Change of jobs - need opinions (longish)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I work at a newspaper that is owned by a corporate entity, but is a hometown newspaper. I’m the newsroom clerk at the moment. I write obituaries, briefs, community briefs, I do the calendar, and I also do the business calendar and briefs, and education calendar and briefs. I do Letters to the Editor and all of that little small stuff that no one outside of the newsroom knows needs to be done.

The job has morphed a lot since I took the job over a year ago from an older woman. When I first started it was obits and letters, and that was it. I’ve taken on a lot and because of that the newsroom staff appreciates me. I recently got my own weekly column (in fact, yesterday was the first day it ran) and everyone has complimented me on my writing.

Obviously, the reason I took the job at the paper is because some day I would like to be a journalist in my own right. As I recently posted, I’m very seriously considering going back to school to get some classroom time in the journalism field. My boss, the editor, absolutely adores me and has given me full support in this goal, and was willing to give me the column without any real journalism experience (aside from the obituaries and working at the high school newspaper).

Yesterday, our copy desk chief (copy desk is where they do page layouts and stuff) e-mailed me. She’s retiring in March and her second in command is taking her place - she’d like me, if I’m interested, to take her seconds’ spot. Copy desk is the last branch of editorial - they do the last bit of copy editing, and they lay the page out. I’ve got very little experience in that part of journalism, and I wasn’t very good at it in high school - because I was more interested in writing. My first instinct was “No way! I want to write!” She e-mailed me back today, explaining that I could still write, and that this would give me an edge over anyone else in my position - journalists are a dime a dozen, but someone who can write AND design would be an asset to any newspaper.

So, I e-mailed her back telling her I’d seriously consider it. I e-mailed my boss letting him know I was seriously considering it, and asking his opinions.

The pros of this are the hours would be different (right now I come in at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. I’m NOT a morning person so I’ve never liked that). Copy desk works swing shift. My shifts would be approximately 3:30 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Saturday. While I would dislike working Saturdays (that’s when our Karaoke is), the hours work better for me. I’d get a slight pay raise (I’m making $10 an hour, with a raise due this payday, most likely up to $11 an hour). It’d also get experience that would make me valuable, and it’s something I’m interested in learning because I don’t know it yet. I’d still get to write.

The cons are that I really enjoy the job I have now, I’d have to train someone to take my place (one of my friends is pushing me to do it because she wants my job, but she’d be horrible at it), I’d have to completely readjust my sleeping schedule, I’d miss CSI every Thursday (not a big deal, but a minor inconvenience that should be noted) and it’d generally be a complete switch from what I’m used to. I don’t generally make changes very easily because I have obsessive-compulsive disorder; but OCD would actually HELP on the copy desk.

…So, thoughts. What would you do in my situation? No flames, please, but constructive criticism would be appreciated. This isn’t about money to me, although I could use the extra money. This is my career. This could determine what I do in life.

~Tasha

2

If you can keep your column, I’d say go for it. (Maybe even if you can’t). You can still take classes, and you’ll still be in a postion to grab a journalism job at the paper if one comes open.

3

I think you already took the best advice I could give you. You are planning to talk this over with your current boss, who likes you, and get his opinion. This is a great idea. He will probably give you excellent advice.

If you are not still desperate for the money, take the position that gives you the better chance of realizing your dream. If you are still desperate for the money, you might need to go for the pay raise.

Either way, best of luck, it is always a great thing to have such decisions to make.

Jim

4

If you’re seriously interested in journalism, I think that the copy desk chief is correct that this new position would give you quite an edge. And if you don’t like editing, it’d be good to know that now, rather than later in your career, as well.

If you can think of some parts of your current job – other than your column – which you like, you might suggest to your boss that you could continue doing some of those, just to keep your hand in. At a smaller newspaper, they’re going to be more flexible. And it might make you (and them) more comfortable with the transition.

5

Note that when you graduate with your journalism degree, you’re most likely not going to be getting some fancy job as a journalist writing stuff right off the bat, unless you’re willing to move to wherever there is a small paper with such an opening or you want to write for a trade magazine. Even then you might end up at a small paper in Podunk writing obits and letters to the editor.

BUT…if you have copy desk chief on your resume, you will find it MUCH easier to make the transition out of school into a “real” journalism job in a shorter time. You could go to a larger paper out of school into a copy desk position and quickly move up the ranks.

Also, you should be able to use your job as your internship requirement for school.

I went to Kent State and graduated with a journalism degree in 1997. By the time I was out I realized that an out-of-school journalist did little that was exciting. I loathed the idea that I was going to have to write obits and cover city council meetings for a few years before I got to do anything interesting. I graduated and went into a different field altogether.

Most of the folks i graduated with (according to the alumni magazine) went to small papers or trade magazines right out of school. A few that had good connections made it farther quicker. It took a few years for everyone to be noted in the alumni magazine as having the sort of journalism job they had anticipated. Those who’d been working different jobs at local papers seemed to make it up to the top more quickly.

Think of this opening in professional terms for your future. You didn’t have a journalism degree or much experience to get your current position, so you are very replaceable and it doesn’t have much to do with “journalism” (in terms of a degree.) The new position requires some experience, which you gained by being at the paper. The next step is school and a real journalism job - or staying at home and watching CSI.

6

I’m not a journalist (though I’ve written newspaper chess columns), but surely experience in another area is very valuable. Journalism isn’t exactly a structured career path like say accountancy.

You’ll also discover if you can take working shifts (because you may be offered a future job that has them).

As for missing CSI - video it or wait for the DVD!

7

This is entirely a topic that I know nothing about, so I’m asking entirely for edification–not as a suggestion–but is studying Journalism in school something that would give a person a bigger step up than experience at a real newspaper? For most careers I would tend to think that getting a job in the industry is the hard part–and the part where having a degree helps–but once you’re in, so long as you are talented and fight for it, you can move to the job you want. Leaving the industry to go back to school and coming back would mostly just mean that you would have to work to get into the industry a second time, and still land in the same entry-level position that you have to start working from.

8

She’s not leaving the job to go back to school, she’ll be going to school part-time, Sage rat.

Would it be impolite to quote the first two responses?

I realize that change is always scary, but the thing is… change will happen whether you want or not. In this case, if you take the position offered it will change one way (you’ll have that new position, new hours, new boss, new salary) and if you don’t take it it will change another way (there will be a new head copy and a new chief copy, there will be some friction because you didn’t take the offer). You can’t stop change but you can direct it. So, which change do you prefer?

9

Another thing to think about - if this opportunity is seen as a step up, or a promotion, and you decide to turn it down you might find that the next time an opportunity opens up you aren’t on the list of the first people they think of to fill it. The earlier you are in your career, the less picky you can really afford to be about moving up. If your boss or coworkers think they are doing you a favor by nominating you for a job that will increase your skillset, and you turn it down, then (rightly or wrongly) they may start to think that you don’t want to move forward and won’t keep you in the loop for promotion.

I say give it a shot, and if after some time it’s really not a good fit for you, then maybe you can transition to something else. It never hurts to have some extra skills under your belt, though.

10

Thanks for the replies, everyone. You wouldn’t think that an online community would be the best place to ask for advice, but it really is. People who don’t actually know me, and only know the situation, can definitely give impartial advice. I appreciate it.

I’m going to ask the copy desk chief to let me try my hand at page design next week, to see if I’d have fun with it. I have a feeling I’d enjoy it - it’s like Web design only you don’t hand-code it, and it’s much more important in my field of work. :slight_smile: This isn’t an instance where I need corroboration or something and I’m going to fly in the face of advice - I’m taking everything you guys have said seriously!

And Sage Rat, Nava is entirely correct. I’m going to go to school part-time (this could help with that, as well - then I could go to class during the day, instead of at night, which I hate). Most newspapers nowadays won’t let you write or design unless you’ve been doing it for 20 years or you have a degree; I’m just blessed in that my current boss and the boss before him who hired me are willing to take a chance on me. I hope I don’t let them down.

~Tasha

11

Back when I worked as a newspaper reporter, the management would only hire college graduates for the reporting and editing jobs; we had a few older ‘legacy’ reporters there who did not have college degrees, and that was seen by management as a reason to pay them less, even though they did exactly the same work.

I came in right from school making a higher yearly salary than the woman who worked directly across the aisle from me, even though she’d been there for about 10 years total, with about half of that time as a reporter.

So going to school and getting the degree will definitely help with that sort of thing.

And it’s always good, imo, to add as many tools to your skillset as you can, so if I were in the OP’s position I’d be very tempted to try the copy job.

12

As a former journalist (did it for seven years at a group of weekly, suburban papers), this is key. Take the job so that you can get an actual editor title and experience on your resume. It will help you later.

13

A couple of people seem to be misunderstand me a little bit.

I’d be taking a regular copy desk job, because the copy desk chief is retiring and her assistant is taking her place.

Or rather, might be. I talked to my boss and he said that nothing is set in stone yet - her second MIGHT get her position, if she’s the right person for the job. But, he said, if her second gets the position, he thinks I’d do well on copy desk.

So…I think, like I said, I’m going to have her show me what all goes on at copy desk, and see if I’d be interested. And if her second gets the job, and I like it - I think I might go for it. I mean, we have a TV in the newsroom. I can always watch CSI at work. :slight_smile:

~Tasha

14

You could always angle for an “assistant copy editor” title. :slight_smile:

15

Very true. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the opinions, everyone. It really helped. I think that I might go for it. At least, I’m leaning towards it now, as opposed to being stuck in the middle.

~Tasha

16

My gut instinct is to turn down the ‘promotion’

  • say on the grounds that TashaHusband hates sleeping alone.