Linda Kitchen
Journalist
1. When did you first know you wanted to be a journalist?
I was definitely sure senior my year in high school, but writing runs in my family.
2. What classes/activities/clubs did you take in high school that you think were helpful in preparing you for your career?
I was editor-in-chief of the literary magazine, which helped me get into colleges. I also had three inspirational English teachers my sophomore-senior years in high school, which helped me see what good writing can accomplish. I would suggest that anyone going into any field have a mentor.
3. In what activities or clubs did you participate in college that helped you achieve your goals?
Wrote for the local newspapers, which was standard for most journalism students. Those in magazine journalism were required to take an internship at an in-school magazine course to produce Southeast Ohio magazine, which was extremely helpful.
4. What courses/programs of study did you take in college to work toward your career?
All of them: writing, news editing, production, grammar, ethics, etc. Even science and business classes were helpful too!
5. Did you participate in an internship/cooperative education program?
Yes, I was a reporter for the Findlay Courier, Findlay, Ohio for the summer. It was excellent experience-you meet people in the field and get to live the life of a journalist for awhile. It is the first time you get to act professional in your field.
6. What was your first job out of college?
I was an editorial assistant, at Signs of the Times magazine (a trade journal about the sign industry).
7. What are the required skills that are needed in your field?
You should have the ability to meet deadlines; the ability to schmooze; a broad knowledge of many subjects; and of course, the ability to write and edit. Also the ability to work with people, which probably goes with any job.
8. Was there any kind of special training involved for your career after college?
The hardest part is absorbing the subject matter of the type of magazine you write for. Most magazine writers aren't going to get to write for the outdoor, adventure, fashion, or entertainment magazines they dreamed of right off-especially if they can't re-locate-so they have to learn to write on subjects that aren't their passion. Never give up your dreams, though.
9. What kind(s) of compensation can a new graduate expect in the field of journalism?
What about after five years? Ten years?
It will usually be lower than average at the beginning. After five years, you might get about $10,000 more. Journalism doesn't pay, but all journalists know this or figure it out in the first year. If you go into it for the money, you have to look for where the money is in the field.
10. What kind(s) of personalities work best in this field?
I hate to say it, but there are kooky people in this field. Particular people that have their own way of doing things-and not in just the way they write, but how they write, when they write, and what environment they keep around them. Some people would call them eccentrics.
11. Are there any physical demands to the job?
If being able to sit for long periods of time typing is a physical demand, then you need it for this, baby!
12. What are the three most important pieces of advice you would give someone who is interested in the field?
- Get a mentor in the field, or just someone who can guide you.
- Learn the grammar they teach you in school, and pay attention to all the other subjects, because you will probably write on them one day.
- Learn to live cheaply.
13. What do you wish you would have known about the field before you became a journalist?
I wish I knew the insides to the relationship between advertisers and editorial, what jobs were out there, and also, if I had to relocate, I'd want to know how to get what I want, haggle for salaries, benefits, etc.
