10 Things I Like About My Job

Because the country has the highest unemployment levels in more than a decade and media peeps are getting laid off left and right, I decided to let Thanksgiving come early to Lives of (Aspiring) Media Mavens. The following are 10 things I like about my current job - which we should all pray I have come November 24 (I'm serious):

10) It's a media job that pays!
If your college internship experiences consisted solely of investment banking, engineering or the like, you won't understand how major this detail is. But, if you have ever spent a summer putting in as many hours as one of those Wall Street kids (...ok, maybe not that many hours - but hey, working in a fashion closet involves manual labor!) and not gotten paid one dime for it, you can empathize.

9) It's a media job in the general area that I'd like to pursue (that pays).
So, if you took a glance at my resume, you'd quickly notice that most of my media experience is editorial. In fact, all of it leading up to summer 2008 is clip-worthy. Why? Probably because I didn't realize there was a whole other side to media management that could be attractive to me until I took my core classes the last three semesters of college. By then, I'd already invested seven years to preparing to be a professional reporter. As a result, I don't think any hiring manager has seriously considered me a strong candidate for any position other than one with a large writing/creative element. And based on quantifiable, documented non-academic experience they'd be correct. However, I'm glad someone finally gave me a chance to prove that I can do way more than churn out an inverted pyramid-style masterpiece.

8) I get to work in two mediums that I hadn't tried - TV and radio.
I've mentioned several times on the blog that I want to be a print publisher and editor; that has always been my goal. However, I don't want to be inflexible. But, much like my obstacle transitioning from church to state, I've had trouble convincing hr reps that I can understand TV lingo and not just print speak (ex. Nielsen viewership vs. Arbitron cume vs. ABC circulation - see what I mean?).

7) I'm given actual responsibility; what I do matters.


6) I get to live in New York City and find out more about it, through my job.

5) Most of my co-workers are friendly (in a New York kinda' way) and interesting people.

4) My manager is cool.

3) My actual work is interesting; I'm learning a lot.

2) I'm making connections that I can leverage latter.

1) Did I mention that it pays?