| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Media Issues > Topic: Burnt out and Poor |
Topic: Burnt out and Poor
| Author | Message |
| poisenrogue | Posted – 3/28/2008 3:10:24 PM | show profile After waiting tables for ten years, I finally have a media job that I love. I graduated from college late, so I am 28 and more than 1 year into my new career. I started in print. And now I'm an associate producer, on my way to becoming a producer, at station #1 in a top 30 market. But the hours are horrible and I can't live on the pay. If I get promoted, the pay will be a little better. But I've started to ask myself if I always want the possibilty of weekend and overnight work hanging over my head. The pay will never be that great in the tv biz either. And I'm a hot-headed italian who grew up in the projects, so dealing with the on-air divas really gets to me. Otherwise, I love producing, writing and creating a dynamic newscast. I am not sure what to do at this stage. Could I get a PR or marketing job that pays better with my minimal experience? Will it really be any better? I am at a loss and I don't know how much longer I can work the third shift for $12 an hour. |
| catlondon | Posted – 3/28/2008 3:41:49 PM | show profile You might want to look into transitioning into work with a production company that produces non-news content for the bazillion cable channels out there, if you don't mind not doing news. |
| onmyown | Posted – 3/28/2008 3:46:35 PM | show profile I feel for you Burnt out, I think a lot of people in journalism share your frustration. I'm in print, but started out working weekends and nights for a daily newspaper. Did that for years, making a salary that allowed me to pay my bills but wasn't anything to write home about. However, I loved journalism, and after 12 years or so was able to move into a position that did not require nights and weekends. After all this time, I know I would be making a lot more money if I was in another field. I do make a lot more than I did when I started out, but sadly, the market just does not appreciate what we do. But we do it because we love it. I guess you have to decide whether you want to stay in journalism and pay your dues until you can call the shots as to hours, pay, etc., or switch to PR or something else. I don't know that you could get a marketing job unless you have a marketing degree. But good luck. |
| lambrusco100 | Posted – 3/28/2008 5:19:33 PM | show profile | email poster Burnt out and Poor I really feel for you because I've been there myself. Do some soul searching and consider all your options. I think the person who posted the reply about working with a production firm was right on the money. Post production houses work for corporate clients, so you'll get off the horrible third shift, avoid weekends and start living like a normal human being again. You'll even get holidays off -- you'll be closed! Furthermore, the pay is so much better. Best of all, no more on-air divas! You'll have some finicky clients, but they're nothing compared to what you're used to dealing with. As a producer at a post production house, you'll actually have the time to produce a polished production with all the bells and whistles (special effects, soft music under the b-roll, cool video transitions), to showcase your true talent. Being back on normal schedule will make you look better, feel better... in short, you'll BE better. Good luck and I hope this helps. |
| foodlit | Posted – 3/28/2008 5:28:23 PM | show profile You don't need a marketing degree to get a marketing job. But, you say in your first line that you love your job. It might be too soon to give up and chase the money in a job you don't love. Is it a matter of paying your dues and as you gain seniority you will have better hours? Or will you always be expected to do nights and weekends even after you are promoted? If so, then you may want to look at alternatives. It's actually easier to make the shift now into marketing when you are at a more junior level. The longer you stay in your current field, the more difficult it will be to transition out and into something with comparable or better pay. Certain industries pay better than others, which is something to consider. A junior marketing role at a financial services company will pay more than a more 'glamourous' environment like magazines or publishing. Salaries in marketing can go quite high as you climb the latter. Especially in financial services or tech fields. It's not unsual to see 130-200k for more senior level marketing people, that's the area that I focus in, and to give you a sampling of my current searches, an advertising programs manager, to 150k, e-mail marketing director to 130k, search engine marketing manager to 130k, marketing programs manager to 130k, director of product marketing to 140k. Good luck, Pam |
| PatriciaJ11 | Posted – 3/28/2008 6:54:56 PM | show profile | email poster what you will regret more? a very wise person once suggested to me a way of clearing the mind when trying to make hard choices. One is to realize that you cannot see the future. So deal with shorter time spans. I don't know much in this area but I know how difficult choices can be and how working all the time during your prime years, without pay or adequate pay, and looking back after giving your prime years and then having to start all over again, with a bruised body and tired mind - a wise person said, ask each day what will you regret doing? And also apply this to your choices in jobs, and your choices in moving and taking chances. Will you regret that you did not do something, and how much? So how much will you regret not giving it another year, or how much will you regret not seeking something else? Sometimes it is easier to feel our sould through regret, than through the material or pay or other choices. Regret speaks of the soul, of your passion, but keep your head about you. You do need a life. Not having a life you will regret after a while. I always write too much - like Obama (whom I like) seems to have overly long explanations on any question. A character flaw I guess. But I would have regretted if I had not passed this little possibly helpful hint on to you, from the Far East. Patricia ------ PatriciaJ11 |
| Louisewasnothalfbad | Posted – 3/28/2008 10:45:45 PM | show profile Why not try for national news? Local is always going to pay nothing, but even in the days of cut backs, national pays better and is more interesting. (Note: lose the "hot-headed grew up in projects" routine, so cliched and will not help you in PR, marketing, or network.) Or else transition to production work (not post-production house--that's not where broadcast tv is made) in documentary, reality, semi-reality, etc. The skills are pretty much the same: find story, book it, shoot it, cut it, deliver. |
| poisenrogue | Posted – 3/29/2008 9:53:49 AM | show profile thanks All the suggestions were great. Thanks so much. To Kate 23: You don't just lose "hot-headed," growing up hard makes you hard. But as I am a very polite, respectful person because of my childhood envirnoment, that doesn't stop my heart from racing and my blood pressure from rising when someone is completely disrespectful to me. So, my point is: I dealt with customers for 10 years, and my current co-workers make me feel worse the the people I was serving food and drink to. It may not be the environment for me. Thanks again everyone. |
| Upward Bound | Posted – 3/29/2008 2:23:09 PM | show profile poisenrogue, I agree with you that you can't just lose the hot-headed part of your persona with a snap of the fingers. And I understand that you are a product of your upbringing, but there's always room for change. Stress does some horrible things to the body and can take years off your life. Your blood pressure will thank you. I suggest looking into some stress-management techniques. Whether it's meditation, therapy or simply counting to 10 when someone rubs you the wrong way, it'll become habit if you stick with it. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 3/29/2008 11:01:01 PM | show profile I know someone whose makeup (blood pressure, hormones, upbringing, temperament, whatever) make it impossible for her NOT to fly off the handle or take offense at any slights. Every media worksite she's been at she gets a bad rep quickly for this reason. I feel bad for her because I truly believe it's more than a simple matter of choice for her. It seems like biological inevitability -- it's like her blood literally boils. |
