| Topic Name: |
Publishing to....what? |
| Message Name: |
There's Hope. |
| Date Posted: |
07/13/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I've been in publishing for 7 years, in various writing/editing positions. Only the first job was satisfying, mountains of work, incredible opportunities, but next-to-nothing pay and no benefits. Since then, I've averaged a new job every 18 months. My salary goes up, but responsibility drops. It sounds great, but I feel like I'll never get ahead if I'm not building on my skills or learning new ones. Each job promises me the world--yet I end up bored out of my mind.
I've thought about changing careers, but have no clue what to get into! When I take career tests, they usually point me back to publishing (UGH!) Have others faced this problem? Has anyone out there successful changed careers from publishing?
Thanks!!
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| Message: |
Hi Kclume.
I was in publishing four about 3 years plus interned at New Yorker mag for two summers during college. I consider myself literary, and like a lot of folks in publishing, am also a writer.
In any case, I think publishing as a communications field offers alot of promise and opportunity for your next career in terms of skills to offer. Focus your desire for something new and give it a try via classes at night and online & bookstore research. Hang out in the B&N cafe and talk to yourself on paper. Don't censor it and you'll find some interesting stuff that comes up.
Draft a succinct & focused mission statement for yourself to help you keep your eyes on the prize. Talk to people, alumni network, friends, everyone. And finally: while it seems like a lot of work, consider this: you're constructing a *vision* of your life for yourself. In general, it's a a rare and intensely valuable thing to do.
The process is arduous but it's one's life and it's well worth it. I think what's great about having been in publishing is that there's a real power in reading (which we obviously excel at), in accessing the minds out there on paper, and in research. Personally, I look for mentors and stories out there (they exist) that inspire me and tell me that what I'm thinking is not unusual. Otherwise, there's nothing else to rely on but job mythology and well meaning, but ultimately uninformed voodoo like thinking.
Personally, I think the career tests don't tell the complete story. I found talking to a career counseler one on one v helpful.
I personally had to test the waters and found the process both incredibly stimulating and also arduous and tests your capacity for mental bungee jumping and taking risks (i.e. a pain in the butt). I'm embarking on a path now that seems unrelated to publishing but I have learned quite a bit and have made a 10 year plan of it. I haven't been this excited by life for a while. Let's see where it goes.
Sorry for the length. Very best of luck to you. I hope you find what you're looking for.
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