Q. I am a recent journalism graduate and have been looking for a job since before graduation. After having been rejected from several jobs already I'm a bit down in spirits. The upside, though, is that really none of the jobs I've been rejected for are perfectly down my aisle -- they're not distinctly print journalism, which is what I'm looking for.
Finally, I've found an opening at a local weekly paper where I could be covering the education beat as well as some local government. The best, and worst, part is that it's a very small operation. The good thing is I'd get a lot of clips and also have the chance to do page layout and headline writing, as well as some Web site management, all of which I love. The awful part of the operation being so small is that it doesn't offer health insurance.
I'm expecting an offer from the paper this week, but the pay rate that the editor threw out in the interview was $9.50 an hour. I had crunched $10 to $12 an hour before I went in to see if I could make my budget work, and $10 was the absolute least I could do. That didn't account for having to pay for my own insurance, which I absolutely cannot do without.
I see this as potentially a good place to jump-start my career, but without getting a part-time job I literally could not afford to do it. Plus, with covering night meetings, a part-time job might not be the easiest to come by. Not to mention that if I'm working nights for the paper I don't really want my weekends taken up by work, too.
So the question is: If this offer doesn't end up being any higher than $9.50, or even $10, should I accept the job? I'm afraid that if I don't, I'm not going to find anything better since many papers in the area are under a hiring freeze. Also, I'd accept it without hesitation, except I'd have to sign a non-compete contract if I do. That lasts one year from when you leave. I'm just afraid that if I find I really can't swing what they're paying me then I'd have to move in order to find a new job, and I have no interest in doing that for at least a year from now.
Broke and Confused
A. This sounds like a great job -- not. The assignments are rich, varied and plentiful, but the key to success is to have a job that is challenging and fun. You will no doubt be challenged, but, in your words, "$10 was the absolute least I could do. That didn't account for having to pay for my own insurance which I absolutely cannot do without."
Figure in what health insurance will cost you and see what your minimum is. If the paper won't meet it, keep looking. The non-compete clause here, on a $10-an-hour job, is cheeky. I can see you not being allowed to work for competitors, but being barred from moving to local competitors is asking too much of someone working for so little.
Accepting a job that requires you to keep up a second job just to survive -- and that does not allow you to move to other papers in the area -- sounds like a trap.
Take heart in the fact that someone wants to hire you. And keep looking.
Take a closer look at that noncompete. A lot of...
