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I mean for my particular situation, which I will provide in some detail below.
I have a ton of student debt (talking 6 figures) and the only way it seems doable to ever pay back is if I make substantially more. On the plus side I have a masters degree in journalism from an ivy league school and have an undergraduate degree in journalism/film studies. On the negative side I work outside of this field. I have worked as a mental health counselor for about three years now, but the pay is less than $30,000 a year (just slightly). I haven't worked in journalism/film studies really at all as far as full-time employment goes. I need to start taking serious steps to make substantially more now as that interest just keeps piling and piling (At least they are all low interest loans, but still). Also, I'm in the NJ/NY area if that helps.
So given my credentials what are some steps I can take to work toward that $60,000 a year goal? I'm open to working in whatever field, but preferably one my credentials help out with as they have to count for SOMETHING. Anyway, any thoughts? Thank you in advance to anyone who gives a thoughtful reply.
Work on Maine lobster boats in the Summer and on Alaskan crab boats in the Winter. Hard work but big money if you stick with it. You won't get a full share of the profits in the first year.
You can blog about your experiences, that way that journalism degree may be good for something.
Aside from the physical labor jobs, could you not blog about what you see in NY with the mental health aspect? It won't make money on the blog but could lead into a journalism job if you get enough people reading it and liking how you write
it just doesn't make sense to me, people go to college and end up not figuring out how to use what they learn to turn it into a career? Journalism isn't impossible to get into, learn how to get into it even if you have to do it in the basement on the weekends, get creative... thought journalists learned to spin things in a new light?
Public Relations seems to be the best fit given your background. However, don't expect to walk into your first job making $60K or more. You'll have to get some experience and work your way up.
I'll second the PR route, the friends of mine that were newspaper or TV reporters went that direction. Know one guy that got hired by the Forest Service of all places to be their PR person for a National Forest in the rural northwest. Probably makes around $60,000, lives in a low COL area and because he is now a government employee can get a portion of his student loans forgiven.
Did you ever consider not going six figures in debt for a journalism degree?
Your internships and Ivy League job placement center and alumni network haven't helped you out?
Perhaps marketing or PR/communication will grow into a well paying job, but you will start out not making a lot of money.
I knew a guy years ago who had a Liberal Arts graduate degree; he became a pharmaceutical sales rep and made some decent coin. I have no idea what the job outlook is for this career.
Is there any journalism free lance work you can do to get your name out there and get some job related experience. Have you tried to publish anything in a job related professional journal?
Last edited by joe from dayton; 10-06-2014 at 10:28 AM..
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