Every now and then I get email from students asking me for advice about working in my field. I had a lot to say this time around, so I’m posting my entire response here.
“I think becoming a journalist would be a perfect dream for me to pursue. I was just wondering if you could share the path you have taken to achieve your goals and dreams. Clearly picking a career is a very significant step in your life and I just want advice from the best in the game. Thanks!!!! —Derick”
Hi Derick,
Thanks so much for writing to me! It’s awesome that you know what you want to do with your life already. In my opinion, that’s the most difficult step.
Since you asked about what I’ve done in particular, I’ll give you some advice that, in my experience, has been exceedingly helpful. However, I don’t think that my career path is the only—or even the best—way to become a professional journalist.
Learn to write like a journalist
People can be born writers, but there are no born journalists.
Journalism is a form of technical writing with specific elements that must be learned. I was an English major in college, but the journalism courses I took there and in graduate school were like learning to write all over again in a different style. Writing for journalism is so dramatically different because its purpose is so different—to be as informative and transparent as possible.
Also, (you knew this was coming,) it’s important to get the foundations down first in the form of spelling and grammar. Sometimes people ask me why I continue to think this is so important when reporters have spell-check and editors to look things over. The truth is, good spelling and grammar make you a faster writer. When you second guess the spelling of every word while at the same time focusing on writing an informative article, it slows you down.
Learn to code
When I was 13, I wrote in my diary that when I grew up, I either wanted to be a journalist or a computer programmer. I’m really lucky I picked that backup career.
Starting in HTML4 and moving to CSS and JavaScript in high school and college, I’m completely self taught but still considered competent enough to teach college courses on the subject. I wouldn’t recommend teaching yourself how to write like a journalist, but I am of the definite opinion that there are enough resources online for you to learn code the way I did.
Looking back, I’m glad I learned about this foundation of the Internet, which is both the location and topic of my reporting. Even now that the Web has gotten so much more user friendly, I think it’s important for Web journalists to become familiar with the place they practice their craft.
Don’t give up
It’s no secret to anyone who’s been reading my blog for awhile that my career path has not been glamorous. After I got my masters degree in journalism, my first job out of school was folding towels at a gym. I had such a hard time finding a not-minimum-wage job, I created a Tumblr where I applied to 30 jobs in 30 days. I worked on contract as a Web developer for a while after that. It wasn’t until a year after I graduated that I got hired by the Daily Dot.
What worked for me? I never stopped writing in my blog that entire time. Even though my career seemed to be directionless, I continued to write about the topics I hoped to one day be hired to write about. As I’ve written before, you can make your own luck. I put myself out there enough and eventually won Susannah Breslin’s contest for female journalists, which caught the attention of my current employer, which brought me to where I am now.
Even now, I never underestimate the potential of Trying Really Hard. When I wanted to write an article for CNN, I pitched the editor over and over again for weeks before she responded and asked me to write about something. It was draining, and I worried about being obnoxious, but it did work.
Granted, the country is mostly out of the recession it was in back when I graduated, but I imagine that means now, my techniques would just have faster results. Keep up your stamina. Keep tossing things against the wall until something sticks.
That’s my story. Now work hard and write me back with yours!
Best,
Lauren