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Download This Topic Previous topic Next topic	Taking on a second job?
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Yuri Victor

Contributing editor

Joined: 27 Oct 2004

Posts: 248

Location: Times of Northwest Indiana

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 10:39 am

Has anyone here taken on a second job while working in a newsroom?

If so, what did you do and how many hours did you work a week?

Also, how did you cope with a second job while maintaining the 80-90-hour newsroom work weeks?

Ernie Smith

VizEds Moderator

Joined: 03 Jul 2004

Posts: 726

Location: Linked in Norfolk, Va.

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:12 am

Whoa. 80-90 hour work weeks and a second job? I don't envy that situation one bit.

Have you considered doing some freelance work on the side?
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Ben Ramsden

Contributing editor

Joined: 08 Feb 2005

Posts: 125

Location: The Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minn.

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:17 pm

WOW!

80-90 hours a week is insane. If your not getting paid enough in overtime for that and need a second job, maybe you should reevaluate your first job.
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Yuri Victor

Contributing editor

Joined: 27 Oct 2004

Posts: 248

Location: Times of Northwest Indiana

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:37 pm

I do some freelance work, but I was looking for something a bit more consistent. I was wondering if anyone had had any luck with something.

And 80-90 hours a week isn't bad. I've worked more at other jobs. But, I'm salary, so the amount of hours isn't really an issue.

John Zhu

Maestro

Joined: 12 May 2004

Posts: 275

Location: Durham, NC

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 2:01 pm

Yuri Victor wrote::

And 80-90 hours a week isn't bad. I've worked more at other jobs. But, I'm salary, so the amount of hours isn't really an issue.

Not an issue for who? You or the paper? I'm sure the paper doesn't mind paying you a set salary and no OT and squeezing as many hours out of you as possible. But anyway, I'd usually say that the newspaper desk schedule (night shift) does make it easier to hold a second job during the day, but if you're working 80-90 hours a week, that's already more than two full-time jobs. I'm not sure how feasible it is to find another steady job that won't demand more hours than you have to give. I knew someone who worked desk and then went to be a night watchman, but his second job wasn't a 40-hour-a-week gig, and he certainly didn't work 80 hours in the newsroom.
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Yuri Victor

Contributing editor

Joined: 27 Oct 2004

Posts: 248

Location: Times of Northwest Indiana

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:03 pm

The paper doesn't force me to work so much.

This is probably the least amount I have ever worked. But, I work a lot because I like to work, I like journalism and I want to be the best.

I'm just looking to earn a little extra money on the side to help pay the bills.

John Zhu

Maestro

Joined: 12 May 2004

Posts: 275

Location: Durham, NC

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 3:56 pm

Oh, if it's up to you how many hours you work, then it's a different story. I'd say if you want a steady second income, cut back a bit on the newspaper hours. You'll rake in more money for those hours at the second job, and you'll increase the chances of staying sane.
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Let this be a lesson to you: Never Try.

Denise Covert

Maestro

Joined: 25 Jun 2005

Posts: 399

Location: Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 4:51 pm

Wow, um, I don't know where you'd find time for extra work, Yuri, but I have some other examples for people who work 40-some hours a week.

When I worked nights, I had a few co-workers who were substitute teachers during the day -- it gets you out in time for a 4 p.m. desk shift. Really, if you go to work at 4, or even 3, then your options are limited to teaching, overnights or "first shift" work. (7a-3p) I tried to work in an office but couldn't get the schedule right, I always had to leave too early.

Also, when I worked days I worked on Sundays as a choir director. I've also had paying church gigs where I sang -- Catholic churches near me, especially, would pay well for someone to sing a funeral, and their pool of talent that was available at 10 a.m. on a Wednesday was pretty slim.
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Autumn Heep

Contributing editor

Joined: 01 Apr 2006

Posts: 161

Location: Syracuse (Yes, we get a lot of snow), NY

Posted:
Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:56 pm

Back in the summer of 2004 I worked as a full-time intern at The P-S and kept one of my campus jobs part time. The other job was fine with me working like 8:30-2 so I could work a night shift at the paper. But even that wasn't 80 hours, it was about 65. It wasn't too big a deal because I knew it was temporary, and it was the summer, so I didn't have school work or anything.

The rest of that year I did work part-time at The P-S (20 hours), another 20 hours at a late night campus job and another 10-15 at the campus office job while taking 15 credits, etc. That was a bit hairy. But the two campus jobs were fairly lax and when there was down time I could do school work.

Do you know about Guru.com? I found it several months ago. I haven't done any freelance through them, but some interesting stuff comes up. And it would still be visuals and design so you'd still be honing those skills.
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Christopher Sabatini

Newbie

Joined: 17 Jan 2006

Posts: 3

Location: New York

Posted:
Tue Aug 28, 2007 6:42 am

For a while I was working in a newsroom as well as launching a magazine and my hours were close to 80 hours a week sometimes more. If you are going to subject yourself to that kind of strain is that you should make sure that you getting something more than money out of it. I was paid well but the experience was worth more than that.

It was/is a lot of work but so worth it if you find the right projects I even found that it inspired me to be more creative at both jobs.

My final suggestion is to pad you time, this is where I screwed myself, I projected that I could finish the second job by only working on it 6 hrs a day which meant going to bed at 1 am and getting up at 7 to make sure I was at job 1 on time or early. the thing I didnt factor was having to work late and thusly losing sleep. Make sure you factor in your personal life.

Not that you needed my life story, I hope this helps

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