Stress, coffee and newspapers

by Philippa Gerrard

According to a report by CareerCast, journalism is ranked as the fifth worst job to have in this financial year. It ranks being a reporter for magazine, newspaper or television companies even lower than being a dishwasher, and only slightly higher than putting your life on the line every day in the armed forces. They are swift to blame the combination of high stress and scarce career opportunities.

Inadvertently, the survey does highlight some truths about journalism: salaries can be low, hours can be long, erratic and inconsistent, and yes, there probably are too few jobs and too many people fighting for them. In addition to this, old jobs are being destroyed and replaced by modern alternatives, typically with little job security and requiring a radically different skill set.

However, there are some perks in amongst the gloom.

You are always learning. University is great. Each semester sees new lecturers, topics and friends – you can almost feel yourself getting smarter! Journalism as a profession is similar; you start out ignorant on a new story but within a few hours you become something of an expert.

Secondly, you are paid to read. In what other role are you expected to start the day reading a newspaper with a fresh cup of coffee? Most other jobs require you to do this before you arrive.

You meet interesting people. Inventors, policemen, lawyers, scientists, mothers and daughters can all make the news. You have full reign too over the questions – obnoxious or otherwise – that others may be too afraid to ask. You represent the people.

Oh, and as for the fabled “stress”? Most of it boils down to excitement. Submitting that final story, hitting the final few keystrokes just in time for a bulletin the whole newsroom is working towards is an adrenaline rush. Plenty of jobs in the world come with the prospect of unrelenting boredom, but this is not one of them.

Speaking of which, journalists get around. Not like that, but on a day-to-day basis, journalism is full of chances to escape the office. It could even be said that sitting at a screen all day is almost a sure-fire way of producing some truly terrible journalism. Reporters need to be out there discovering news, gathering information before anyone else – not something likely to happen while sat in front of a computer.

Even after all that, there is still the not insignificant matter of self-expression. What do presidential elections, Syrian uprisings and what you had for tea last night all have in common? The answer: They've all been blogged. From Prince Harry to Tom Cruise, anyone can write about the smallest details of their life. For better or worse, gone are the days of journalists being required to have twenty years experience behind them before being allowed to use the word “I”.

Maybe you have been convinced that journalism is the only real career path for the outspoken, restless mind, and that it is probably not, in fact, worth ranking below "bin man". Hopefully you have not. There are enough of us already trying to do it. Go and become a dishwasher instead.