Opportunity Cost

[musicman]

I want to kick my own ass for writing this, but does anyone else have occasional pangs of regret for working in an industry that pays (comparatively) so little? I enjoy where I am now and room for future growth exists, but sometimes I feel like there's a lot left on the table money-wise even though you're being true to yourself. I'd like to use the other side of my brain to make some jack on the side, too. Still searching for that perfect part-time opportunity...and would appreciate any experiences you may have had outside the industry.

 

[fishwrapper]

I want to kick my own ass for writing this, but does anyone else have occasional pangs of regret for working in an industry that pays (comparatively) so little?

Oh, no. Never. Not once.

 

[musicman]

Still new, but blue is sarcasm, eh?

Maybe I should just accept the fact that "it is what it is" (hoping the next time I hear this will also the be the last) but I'm having a hard time doing so. "At the end of the day," (see parenthetical reference above) don't moments in a lifetime matter more than millions?

 

[joe_schmoe]

A thread similar to this pops up occasionally. J-schools and the like can prepare students well for writing/interviewing, etc...but it fails to let students fully comprehend that journalism is not a well-paying field. And even though we warn people, it usually takes the reality of the business for people to understand that.

I have done radio shows, been able to offer 'expert insight' etc, and always look for freelance writing opps. There are very few high-paying newspaper jobs in the world, create your own opportunities.

 

[fishwrapper]

A thread similar to this pops up occasionally. J-schools and the like can prepare students well for writing/interviewing, etc...but it fails to let students fully comprehend that journalism is not a well-paying field. And even though we warn people, it usually takes the reality of the business for people to understand that.

I have done radio shows, been able to offer 'expert insight' etc, and always look for freelance writing opps. There are very few high-paying newspaper jobs in the world, create your own opportunities.

There are very few high-paying jobs. And, when you do find one, they are at big metros where the cost of living is so high it tends to be a wash, anyhow.
I do have this to say. I have many friends that hate their job. Despise going to work. I don't.

 

[chazp]

A thread similar to this pops up occasionally. J-schools and the like can prepare students well for writing/interviewing, etc...but it fails to let students fully comprehend that journalism is not a well-paying field. And even though we warn people, it usually takes the reality of the business for people to understand that.

I have done radio shows, been able to offer 'expert insight' etc, and always look for freelance writing opps. There are very few high-paying newspaper jobs in the world, create your own opportunities.

There are very few high-paying jobs. And, when you do find one, they are at big metros where the cost of living is so high it tends to be a wash, anyhow.
I do have this to say. I have many friends that hate their job. Despise going to work. I don't.

I second that. I really enjoy what I do and sometimes it's loads of fun.

 

[sartrean]

Uncle Happy Pants, speak for yourself. Not everyone has to have better everything just because they can afford it.

****, I just want enough money to pay all my student loans, my house note, my car note and have a little left over each month to save. Oh yeah, and it'd be nice to afford medical/dental, etc.

 

[UncleHappyPants]

I removed my previous two posts for being too cynical, even for me I went back and read them and realized they were not getting across what I wanted to get across.

Please carry on

 

[henryhenry]

musicman - do not give in to "vow of poverty" bull****. it's a copout.
if you can report and write you can create.
if you can create you can make money. there is a huge insatiable market for creativity.

do not limit yourself by your daily job description.
find a window of oppportunity - create something - and get it to market.

 

[Freelance Hack]

Henry is spot on.

If I'm fortunate, I should have an opportunity to be a proposal writer for a corporation in the next few weeks. The job will have the same type of duties as a reporter -- interview people, research facts, write based on what I discover. The only difference will be in the pay.

There is a market out there for talented people, but you sometimes need to look away from journalism to find the reward.

 

[fishwrapper]

Yeah. One problem. I'm a journalist.
If I didn't want to be a journalist, I could have found many things to do.

 

[Freelance Hack]

Yeah. One problem. I'm a journalist. I could have left the business many times.

I'm a journalist too -- though it's strictly as an on-the-side thing now.

If you enjoy what you do and you're keeping the family checkbook in the right color, then you're doing great.

BTW, not every big metro comes with a high cost of living.

 

[fishwrapper]

Depends what you call a big metro.
I have a feeling our definitions are different.

 

[Freelance Hack]

I'd call a big metro any metro with a population greater than 1 million. To me, that's big.

 

[fishwrapper]

Other than Texas, which city has a low cost of living?
We will exclude Texas because they either don't pay anything or they're hemorrhaging employees.

1 New York City, New York 8,143,197
2 Los Angeles, California 3,844,829
3 Chicago, Illinois 2,842,518
4 Houston, Texas 2,016,582
5 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1,463,281
6 Phoenix, Arizona 1,461,575
7 San Antonio, Texas 1,256,509
8 San Diego, California 1,255,540
9 Dallas, Texas 1,213,825
10 San Jose, California 953,679

This list doesn't include the D.C. Metro area.
But, we can assume how much it is to live in or around the Beltway.

 

[Freelance Hack]

I'm going on metropolitan area, which would make NYC 20 million. So, that means there are about 50 metro areas with 1 million population.

Places like Louisville, Cincy and others in the midwest have decent costs of living. The coasts are going to be expensive. Not sure about Phoenix, though.

 

[Tom Petty]

phoenix is not cheap my friend.

 

[fishwrapper]

I'm going on metropolitan area, which would make NYC 20 million. So, that means there are about 50 metro areas with 1 million population.

Places like Louisville, Cincy and others in the midwest have decent costs of living. The coasts are going to be expensive. Not sure about Phoenix, though.

I've worked all over this country. From Miami to Seattle, from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, and there is one thing in common...
The bigger the paper, the higher cost of living. Being an editor, I've had to live close to city center because of the necessity to be in the office.
I'm not sure the point you're arguing, but I've been doing this for 17 years and have hired people from all over the country. I know what it cost to live throughout the 50.

 

[joe_schmoe]

I'm not sure the point you're arguing, but I've been doing this for 17 years and have hired people from all over the country. I know what it cost to live throughout the 50.

I have no clue what we are arguing here either, but as a journalist, I love this kind of logic.
"OOOOHH.....He's been doing this for 17 years, and has hired people from all over the country...HE MUST BE AN EXPERT."

Yes, I also participated in the "My daddy is smarter than your daddy" arguements as a 3rd grader. I think it was 4th grade that I learned facts are the best way to support arguements.
But what do I know? I've only been doing this for 16 years. And since most of the 16 have been in Texas which is excluded, I'll go back to my corner now and try to learn how to be a proper journalist.

 

[Editude]

Upper-middle class is about the top of the food chain in this business, and it takes a fairly expensive area to reach that level with a few exceptions. But as long as basic needs are tended to, the field is a pretty interesting way to while away the decades before running the B&B near the mouth of the Rogue River.