Or did you already have it?

It took me four years to get my master's, taking one class at a time. It was a 30-hour program, so 10 classes.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Take the teaching gig.

 

[I'll never tell]

You'd probably get a better job if you decided to leave teaching

 

[Claws for Concern]

It's honorable to want to teach journalism and I think it would be a good break from the reporting demands. Freelancing on the side would be great as a way to give you something to look forward to when you're not teaching. Go for it. Life's too short to wait on something that could give you more satisfaction.

 

[leo1]

you've answered your own question. your job is a dead-end job (according to you) in that it'll never change or lead to advancement (again, your words).

now you can break free and do something different while keeping your toes in the water. take the teaching job and part-time takeout guy.

 

[scribebaseball]

Was your masters in journalism, Tyler, or something else?

 

[zeke12]

Take the teaching gig.

 

[Ace]

I agree. The teaching gig may be something you love. Or it may be a better steppingstone to other journalism jobs if you go back full time.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Best of luck, Tyler.

But I have a hard time seeing you as Professor Jennings and swooping down to take Katy from Boon, a la "Animal House."

Maybe I'm just having a hard time with that scene in general.

Gimme a shout mi amigo. I'm interested in the particulars here.

 

[lone star scribe]

I'm wrestling with a similar problem as you, Tyler, and I've decided to take the leap. Yours sounds like a good situation. Go for it. You can always come back, and your resume will be that much stronger for it. Good luck.

 

[txsportsscribe]

i "taught" in undergraduate reporting lab while in grad school and tried my hand at teaching high school journalism. had a blast in the college gig but ran hard and fast from the high school not even a semester in. hated it, hated it, hated it. but i'd do the college thing again at the drop of a hat. and like others have already said, i wouldn't consider it "stepping away from the biz."

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Take the job.

 

[Editude]

Colleges aren't going away, if my monthly checks are any indication, so a jump to teach there could be a nice transition. High school? No thanks.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Not if it's a private academy. If you play your cards right, you couldn't get fired or laid off with a blowtorch.

 

[JackS]

Would teaching part-time at the college be an option?

I eventually want to teach full-time, but I'm not ready to do that yet, so I recently applied for a position that wouldn't require leaving my current employ.

But no matter how you do it, I think you're right about teaching helping in the long run.

P.S. I miss the zip code.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Not if it's a private academy. If you play your cards right, you couldn't get fired or laid off with a blowtorch.

My department chairman told me when I was hired that there were pretty much just three things I could do that would get me fired:
1. Sleep with a student (I would lose a lot more than my job if that happened, according to my wife)
2. Steal money (I don't have access to any university funds,so no problem there)
3. Don't show up for work.