Aging journalism student worries about debt, future

June 13, 2007 7:48 AM

I'm a 25 year old journalism major riddled with major debt who has two years of school to go. How should I go about handling my debt situation and finishing school with the ultimate goal of becoming a successful print journalist? Furthermore, am I a fool to enter this field considering my rather unpleasant financial picture? Life advice, please.

For the past three years I've attended community college on a part-time basis as part of a journalism degree track. Due to my having spent a couple of years in the workforce after high school, I started college at the relatively late age of 22. In doing so, I've racked up considerable debt in the form of deferred Stafford loans and deferred private bank education loans to the tune of 35K+. On top of that, I have ~25K in credit card debt, (albeit generally on interest-free credit cards) with minimum monthly payments of ~400 total. Beyond making those payments, nearly all of the borrowing has been put toward housing and living expenses, considering that my tuition itself was quite affordable. I took part-time jobs here and there, but I also had an aversion to work and clearly lived beyond my means (though not to the point of any grand extravagance, I would argue). My father is the co-signer on my bank loans (which account for ~25K of above), and although he has offered to eventually help me pay them off, my parents had no college fund set aside for me and are by no means rich - upper-middle class might be a stretch. Thus I'm not sure to what extent I can count on this help as being realistic.

Moving up to the present day, I applied and was accepted as a transfer student at a large and fairly prestigious public university. The school accepted 52 credit hours from my community college, leaving me at least two years away from a bachelor's degree by my calculations, assuming I go full-time. Furthermore, I was not accepted into the journalism program proper, but rather into my second choice as an undeclared liberal arts major. Tuition will be covered by financial aid, leaving me with roughly the same amount of funds for living expenses as I got from the comm. college, but with a higher percentage of it coming from Stafford loans vs. grants. Thus, I sink deeper into the abyss of debt. I plan to trim back on housing costs and certainly get a part-time job, which I'm estimating will bring in $10-12/hr at best.

Beyond any general advice on my situation, some specific questions for your perusal:

1. Should I put bankruptcy on the table as a (terribly unpleasant) option for the credit card debt?
2. Writing is my one true passion - I've won awards for it and I spent two years writing and editing at my community college paper - but at what point should I consider the possibility that I may need to enter a more lucrative field, given my financial situation?
3. Lacking that, should I consider foregoing financial aid, working full-time and taking only one or two classes per semester (thereby dragging my degree plan out even longer)?
4. Or should I forget about writing and college for the time being and find the best paying full-time job I can to get the debt paid ASAP?

I guess the general theme is: to what extent should I be concerned about my level of debt, and how do I balance that concern against my desire to do something I love and the value of immersing myself in the intellectual and social environment of a university campus?

posted by anonymous to work & money (23 comments total)

1. No.

2. How much can you expect to make writing? It really depends on that. If writing is your dream, get a writing job and another part-timer to pay off your debt. Are you willing to make that sacrifice to be a writer (if necessary?)

3. I think this is the most reasonable option, although you'd be surprised how much you can work while taking a full load of classes. In my last 2 semesters of college I worked 35 hours a week while knocking out 35 credits; I was focused and my grades were better than ever during this period.

If I were you I'd learn to live on the bare minimum and NOT accumulate any more debt than is absolutely necessary.
posted by PFL at 8:00 AM on June 13, 2007

I don't think bankruptcy is a good option for you since they'd then go after your dad for the 25K that he's cosigned for. So, unless he plans to declare bankruptcy as well, that one's pretty much off the table.

Rather than wracking up additional debt, it's probably time to get over your aversion to work and try to find something steady that can pay some of your existing expenses. I worked and went to school at the same time. Lots of people have done that, so you can do it too.
posted by willnot at 8:00 AM on June 13, 2007

1. Do not file for bankruptcy.

2. Deal with the credit debt first. See a credit counselor.

3. Find out about writing work on and off campus and see if you can earn ~$18,000 a year from writing alone part time. This will help a lot, put as much money as possible into your credit debt.

4. Talk to your journalism professors about getting some part time work, it's important they know how dedicated you are to doing this. I know it's summer, but profs are paid a salary, so feel free to drop them an e-mail.
posted by parmanparman at 8:14 AM on June 13, 2007

Decide whether you think it's likely that you would go on to do graduate school. If so, you need to worry about your grades (and depending on your school, being a transfer student might affect your GPA if they only count local credits for GPA). If you do not think you will go to grad school (or if there are no scholarship opportunities tied to your grades), then learn to distinguish between what you need to learn from courses because it's important to your craft, and all the other mindless hoopjump work which does not contribute to your learning. Pick your courses by their workload (contact prof/dept for past course outlines). If you can focus on only what you need to learn, and skimp on all the other work (but get just passing grades), then this will make it more possible for you to work and go to school at the same time.

No bankruptcy. No more debt. Consider the time and energy needed to revamp your life an important contribution. I would think you should make enough to make some gains toward debt reduction and live off of, and then take as many courses as possible. You might consider at least 1 night course on your load to manage time. Don't drag it out.
posted by kch at 8:18 AM on June 13, 2007

Agree with the above but must add the painfully obvious... you seem to acknowledge at some level that should you get past the problems of not being accepted into the major you need to fulfill your 'passion', your career field is understood to be without significant financial reward.

Reminds me of my husband, who has a Master's Degree so he can be a teacher-- a field that pays him less than my administrative assistant. (Not knocking either profession, as they both work hard; it's just that she never finished her undergrad and yet outearns him.)

Perhaps you ought to accept the advice above and also consider making your "passion" something to pursue on the side as you develop a path to a career that uses the same skillset. I was the editor of my college paper and took a minor in journalism, but I am able to support my teacher to the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed as a director of marketing and business development, by way of an English major and grad degree in Communications from an inexpensive, directionally named state university.
posted by Arch1 at 8:25 AM on June 13, 2007

Writing is my one true passion - I've won awards for it and I spent two years writing and editing at my community college paper - but at what point should I consider the possibility that I may need to enter a more lucrative field, given my financial situation?

If writing, not journalism, is your one true passion, I think you should consider more lucrative writing careers. It's not uncommon for first-year reporters to make $23,000-$26,000 out of college. Some make more, but many make less. It will be real struggle to meet your debt obligations on that salary.

Would you consider a life in public relations or copy writing? Both are still writing-oriented, but pay and prospects are much better.

As a liberal arts raduate and current journalist, I must say that having a journalism major is not all that important if this is what you want to do, however. More important: write for your college paper, get a summer newspaper internship, go to journalism conferences, join the college chapter of SPJ, network, network, network. You get ahead in this business by doing good work, having great clips, and knowing the right people.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:27 AM on June 13, 2007

My SO is a journalist, and you should probably reconsider your lifestyle if you go into this field. If you have had a hard time living within your means in the past, being a journalist will not help.

My SO broke into the field by being an unpaid intern at a big-name NYC publication, and paid his expenses by bartending nights. Afterwards, when he was working at another well known publication in NYC, he made well under $30,000. That's HARD to live on in New York. Here in San Diego he makes more (since he's experienced), but it's still the same as my graduate student stipend.

He loves writing and reporting, so it's entirely worth it. But it hasn't been financially strenuous for us because we have little debt and are in general giant cheapskates. In your situation, I would figure out if you could make your monthly payments on a salary of $22-28,000 (best case scenario, probably).

If you can't, and you really want to be a journalist, it might be worth it to take a boring but well-paying job for a couple years, work really hard, pay down your debt, and then take that fabulous unpaid internship. And in the meantime, start a local blog - try to make a name for yourself.

Good luck!
posted by ilyanassa at 8:29 AM on June 13, 2007

Here's a page giving some information on writing jobs and salaries: http://www.bls.gov/k12/reading01.htm. Former students tell me that technical writing is the best paid job - and the quickest to find.
posted by media_itoku at 9:31 AM on June 13, 2007

I didn't make $30 K in journalism until I was 30, but now I'm very happy with what I make and what I do.

But when you say you want to be a successful PRINT journalist, what is your dream, exactly? Every newspaper I know of is laying off and downsizing and making its workers feel sick about the future. (Read Romenesko daily if you don't already.

Touch up your HTML and other online skills along with your writing. I'm biased because I work in online journalism, but that's where the jobs, and the better money, are. And you can still do what you think of as great journalism online, but you may have to forage your own trail. We all are in this field, every day.
posted by GaelFC at 9:40 AM on June 13, 2007

little reality check ...

25 is not old.
bankruptcy will stay with your credit report for way too long.
60k is not bad. I graduated with 135k debt and I know others who are years out and still will pay 1k each month for a very long time. it's the problem of our generation.

you have a gigantic advantage by being so passionate. do everything and anything to become the person you want to be and the right job will show up. everyone is worried about their future.
posted by krautland at 9:44 AM on June 13, 2007

krautland: You can't pay $1,000 per month on student loans when your take-home pay is $1,200 per month. I struggled to pay $200 per month in my first few years as a journalist with student loans.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 9:54 AM on June 13, 2007

I spent 6 years studying journalism/English/communications, was editor of student newspapers and magazines, had a portfolio stuffed with clips, won awards, interned at a magazine for two summers, but when I graduated, my best job prospect was a minimum wage job at a small-town daily with the prospect of "working my way up the ladder." This was so disheartening to me that I actually moved abroad and did temp work and traveled for two years. (Not saying this would happen to you, but just be aware of the state of the job market for entry-level employees in your chosen field).

When I came back, I tried to pick up other skills (web design primarily) in order to make myself more employable, and that combination ended up working much better than just journalism alone. Point is: if you are going to go to school to study writing/journalism, also pick up adjunct skills that will make you more appealing to potential employers in today's job market. (It pains me to sound so practical, but I found out the hard way that the accomplishments and skills I found valuable weren't necessarily the skills employers valued.)
posted by Otis at 10:08 AM on June 13, 2007

As others have said, the journalism major is not as important as getting work at the college paper, internships at local dailies and contacts in the industry.

The salary for a newspaper journalist in an average-sized paper not located on either coast is going to top out at about $40,000, so consider how you'll deal with your debt, which is, by any standard, very large, on that salary. Along with that, consider how future plans, such as buying a house or a car, will be affected by your monthly obligations to creditors.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 10:18 AM on June 13, 2007

I haven't thoroughly read all the advice here but I will nth the "do not file for bankruptcy" at 25 advice.

FWIW, I was a journalist for eight years ...and I will never regret having worked for $30K...although in my situation that only lasted a few years. By the time I was 25, I was making about $60K a year as a copy editor at a big-city paper. This was more than 10 years ago.
You should certainly consider learning to be a copy editor. You can always freelances as a writer while paying your bills this way. I often joke that if my business goes belly up, I could stand on the side of the road with a "Will copy edit for Food" sign and never go hungry.

I disagree that a life in journalism will relegate you to pauperville. So you have to have an extra job on the side for the first few years. (I taught at a high school journalism workshop for my side gig.) If in your heart of hearts, you want to be out there chronicling history, then that's what you should do. IMO, 25 is way too young to start compromising on your dreams.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 11:04 AM on June 13, 2007

Ditto everyone else. The degree isn't that important; I've been in journalism for 20 years and hired scads of people without J-school degrees. If you have a brain and a conscience you can do the job -- what you need is experience.
posted by futility closet at 11:29 AM on June 13, 2007

whatever you do, don't drop out of school. it's so hard to go back. i would, if you are facing debt, consider picking up a minor in some easily employable field (like in marketing or something). journalism jobs pay crap. you should definitely follow your dreams, but do have a backup in case there's a recession or your true love ends up getting a job in a podunk town with no job prospects for you. seriously. i'm having this problem myself!
posted by thinkingwoman at 11:44 AM on June 13, 2007

Ditto on getting a degree other thanJ-skul. They are overrated and I've known some editors who considered a journalism degree to be a negative. Also, unless you are really sure ink is in your blood, do something else. Times are bleak in print and getting bleaker.



GaelFC, can you email me?
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:19 PM on June 13, 2007

I've got three journalist friends. The one I consider the most brilliant has no bachelor's degree at all and works freelance for a pittance, although he could make more if he tried. He's gotten published in the New Yorker, NYTimes, you name it. Another has a middling J-school masters and not much work and scrapes by. Another has a very prestigious masters that he'll be paying off for another decade, but also has a prestigious job with a high salary that he never would have gotten without the masters.

So, it all depends. The one sure thing is that you should work on paying off the credit cards and learn to live more cheaply. My advice: check out all the self-help finance and budgeting books you can from the library and read them all over the course of a weekend, or just camp out in Barnse & Noble's personal finance aisle for a day. Even if you don't put any of the advice into practice right away, it'll get you started thinking more realistically about how you spend money.
posted by footnote at 2:24 PM on June 13, 2007

I don't know about financial advice, but things to consider if you really want to commit to journalism:

Journalism jobs do pay crap. Many times you come straight out of school making barely 20k a year (sometimes without benefits if you get some weird "part-time" gig). I don't know of many people who go into the journalism field with the expectation of making money. At least not immediately. I certainly didn't think I'd be raking it in once I graduated. So the important question first is: Are you OK with this? Some people have certain expectations about how much they should be making by the time they hit X age. I don't know what market you're looking to get into, but don't think you'll be going through the similar stages of buying a house and saving up for retirement based on a journalism job. Be ready to be disappointed while your friends with more "normal" jobs seem to follow the usual script in life.

Second. Start thinking what kind of print journalism are you looking to do? Newspaper? Most definitely expect to first find a job in some smaller market before working up towards a larger one. It totally depends on you, but not everyone straight out of J-school gets to write for the NYTimes. And think size. The larger or more famous the publication, more chances you'll start way lower on the rung for little or no pay. Maybe being an EA or glorified fact checker. Trade or consumer? For a trade you might have more of a chance of getting a better position/better pay/more writing. Sure, at some [super famous fashion mag] as an editorial assistant you're working at super famous fab mag, but there's a chance you'll be pouring coffee more than actually writing, but at a trade you might actually get to write a story or feature that isn't a little blurb even if you are writing about the particulars of an industry. Or are you going to freelance? That's a whole can of worms on its own.

I don't know about the hiring end, but as an older person coming in, a degree might be a good thing, but you're going to need to build experience. A degree is good and all, and maybe if you're connected and graduate from a good j-school you can get lucky with a starting position, but experience is still going to trump a good degree most of the time.

Something else to consider that was brought up earlier upthread. Do you like writing or do you like reporting and writing. There is a difference. Say you work at a weekly publication (or even a daily paper), do you think you can cut it working with tight deadlines and calling up leads all the time? Writing is part of it, but reporting is massive chunk of it. You'll be stuck at the office sometimes calling up 10 different people with the deadline being the next morning because even though you could've written this story 10 days ago you need just one more source because X publication requires Y amount and or Z type of sources per story. It'll differ with whatever situation you're in, but you'll have to think about this. For example, maybe you're not comfortable with writing something daily or even weekly.
posted by kkokkodalk at 2:31 PM on June 13, 2007

I studied writing/journalism in university. However, as I was going along, I realized I could make a lot more in other fields. I started doing some freelance writing and worked on building up a marketing portfolio. When I graduated, I targeted high tech marketing communications positions, since they seemed to pay the most (and I was interested). I worked my way up in marketing, while freelance writing on the side. In my first year of freelancing (as a side job), I made more than my friends who'd moved to tiny towns to work for small weeklies. By the time I was about 25, I'd published in major newspapers and had seen my stories on the covers of a couple of magazines (and scattered throughout other sections of magazines).

Eventually, I went into marketing consulting -- and that's what I do now. But I also do freelance writing. My friends who are journalists get paid about 1/4 of what I do when they get paid editing/writing rates as freelancers -- even when they do the same kind of writing.

So, what I'm trying to say is that you can go work at something more lucrative AND still be a journalist. You can also work at something more lucrative till you get some of your debt under control. If you're in your 20s, you can write for another 50 years. You might not start off as a hard-nosed investigative journalist, but at least you can keep building a credible clip file and pay off your debt. Then you can do whatever you want.
posted by acoutu at 5:19 PM on June 13, 2007

Oh, I meant to address your transfer to university. See if you can get accepted into paid co-op jobs, part-time positions and other work in a more lucrative field -- but one that will give you some portfolio pieces. You'll be in a better financial position.
posted by acoutu at 5:20 PM on June 13, 2007

Regarding question #2, I have a suggestion. Have you considered copywriting? Copywriting is a reasonably lucrative profession and it's not that hard to get into. A recent college grad can probably start at ~32k and the salary will go up from there. This career combines one of your true loves, writing, with marketing. At the entry level the work is probably less stimulating and less creative than journalism (in fact, some might say it's boring), but in a few years you can be bringing in $43k plus.

If you don't want to become a copywriter, you could freelance as one on the side to supplement your income. A great book to look into is Start & Run a Copywriting Business by Steve Slaunwhite. Even if you don't want to freelance full-time, this book gives a terrific overview of the type of work copywriters do and how to get started.

I think that you need to decide if you can put 120% into journalism. If you can do that, and can scrape by for a few years (is moving home an option? can you get a crazy-cheap rent situation?) than you might be able to make it. If not, there are probably other ways to make your degree pay off so you can pay off those loans.

Don't worry too much, many people are in the same debt-to-income ratio boat and are asking these same questions. It's the cost of education today.

Good luck!
posted by mintchip at 6:19 PM on August 6, 2007

P.S. I suggest finishing the degree. With a bachelor's you're likely to make MUCH more money than you could without one...and you'll have way more options. Just because your bachelor's is in journalism doesn't mean you have to become a journalist. Writing skills are highly desirable to employers.

There are lots of jobs that you can go into with a BA. Without one your options will be severely limited.
posted by mintchip at 6:23 PM on August 6, 2007