Ask the Recruiter

Q: Hi, just found your advice site and am happy I did. I've been out of college for two years with a degree in journalism and have gotten stuck without a full-time job. After college, I was supposed to go to NYU for grad school (the magazine program), but at the last minute, I deferred because I was afraid of the student-loan debt and wasn't sure a graduate degree in journalism would be helpful, even though it's a great program.

Then I worked part time for my local newspaper for a while and eventually took an internship at a magazine. The experience was horrible (The editor liked to swear at people over the intercom system for the whole office to hear.) and made me reconsider whether I wanted a career in journalism at all. I decided I wanted to do public relations instead, but other than a fantastic summer job that I keep returning to (publicist for a theater festival), I haven't been able to find anything permanent and full time in PR either (despite over 15 job interviews).

So now I've been thinking I should consider journalism again. Over the past two years, I've continued to freelance for my local paper writing features, even they won't hire me full time. And even if they did, I could make more money working at a convenience store. Some of the time I enjoy writing for the paper, some of the time, I get bored with the stories. I think I really don't like community journalism that well but I think I would like working at a larger paper. How does one break into a larger paper?

Most internships are for current students, and it seems like most reporters working at community newspapers get stuck there forever. Because of my PR background, I know some journalists at larger papers, but I don't feel comfortable asking them for job advice. One of them actually told me this summer that I should stay in PR anyway...that unless I was really good, I'd spend my life at a community newspaper, and the only way to get a good job at a newspaper is to know the right people.

At this point, I just really want a full-time job that pays enough to live on and has health insurance. How do I find that? Should I re-apply to NYU? Would my chances of landing the right job be better with a master's degree from a good j-school (instead of a bachelor's degree from a mediocre one)? Or would I be wasting the money on a degree I don't really need? If I don't want to go back to school, are there ways to find a good job at a decent-sized paper?

Thanks,

J.S.

A: I don't want to be discouraging, and I also don't want to raise false hope.

My impression is that you don't love journalism enough to be very successful at it. I'd hold off on the college and keep looking until you find a field or a purpose you get so passionate about that you'd go through walls to do it.

If you can find that, fulfillment, money and health benefits will follow. Without the passion, you'll be in a rut -- even with the degree.