Go for new city or stay?

Q: I graduated college three months ago and got my first job working as a reporter about a month ago at a 21,000-circ. daily. I love it so far and can definitely tell I'll get some good clips here that would enable me to start looking for a job at a bigger newspaper in about a year. However, I'm already being faced with a situation I knew I would come to eventually. My significant other has been given a job offer that's too good to turn down, and he has the option of moving in about a year from now -- but he has to let them know in four months where to. It's a little hard to coordinate a job search within those time constraints, especially because I know most newspapers rarely start looking to fill positions six months ahead of time. So here's my question: What happens if you move for personal reasons and can't find a job in journalism where you're at? Every time I imagine thinking of working in another field, I get sad and depressed. I also have high goals for myself and know that taking a break from journalism can hurt me big time. What can I do to ensure that even if I do have to move to a specific area, thus greatly limiting the number of newspapers I can apply to, I can stay in journalism?

We do have the option of staying where we're at -- it just means I would have to stay on at my current newspaper about two or three years longer than I wanted to. Should I stay and keep the security of a job in journalism, or should I take the plunge and hope I can get another job? (I do have one big bonus on my side -- I have a lot of experience with online reporting.)

Teresa

A: I wish I could give you an easy answer.

It is clear that you love what you're doing, and there's a lot to be said for that. I would get in to see the newspaper in the other city or cities, to get an idea whether the newsroom culture there is as good as the one you're in. See whether there might be more than one paper you could jump too. Ask the editors what you would need to do to move into position there. With that additional information, you'll be better prepared to make a good decision. You like being a reporter. Use your reporting skills to make your choice.

Comments

[Candy]

My question is ... if you were happy why was your SO looking? You should stay in your first job from college for at least a year, to get needed experience -- even for online work. And since you love it there, it should be no problem.

I think you should focus on your career and have your SO be supportive of you, too, rather than the other way around. That may be rather personal, but it's how I've always done it. It's lovely to be supportive of your SO, but they should also be supportive of your needs, too.

[Tai]

Teresa will have that one magic year of experience by the time her SO moves. She sounds dedicated to her career but also to her SO. Staying together with someone means you make sacrifices, including your work locale.

Teresa's first job sounds great, but it's not a dream job like her SO's. It's a first job. She also doesn't have to leave right away.

Even if she has to freelance for a while, Teresa will find a way to keep her career. And if she doesn't, then perhaps her SO will have a transfer to make.

[Candy]

I don't buy that. Both partners in a relationship are equal and I certainly wouldn't call her job "a first job" and his "a dream job," she never said anything of the kind. Being a place you really like as a journalist is a great thing, don't underestimate that...ever. Personally, I've had SOs and some come and go, so basing your decisions on their activities at a young age isn't the best decision in my opinion.

When you're married with two kids, then it's a whole different ball game.

A: You're right, of course, that neither the he or the she is necessarily the first job -- either from the employer's point of view, or for the people in the relationship. And in many couples, people take turns deciding who gets to determine the next move, so "first job" gets handed back and forth.

Predicting future behavior on past behavior is not a science -- and people do change -- but people seem to more often act in ways similar to the ways they have in the past rather than to act in opposite ways.