Therapists, teachers, journalists?

[newswoman13]

Okay, Cathe rock stars, I need to pick your beautiful brains!

I currently work in hard news production. It's too stressful for me (stomach aches, teeth grinding, constant anxiety), and I find myself more interested in women's studies, movement therapy and creative writing. In my free time, I volunteer for a nonprofit that raises awareness and prevention of eating disorders (www.edin-ga.org) -- having dealt with my own issues and seeing dozens and dozens of close family and friends struggling, I feel it's my mission to help raise awareness/prevention and rid the shame.

I struggle b/c part of me would like to stay in journalism to raise awareness to these stories (Women's interest and body issues), then again, I still have to deal with the load of crap of the daily grind of hard news -- where I am so not happy -- I can't do it all and prefer to work in the area of natural interest. I feel like taking it day by day, pitching stories, volunteering, and taking care of me will lead me in the right direction, but I am exploring other options.

I could see myself working in some sort of movement therapy -- I teach aerobics and have learned to encourage others to do it to feel strong, not to whittle down with the goal of becoming a Stepford wife! Yet, I still feel the need to use my voice in some form of reporting.

So, are any of you involved in the fields of Women's Studies or therapy or journalism? I know part of it is the journey and creating my niche. I'm just really frustrated with my current position and would like to carve out a path more -- Keep exploring options and staying open.

Let me know if you have suggestions or similar experiences! THANK YOUUUU!

 

[Boybert]

I am a clinical social worker specializing in families and children. I'm not working now as I am a SAHM but will get back into the field. This profession is certainly not known for being a lucrative field but it is what I love to do. You need to do what makes you feel fulfilled. To me this is the deciding factor


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"


Debbie

 

[chewy15]

Hello,

I currently work in university communications, but I also have worked for a couple of newspapers and a magazine. If I've learned anything from my career so far, it's that I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. Like you, I've found myself gravitating more toward health studies, so I'm working on the prerequisite courses I need to apply to physical therapy schools next year. I think that's where I'll find my purpose.

However, I do plan to continue doing some free-lance writing and editing because I enjoy it and will be able to use the money once I'm in school full time. You said that you enjoy writing; have you considered pitching free-lance stories to some of the women's health magazines? Or maybe your local newspaper has a health section or some sort of health publication for which you could write. You might be surprised how much free-lance communications work is out there once you start looking for it.

I hope you find your path!

Ellen

 

[newswoman13]

Thanks you all -- both of you are right. I feel like I'm plugging along in the right areas, but I'm just hating my current day job and schedule. I'm on a "floating" sked, so it's not like I have "control" over my life beyond 2 week periods, and it's extremely suffocating. Some people like that, but it's not my cup of tea. Hopefully, I can find a more suitable position schedule-wise in the near future.

Cheers! And, thanks again.

 

[red_mct]

I am a writer, too. I used to be in educational textbook publishing (I was an editor for a major publishing house), and I will tell you, they do not pay you enough money to deal with the stress involved in meeting deadlines day in and day out. Eventually what I did was transfer that experience over to a more traditional corporate job, and I will tell you, it was the best move I've ever made. I still deal with stress and deadlines, but they are mostly manageable. I don't work overtime (ever) and I make nearly 3x the salary. So maybe you can look around in your area and see how you can leverage the experience you have in a different type of environment.

I am also very keen on the therapeutic role and considered going into counseling, but realized for me it would never be worth taking on the additional debt for education while supporting my two munchkins. If I'd had the funds and no responsibilities, I would definitely be doing something along those lines.

Meanwhile, you know you can always get loads of work freelancing, right? So maybe you should try doing some freelance writing in your area of interests and seeing if you can't translate that into something more permanent down the road.

Just my .02. Good luck!!
Marie

 

[newswoman13]

Maybe I could re-phrase this:

Did you ever think you were cut out for something, but deep down, maybe you needed to let it go -- Like, let yourself off the hook and lower the expectations that seemed so stressful?

Or, did you have a gut feeling about something and knew you had to cover it no matter the horror stories or fears? Make sense?

I'm sort of at a crossroads and believe in the "flow" of things, and at the same time, I'm doing some soul-searching...I'm not THAT much of a free spirit. ; )

Thanks ya'll -- and Happy Turkey Day!

:9