Job opportunities? (Opinions wanted) (Jackson, Hattiesburg: home, job market, to buy)

[brookhavennative]

Hello. Let me start this off by saying that I do my research well in advance before I make decisions. I'm one of those people that takes two weeks just to buy a new shirt.

For background info, I'm a 27 year old native of Brookhaven that has long-since moved away (About 16 years ago, still visit yearly), currently living in Arkansas. I graduated in 2010 with a degree in Middle Level Education from Arkansas Tech University and I will graduate this year with a degree in Journalism. I've written columns for the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, the Hattiesburg American, and the Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Greenville News (South Carolina).

I plan on sticking around for a little while and gaining some much needed experience at the local newspaper, but I'm thinking outside of that timeline right now. Would I be better off sticking with Arkansas instead of coming back to my home state for employment?

I'd like to start in the newspaper biz but break into public relations and communications, unless a good position with a newspaper comes along. How is the job market for that field in Miss? I'm interested in the top half of the state, so I'm close enough to home to visit but just far enough to discourage pop-ins, lol. Places like Oxford, Tupelo, Corinth, Starkville, etc are appealing.

Arkansas Tech is decently sized (11,000) and known in Arkansas, but I'm afraid I may not be able to compete with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss grads. In your honest opinions, am I barking up the wrong tree here?