What has surprised you the most about journalism?
“I’m surprised by how helpful journalists are to newcomers – but equally how hard it is to get a permanent staff job. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of unpaid work experience that was necessary but being surrounded by genuinely helpful and supportive people did help.”
Do you worry about the future? Do you feel you can’t plan your career – because nobody knows what journalism will look like in two years, let alone 20?
“Like everybody, I am a bit worried about the future of the industry. My prediction is that the days of being a print journalist, or an online journalist or a broadcast journalist will end. I think we’ll all have to become multi-skilled and operate across the different media. It’s happening already – print journalists are now being asked to do video reports as well as written stories. I try not to think too much about the future as it’s impossible to know what kind of jobs will be around in 20 years time for journalists starting out now. I find it less stressful to concentrate on what’s happening today.”
* More tips from Graduate Fog on How to get into Media
Spot the difference:
“NEXT: What about applicants who can’t afford to work for free?”
“I found it really tough to make it work financially – so it must be close to impossible if you can’t afford to work unpaid at all.”
I also liked this bit:
“I know someone juggling work experience with a temping job and she’s really close to getting a permanent, paid job now…What’s really difficult is you have no way of knowing how long you’ll be doing that for. You may get offered proper, paid work tomorrow – or never.”
Thanks Alex – but could you just clarify exactly what you mean by this Comment?
Well it’s nice to know that at least ONE person has managed to get a permananent staff job!
It would be interesting to know about all the people who tried as hard as this, yet still havn’t managed to get a paid job out of it.
There must be many people who have had to give up on their journalism career dream because they have not been as lucky as this.
Apologies for being a little negative, but I am very disillusioned with the whole journalism/work for free/who you know not what you know network.
It seems the industry is very much an elitist and exclusive one, and excludes many people, yet media companies, publishers etc, are doing very little to change this.
@Lynsey Barber
I’m very aware that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get a full-time paid job in journalism right now – and by publishing this story I certainly did not mean to imply that it was easy!
However, Rose got in touch with me directly to tell me that she had managed it, despite the circumstances and I thought it was important to show that although it is FAR from easy, occasionally some people do manage to get through. Running a careers advice website, it can be difficult to strike the right balance between ‘Go for your dreams!’ and ‘Be realistic’ – but I never like to tell anybody to give up on something they really want to pursue. Just as long as it’s an informed decision and they understand the risks.
And as you know from the blog, I’m well aware of journalism’s widespread use of unpaid interns – which we all know is totally illegal… Hmm, could this be why the story isn’t given more coverage, I wonder? ; ) xx
Oh, I hope I didn’t come across as sarcastic with my comment! It really is nice to hear that people do make it, and gives me some encouragement!
I’m just jealous
You were spot on saying ‘Risk and uncertainty are part of the deal now, as journalism faces huge challenges…’. The whole industry is changing and inevitably that is affecting recruitment and training. It is both risky and exciting.
Sorry to be a pedant Rose, but you couldn’t have just ‘taken’ a job as an actuary after graduating first time around. It’s something you have to work your way up towards over many years – unless you got exemptions for every exam in your economics degree. Well done on getting the position though
I note that Rose is not a media graduate – at undergraduate level, anyhow – and she has specialist experience in another career path that would undoubtedly be highly valued by Reuters. I imagine it is these unusual qualities that make her such an attractive prospect to employers, setting her apart from the crowd. This would not only be in respect to the insight gained, but also her maturity and commitment. She is clearly hard-working, yet only taking on her first permanent post in the industry at 30. The delay can be partially attributed to her entry route, but then it is this route that (likely) allowed her to get a job. I can imagine this might in fact be rather troubling to a 21/22 year old, fresh out of university, and hoping to go straight into a career in the media.
Journalism seems like one of those awkward careers where you have to do free stuff for a period of time before people take you seriously. Good for you for getting the job, but it’s a career process I’ve never really understood.