Dear ralph2002,
There are many career choices for you, that might narrow down or widen
up depending on your education, experience, and abilities. I have
several suggestions for you. These are general, and based on the
information you gave in the question.
The first place to look for is to cross the lines, so to speak, and
become one of those who feed the journalists with the stuff they write
about. There are several different professions you can pursue within
this field. One is to become a Public Relations manager. Your work as
a PR (Public Relations) specialist can (but doesn't) have to be in the
field you wrote about when you were a journalist. Job description of a
PR specialist could be found in Xap.com
<http://www.xap.com/career/careerdetail/career27-3031.00.html> or on
"search for business schools.com"
<http://www.search4business-schools.com/career/prmanagers.asp> also
check out the book "Career Opportunities in Advertising and Public
Relations (Career Opportunities Series) by Shelly Field, Howard J.
Rubenstein" (Amazon.com link
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0816044910/ltc-political/002-5629955-5759257).
A similar job is as a spokesperson for a body. Sometimes, these
functions merge in a PR firm, sometimes the spokesman works for an
organisation (governmental, private, even some individuals). In any
case, these involve standing on the other side and "convincing"
journalists to adopt your version. Again, spokesmanship takes many
forms - from the political and business to entertainment and sports.
A speech writer and press secretaries, used mainly in the political
realm (but also in the private realm) is also a possibility. You use
your originality and writing skills to produce a speech.
A lobbyist is a similar job, that also involves "selling" ideas
(mainly in the political/business realm). This time, it would be
better to be familiar with the political organisations, and if
possible, also to take a practical course or a internship in the
field, if you're young enough.
And here we get to the top profession for writers who sell something -
advertising. The opportunities for writers in advertising spread from
copy-write, through jingle and slogan writing, and to commercial
script writing. The advertising field is relatively full of steady
jobs, if that's what you're looking for.
The entertainment field - becoming a screenwriter, a play-writer, etc.
- is very competitive and difficult to step into. However, if you're
very creative, you might find it as the perfect discipline for you.
There are also other - quiet bizarre - opportunities out there
regarding entertainment writing. For example, being a ghost writer, or
writing songs/poems/greetings for birthdays and other celebrations. I
even saw once an ad for someone who writes love letters for others. As
mentioned before, you'd have to be free-lance and fight for each job,
since its a very competitive field with very meager options.
You can choose to stay in the media business as an editor. This is
related to the reason you chose to leave the profession. If it is the
competitiveness, the type of people you work with and the deadlines, I
doubt if this would be good for you, but you should try it. There are
many jobs that are related to editing. For example, lectors, the
people who choose manuscripts in publishing houses, book editors, etc.
Another idea is to turn to education, formal or informal. That
includes teaching journalism, literature/English, English as a foreign
language, or creative writing. The later is very popular in private
venues such as community centres and less in high school and is
probably better for a person who likes writing himself.
A related field is research. Research can be done in a field you
specialised in as a journalist, or by getting an advanced degree (PhD)
and becoming involved in the academic field. It is not easy to find a
steady job as a researcher, but it is rewarding for those who like to
research.
A related job in the field is a fact checker, which is just what it
sounds like - you check facts that others have written and state your
opinion.
Further Reading
===============
Career Opportunities for Writers (Career Opportunities for Writers,
4th Ed)
by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Janet Frick (Editor)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/081604144X/ltc-political/002-5629955-5759257
The Metropolitan State College of Denver, CAREER OPPORTUNITIES WITH A
MAJOR IN ENGLISH <http://www.mscd.edu/~career/english.htm>
NBCjobs, "NBC Career Opportunities - How to be a TV Writer"
<http://www.nbcjobs.com/How_to_be_a_TV_Writer.html
Job Resources
=============
Freelance writing career opportunities and resources
<www.freelance-writing.net>
alt.business.career-opportunities -
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=alt.business.career-opportunities
Google Directory http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Industries/Publishing/Employment/
My search strategy searched for "career alternatives" and "career
change" for journalists and writers, as well as "career description"
for several posts.
I think that answers your question. However, if you need any further
clarifications, please let me know. |
