Frustration -- a newbie's rant

Sanvean · **Posted:** Tue May 07, 2002 4:16 pm

I hope this isn't out of line for a relative newcomer who mostly just lurks, but I might pop if I don't talk about this, and to someone who understands.I've lately had a sinking feeling that I've chosen the wrong career -- or at least the wrong job. I've been a features copy editor for a largish Midwestern paper (Gannett-owned) since I graduated from college four years ago. I don't work nights, weekends or holidays, and I make a decent salary with so-so benefits.I know this is a sweet deal, but I hate it here.I swear the other three copy editors on my desk hardly read the stories they edit. (I have to believe this, because they miss so much that the only other option is that they're brain-damaged.) My editor is a nice guy but a terrible manager: I get almost no feedback (other than the very occasional "good hed" or "I rewrote that cutline"), and while he's a very accomplished copy editor himself, he has yet to share any of that knowledge with me.I'm bored and I'm stagnating. I doubt my skills have improved since I was in college -- in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were worse now. I've been trying to read books on copy editing and stay in touch with other copy editors online, but I find that it's very tough to improve my work when I get no outside feedback.And despite the vitriol I'm spewing, I'm normally a fairly positive person. I take feedback well, and I think I'm an easy person to work with.The obvious answer here would be, "Go to another paper," but my fiance has a great job in this city, and our families are both nearby. I feel trapped and miserable. And unless I want to move, which I don't, I feel like my only option is to leave journalism and do something else.Anyone have any advice for a copy editor who loves what she does but hates where she does it?[ May 07, 2002: Message edited by: Sanvean ]

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue May 07, 2002 4:44 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Sanvean:
I've been a features copy editor for a largish Midwestern paper (Gannett-owned) since I graduated from college four years ago. I don't work nights, weekends or holidays, and I make a decent salary with so-so benefits. ... I'm bored and I'm stagnating.
<hr></blockquote>Four years of working on the features copy desk of just about any U.S. newspaper would be enough to bore anyone. Have you considered working on the real copy desk? It involves working nights, but that's part of the allure.

Sanvean · **Posted:** Tue May 07, 2002 5:17 pm

Are you implying I'm on a fake copy desk? *grin*I have considered working the news copy desk, but the sad fact is that I'm just not a night owl. I've never been able to stay awake much past 10 or 11 p.m. It would also be tough working opposite hours from my fiance, and I hate the thought of spending holidays away from him and my family.See...this is what happens to spoiled copy editors who land cushy daytime jobs right out of J-school: I can't even bear the thought of working regular copy editors' hours. Pathetic.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Tue May 07, 2002 8:55 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Sanvean:
I've never been able to stay awake much past 10 or 11 p.m. It would also be tough working opposite hours from my fiance, and I hate the thought of spending holidays away from him and my family.<hr></blockquote>You're not leaving yourself many options. Would it help to point out that holidays spent with the family are vastly overrated?[ May 07, 2002: Message edited by: blanp ]

tommangan · **Posted:** Tue May 07, 2002 11:17 pm

If your fiancee has such a great job, quit yours and live off her income. If she loves you she'll want you to be happy. I'm absolutely serious. Find something else profitable to do with your time. Freelance, write, research, go back to school ... This means you'll have to do the cooking and cleaning, but it won't kill you. Staying on a job you hate is the worst sort of hell. I've worked on features copy desks for seven of the last eight years, but I haven't done ONLY editing. It's been mostly design, layout and production, all of which are a ton more fun than bangign out cute headlines and reading empty-headed celebrity profiles for 40 hours a week. I'd rather read the community bulletin board, at least I know I'm performing a vital public service. I don't think the excitement of working nights is worth the tradeoff in your social life.

Sanvean · **Posted:** Wed May 08, 2002 7:48 am

Blanp: Heh. I'm actually rather fond of the dysfunctional little clan, wouldn't you know?Tom: I'm the girl -- my fiance's the guy ;) (And I do the cooking and cleaning as it is, natch.) Normally, we would be able to live off his income alone, but we're buying a house and planning our wedding.Thanks for the ideas, guys. More than anything, I think I just needed to let out a primal scream. I'll probably stick it out for another couple of years till he's making more dough, then go back to school or freelance.[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: Sanvean ]

pampellfw · **Joined:** Thu Apr 25, 2002 12:01 am **Posts:** 38

Another thought: You're getting married, you're planning a wedding and buying a house ... Is it possible there are children in your future?I'm an ex-copy editor (12 years in Features, about 9 on various news desks) who is now doing PR for a nonprofit social service agency. Even though I had ample sick leave at the newspaper, there was immense peer/boss pressure not to take any. The difference between that and the "real" world where taking time off -- for illness, for a sick child, for vacations -- is taken for granted is amazing. The pay isn't quite what it was on the newspaper, but I do get paid Friday afternoons off all summer, as do all my coworkers. And if the entire city is closed by a snowstorm, we get a day off, too. You might find in the upcoming years that your priorities change. And you might want to find a job that allows you to use your skills -- editing, writing, analyzing information, whatever -- at a place that's not a newspaper. Being a working mom is hard enough -- being a working mom at a newspaper is next to impossible, unless you're so talented and have a special little niche so that you can write your own ticket. (And let's not even talk about being a working mom on the NEWS desk working nights. Someone's got to be home to read those bedtime stories, and why should your husband have all the fun?) I agree, there's a difference between newspaper people and the rest of the world. And I still miss the free exchange of ideas. But it doesn't sound like you have a lot of that at your place anyway. If it's important to you to stay where you are, geographically, (and you have lots of good reasons to think so), don't limit yourself to a newspaper. There are lots of other opportunities out there.

Sanvean · **Posted:** Wed May 08, 2002 10:40 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by pampellfw:
Another thought: You're getting married, you're planning a wedding and buying a house ... Is it possible there are children in your future?<hr></blockquote>Yes, we do plan to start having kids in four or five years. :) I'm hoping I'll be able to stay home with them, then go back to college once they're in school.I was hoping I could stick things out at my job until we're ready for a family, but frankly, I don't think I can. We live in the state capital, so I'm investigating state jobs in communications right now.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Wed May 08, 2002 11:18 am

whatever you do, Sanvean, don't limit yourself to a rigidly defined career compartment or to a spot on a map. now is the time when you have the freedom to do whatever you want. as time goes on and your personal commitments deepen, you'll feel like you have less mobility, fewer options; and thus you will only feel more trapped. and i can personally assure you that there is life (and work) outside of daily corporate journalism. have you thought about teaching?good luck.

jjmoney62 · **Posted:** Wed May 08, 2002 12:32 pm

And one more thing. Your future spouse needs to be as flexible as you are. Sure his job is great (tho have you checked with him lately?), but you probably thought yours was great a couple of years ago, too. You're in the Midwest. Have you considered Chicago? You might soon have the resume to apply to one of the three strong papers here, and whatever your fiance does, they probably do that in Chicago, too. It's a big town. Family members would come visit you.And while there is life after newspapers, there also are better papers (and chains) than the one you are at, and you don't want to stick around amid mediocrity for much longer. It's not healthy. You're not stuck at that paper; you have options and you control your future.[ May 08, 2002: Message edited by: jjmoney62 ]

del stone · **Posted:** Wed May 08, 2002 10:08 pm

Talk to your editor. Tell him you need access to his talent and skill. Ask for an hour of one-on-one each week -- even half an hour. If the answer is still no, start looking. Unhappiness on the job can be The Great Destroyer, ruining careers, relationships, and idealism.

tommangan · **Posted:** Thu May 09, 2002 9:55 am

Sanvean: sorry about the gender thing. And the housekeeping. I wonder if you're buying your house based on both incomes. If you are, you're stuck. So many people think they have to have a big house and big wedding, nice cars and entertainment systems, expensive dinners on the town twice a week, etc., and then wonder why they feel trapped. I'm not saying this is you, of course, just offering thoughts to munch upon.

mcjones75 · **Posted:** Thu May 09, 2002 4:23 pm

Have you been reading the same sections for four years? Have you tried switching some of your duties with your coworkers? A little variety might help... to that end, does the sports or night desk ever want some occasional help during busy seasons? (I'm on the features desk, which I love, but when football season rolls around the sports guys let me help -- it's such a joy to get out of the rut, even for a little while. And it's great to actually work on a tight deadline. Sometimes.)But if it's your coworkers that are really bumming you out... how long til they leave or retire? It's journalism, for crying out loud, people aren't supposed to be lifers.One last thing... with family around, a wedding and house-buying coming up... take a vacation. Get out of town.

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Frustration -- a newbie's rant

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