Contemplating A Career in Journalism

As was indicated in the previous entry, I'm seeking a career that will give me that intangible feeling of satisfaction. Ever since obtaining my freelance gig at FFWD magazine, I've been contemplating a career in journalism. Part of me wants to pursue a journalism degree after my husband graduates from his Master's program in two years. But as he reminded me, I don't need another degree. At this stage, it would only serve to give me the superficial confidence of being able to point to a piece of paper to say to the world, "hey, I can do this job.". But if I can find it within myself to have this confidence, I can save myself a lot of money and time. There's no doubt that it would be nice to learn how to properly structure an article, and have proper interview skills training among the other valuable things that such a degree would train me in, but I think these are all things I could easily teach myself and that would come naturally with experience. Of course, I would never look down on anyone for getting a degree, but in my case it would be the easy way out. By that I mean that school is a sheltered environment, and at some point if you're just spending your time getting one degree after another, it starts to become an excellent excuse to not be doing something of value to society. And then of course, there's the question that if I do take a degree in journalism, is that going to be the end of it, or will I decide in those 2 years, that it is not for me as well? I do not want to become trapped in that cycle. I have learned that in this world, there are two kinds of people: those who talk a lot and those who do, and I want to start becoming the latter.

While your 20's might be a good time to live out your dreams and desires selfishly, your 30's, especially if you are like me and want to start a family should be at least somewhat marked by stability. That's not to say that the career I choose today is set in stone for the rest of my life, but at some point I have to start thinking about others and not just my own self-fulfillment.

So if I'm not going to go to school for it, how am I prepared to pursue this avenue? Well, I know for a fact that I like writing and that I'm pretty good at it. So that right there is half the battle. I still have a long way to go when it comes to becoming excellent at it, but I have been told by many over the course of my education that this is a skill I possess and should do something with. I have always excelled at papers in University, and while I tend to be a slow writer, I didn't find them to be a chore like others did.

Journalism seems like a good avenue for me because while it would allow me the opportunity to utilize this skill/talent, it would present me with many challenges and opportunities to grow which are key ingredients for avoiding boredom, a benefit that cannot be overstated given my attention deficit tendencies. From the research I have done, it seems to possess all that I value in a prospective career: it is dynamic, demands working in a high-pressure, deadline driven environment (a work style which seems to suit me well), and it would enable me to voice my opinion on a mass scale. The latter brings with it a tremendous responsibility and honor in that it has the potential to affect people's lives, hopefully for the better.

To become a self-taught journalist, I will have to work that much harder. It will require tenacity and persistence, and this blog will be one vehicle towards making this happen. I will post any progress towards this realization, and just as importantly any setbacks that may occur along the way. The reason for doing this in public rather than in a private journal is that it will force me to have some accountability. Additionally, writing ones goals, and having a central place where you can refer to your progress will be a powerful tool to reflect and to alter my goals accordingly.

Below are my explicit goals relative to this blog:

1) Daily Word Dose -- I would like to post 5 words per day that I would like to incorporate into my vocabulary. This means that in one year, I should have added nearly 2,000 words to my vocabulary. I will work my way down from A-Z.

2) Read A Book A Month and Write a Review of it -- I am a slow reader, so I think that one book a month is realistic for me. I plan to write a review of the books I read as way to capture what I took away from the book, as well as to practice writing reviews.

3) Continue to Write Articles for FFWD --  Continue proposing ideas to FFWD and writing not only art reviews, but also venturing into other topics of interest, and stepping outside of my comfort zone.

4) Spend 45 minutes to 1 hours a Day Reading the News and Once a Week Post Links to Articles I Enjoyed Reading -- One thing I'm currently not very good at is reading news on a daily basis. This is absolutely essential for me to do as someone who wants to one day be writing them, and particularly as someone who is not planning to go to school, it is important for me to learn from those who have had proper training. I will compile a list of articles I really enjoyed or that were inspirational in some way, or were just technically good articles at the end of the week.

5) Make My blog Public -- As terrifying as it may be to air your dirty laundry to the public and have it be open to scrutiny, I must be willing to put my vulnerabilities out there to the world if I want to be a journalist. This is a profession that requires thick skin in the sense that there will always be someone out there who bashes what you write and I might as well get used to it now.