Thats the thing about going into what you believe to be your dream job, it's hit or miss. Like Marmite. You're either going to love it or hate it. It's when you realize that you hate it that you are in trouble. Personally I know I have geared my entire education towards a career, not just a job, a career in journalism, particularly film journalism, and if it hadn't worked out I would have been at a loss for where to go and what to do next, I honestly can't think of anything else that I would want to do. Teach? work in a library? going into administrative work? because they are the only other options open to someone with a straight English Degree, it would have been o.k. if I had done a joint degree, English with Law or History or Politics, something more secure but I didn't, because I had no interest in doing anything else, I just wanted to do English so I am lucky in the sense that so far I like what I've seen of the inner working of the Journalism machine.
However, is there going to be a job for me? In todays economy I'm lucky to have a part-time job never-mind thinking about a full-time job, and at home in Belfast there aren't many opportunities for journalist. The Newspapers are the most lucrative outlets for journalistic expression we have very few other magazines, the Ulster Tater an AU are the only two that I can really think off and even at that they are a long way off from what I want to do. I suppose though they are opportunities I should look into, I mean practice makes perfect or at least thats what they say.
The simple fact is that in order to do what I want to do I am going to have to leave home, and that thought terrifies me, more so because I don't know where I would get the money. I think that is a communal concern given the dyer state of our economy, people are so concerned about where the next pay-cheque is coming from and how secure their job is that they aren't looking to hire new staff and in a career-path such as journalism the people that have jobs are keeping them and not looking to hire more writers or editors or graphic designers or photographers, but I live in hope that four or five years down the line I will be able to get a job, like most people in the world just hoping that things get better.
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