I’ve been a member of the media for almost 25 years. Print, radio and television — I’ve spent more time in newsrooms than my living room. Throughout my career, I have often been asked to speak to groups of high school and college students who are looking to eventually start careers in newspapers, radio or television.
My advice is usually pretty simple. Become the best writer that you can. Don’t major in communications in college. Pick a major that will give a broad base of knowledge. I suggest English, history or political science. When it comes to jobs in the media, I always stress the importance of internships over high grades. I tell students to try and get as much real world experience as they can, even if it means that their studies might suffer a bit.
To me, this is boilerplate stuff. Ask anyone in the business and they’ll probably tell you the same things. The key, I tell youngsters, is what you do once you get your foot in the door. How can you move up the ladder in the media world?
In my personal experience there have been three keys: Never show up to work late. Never call in sick. Always ask for extra work and extra assignments.
Once you are known as a dependable, hard worker, good things will happen in your career. I then tell the students, try as hard as they can to live close to work. The closer you are to the office, the less likely you will be late, and the easier it will be for you to do extra work. The shorter your commute, the better your career can be.
For me, living close to work isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. My first traffic report every morning is at 4:30 a.m. This means I usually wake up at 3 a.m. My commute, depending on traffic lights, is usually between eight and 12 minutes. I’m never late. If I lived 30 to 40 minutes from the station it might be a different story.
I thought about this the other day when talking to a group of college kids, and I realized the same logic can be applied to any occupation. If you want to rise up the corporate ranks, or any career for that matter, the closer you live to work, the better your chances will be.
I understand that in this economy and job market, it’s not always feasible to live close to work. Sometimes you have to take whatever job is available, and commuting distance is not always something you can control.
That being said, if you are just entering the job market, I suggest finding a place to live that is close to work. Not only will you help alleviate traffic, it can also help your career.
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