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I have one month left in my summer copy desk internship and have begun to apply for full-time jobs.

Prior to this internship, I was a freelance reporter during my junior and senior years of college for a large newspaper. I also wrote for my campus paper all four years.

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I love reporting, but I also love the copy editing I have done during my internship. Therefore, I have applied for both reporting and copy editing positions. My gut tells me that the perfect job for me would be at a smaller paper where I can do a little bit of everything. However, I've also heard back from a larger paper about a copy editing job.

I'm just worried that if I get a job at a large paper as a copy editor, I will never get the chance to write or ever be seriously considered for a reporting job down the road. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Thanks!

Intern with an identity crisis

I appreciate your dilemma.

The relatively low supply of copy editors, compared with the supply of reporters, means it can be easier to land a desk job -- and harder to leave it.

Joe Grimm

This newspaper's interest is putting pressure on you.

The market is tough right now -- very tough -- and you said you do love editing. I would pursue that.

If you wind up getting pigeonholed as a copy editor later, you'll have to work hard to break out of it. But you may have to work just as hard right now to get off to a good start. I think I'd take this larger paper seriously and save future worries for later. It is better to pursue a sure thing you feel you'll like than to drop it for something else that hasn't materialized and that isn't exactly risk-free, either.

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Coming Wednesday: An avid user of online networks, he wonders whether the recommendations he has received from people on LinkedIn are appropriate material for his resume.

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