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Q. I'm a 23-year-old college graduate (BA in English, minors in economics and psychology from Connecticut College, Cum Laude) with about two years experience writing and editing for my college's weekly paper (everything from columns on the Red Sox to interviewing our school's varsity teams to editing political writings).

In other related experience, I interned for NESN (the New England Sports Network, responsible for broadcasting Red Sox and Bruins games, as well as many original shows) for four months during the summer between my junior and senior years. In addition, I've taken several classes dealing with coaching theory and contemporary issues in sports that I believe have contributed significantly to my understanding and appreciation of sports journalism.

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I'm very ambitious and have high hopes for my employment prospects, but I am also realistic and realize that you must 'start small' in journalism (especially sports journalism in and around Boston). I've been researching jobs for the past month and was wondering if you could instruct me as to what you feel would be appropriate in terms of a starting position and salary. Basically, I'm willing to begin in a freelance role for a larger company (with holdings in many smaller community newspapers) if it will eventually lead to a full-time position in a reasonable period of time, but would I be "selling low" or "settling" if that were the course I took? Would, say, an editorial assistant position at a slightly smaller paper be a better route? What are your thoughts?

Thanks for all your help.

Chris

A. I can't speculate on wages, but I have a few thoughts on a route to take.

I'd sooner see you go for a full-time position at a small paper, than as a freelancer at a big one or an editorial assistant at a medium-size one. Freelancing brings you no benefits, no steady wages and a pack of extra duties such as pitching and invoicing. You would enjoy doing some writing, but you would likely have a tough time crossing from freelance to full time. Being an assistant at a large paper can lock you into a non-writing or low-writing position from which there would be no advancement.

Joe Grimm

Better to get a full-time job, even at a small, suburban paper, where you could write -- a lot. I'd wring everything I could out of that position, covering a wide range of subjects and developing a unique voice, perhaps by using what you know and learning through coaching. I'd use this job as a catapult to a better one.

All this said, I think this will be difficult. A couple years of work on your university's weekly and an internship is not a lot of experience to work with. I'd still try for this, but I would be looking at some pretty small suburban papers. I'd hope for a daily, but you might be looking at a weekly with the prospect of jumping to a daily after you have more experience.

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Coming Thursday: His paper is nowhere digitally, and he wants to go places. He wonders how he can get started on his own with a credible, journalistic blog.

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