Q. I'm a recent college graduate working as a long-term intern at a solid, mid-size daily. I fit in with the staff, and my editors give me the chance to experiment and follow through with a lot of my own ideas. There are even rumors that I will be hired full-time in the spring.
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I'm still thinking of leaving, though, because of my personal situation. My girlfriend is in her first year of a two-year master's program a few hundred miles away. She's pretty miserable in her new city, and this long-distance thing isn't a cakewalk. We've talked about me moving closer since she started her fall term, and I tried to get a job in her area when we graduated, but I struck out.
Her degree means that she'll have to move to a major metropolitan area, likely Washington D.C., to get a job. We are going to compromise all that we can, but I will probably have to follow her because she will be making considerably more money. Still, it's a frightening market for me, and I am concerned that I will end up panhandling at the National Mall.
I would like to be close to my girlfriend, but what should I do to maximize my chances of getting hired in whatever market we will eventually move to? Should I tough it out and -- assuming the rumors are true -- stay at the paper I am working for now until she graduates? Would it hurt my chances by taking a job at paper closer to her for only a year, if that's even possible?
Thanks for any help,
Bound for the Smithsonian's steps?
A. You have laid out two options: Stay where you are until she graduates or move closer to her and then follow her to D.C.
Let me suggest a third: Get a job near D.C. as soon as you can.
You have tried to move to where she is and that does not seem fruitful. If you succeed, it will be only to move again. The place where you are living now does not seem to have long-term possibilities for your personal situation.
So, start looking for jobs in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area. Then, you will have to worry about one job -- hers -- when she graduates, and you will already be where you think she is most likely to land. If you can get to your target area now, you can get busy working your way up in that very competitive, but media-rich, market.
Coming Thursday: One of his best clips appeared with a bad subhead. He guesses he shouldn't just Photoshop it out but wonders about including a note about it.
