Why do you want to be a journalist?

Before planning a career in journalism or spending heaps of money training to be a journalist you need to ask yourself, "why?" 

Journalism isn't a job that you do until something else comes along. It is a career, a job that people tend to want to do long-term if not for life.

However, just like nursing or being a teacher, journalism is very much a vocational career and more a labour of love than a labour to get rich in some glamorous environment akin to the fictional newspapers where super-hero film characters work.

This is why it is really important that you think about why you want to be a journalist before you start planning a career in the profession. 

If you want to be a journalist because you want to write ask yourself, “is this the only job I could do with great writing skills?” 

Have you got good reporting skills to match your good writing skills or are you more interested in just writing rather than finding news?

If you want to earn big bucks, forget journalism. Most journalists are paid peanuts and even at editor level the pay for many is not equivalent to that of the CEO of a private company.

Likewise, if you’re looking for an easy-going 9-5 job, you will be sadly mistaken if you think you’ll find this in journalism, even as a trainee on your local newspaper.

Being a journalist will often require you working in a pressure-cooker environment, juggling a zillion tasks at the same time and often working unsociable hours especially if a news story breaks.

The journalism industry itself can also be fairly hard and unforgiving place too as most news organisations are owned by multi-national conglomerates headed by shareholders who still want their ‘pound of flesh’ however bleak the economic climate might be outside.

Hence journalism has seen many staff layoffs since late 2008 when the global recession started and the journalists who remain have largely been landed with more work to do for very little reward, financially or otherwise. 

For these reasons and more you should be really clued up on all aspects of being a journalist before considering a career as a reporter.

I went into the profession because I was passionate about justice. Even now I hate to see the innocent wronged while the guilty get off scot-free. That is what led me to be a journalist and thankfully in my time as a reporter I have been able to expose some unscrupulous people and practises. 

It is also pleasing to know that many of my stories gave much needed exposure to charitable causes and helped raise vital funds.

What I didn’t anticipate however, was how financially strapped I would be and how many long hours I’d have to do for no extra pay, just time in lieu. Time that I often never found time to take. 

Being the single parent of a young daughter at the same time as being a journalist was often a nightmare too as it was generally really difficult to get that good work/life balance.

So if you have children, even if you have a partner, the demands of the profession are something you really need to think about before making a decision to become a journalist.

But if you do want to be a journalist, think you have what it takes and wouldn't mind putting in the hours for a salary that is not so great, then there are many upsides to being a journalist that go beyond the negatives.

Just enter the profession wisely, that's all, with your eyes wide open and clued up on the advantages and disadvantages of being a journalist. See this post for a quick run through of the pros and cons.