Down, Not Out: Laid-Off Journalist Tries The Back-To-School Strategy

Jennifer West lost her job as an editor over a year ago. She couldn't find a new gig. Now she's in school to get a master's degree in childhood special education. The Huffington Post called her up to find out what's happening.

I don't have any income except for unemployment. This is my third extension, so I've been very lucky. It runs out in September. My health insurance runs out in November. The prices for private insurance are astronomical. I'm covered with COBRA till November. It's roughly $450 a month.

How'd you lose your job?

I never saw it coming. I was the night news editor for FT.com. Then I was called into the conference room by my managing editor. I'd just been talking to a colleague of mine about how I'd lost my dog, and so I was getting all weepy. So I said, "You'll have to excuse me. My dog just passed away." And she said, "Well, I've got some more bad news for you."

All I heard was the word recession, recession, recession. I'm sure there were words and sentences, but that's all I heard.

Did you get a buyout?

Because it is a European company they're generous in terms of the buyout package. They were amazing, so for an entire year I didn't have to worry about money. The only income I've had is unemployment, which is $430 a week.

So how's it been?

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It's been a hideous, hideous horrible year emotionally, because my self-esteem plummeted. I took it personally even though I know they got rid of my position. For a year I spent some days just in the fetal position in bed. I got a new dog in March. If not for my dog I had to walk I wouldn't have gone outside.

How was the job search?

I was getting interviews. I just wasn't getting the job. I'd never been in a position like that ever. I thought very highly of myself. When I first got laid off I took the summer off. I thought, "I'm Jennifer West!" When I came back, the joke was on me. That's when the market completely sank to the bottom.

How did you decide to go to school?

Right around my one-year anniversary of unemployment, three people I really respect kept talking about going into teaching. My mom was a schoolteacher. There was one day it just clicked and it made sense to me, and I had to hustle and registered for class two days before class started. In May, toward the end of the month, I did the whole application process. I was very lucky.

I went from horrendous to back to myself again and that's just because I have hope. When I graduate my debt is going to be like $50,000. But I will graduate with an MA in education.

What are you going to do for money?

It's a really good question. I might do a work study. I'd rather focus purely on my education. I don't know what I'm going to do for money. I'm going to have to do something.

What about freelancing?

I refuse to work in journalism ever again. It's turned its back on me.

But I called you.

But you're not going to hire me.

That's true.

I'm 41. Trying to get back into journalism -- I was booted out and I'm looking in and I'm seeing 26-year-olds and 25-year-olds interviewing for the jobs I want. They ask everywhere for one to three years experience. What happened to 20? Nobody wants that. I'd look around when I interviewed. A lot of people were really young. The imprint that it made on me. The age thing. I'm very happy with my career change.

HuffPost readers: Are you switching careers in an effort to escape long-term unemployment? Tell us about it -- email [e-mail].

Comments

[livnletlive]

i don't mean to make a political issue out of this, but i totally believe some things in life are connected...Journalism as a profession of high noble purpose died in this country long time ago, since OJ and moreover the collusion of the media with the neocons engineering to the Iraq war and their focus on petty news...they relinquished the "4th authority or power" status that respectable journalism was about....CNBC's total pandering for CEOs before the financial crisis for access........the list goes on...can't blame you for leaving a field infested with rating obsessed number crunchers who are all about the money.... there is NO serious investigative journalism anymore, even 60 minutes is putting on more biographical fuzzy stories or too late after the event reporting....Alas.

[livnletlive]

i don't mean to make a political issue out of this, but i totally believe some things in life are connected...Journalism as a profession of high noble purpose died in this country long time ago, since OJ and moreover the co

[Deli]

Perhaps, but that does not mean individuals who pursue the profession based on its ideal are not doing it for the original genuine reasons. I do cringe just slightly when journalist say they did not see it coming. It's been coming since the 80s when evening papers started folding. It was already unsustainable as an industry that relied on cheap paper but needed to cut down countless trees, not to mention the arcane delivery system. The dot com and housing booms and their advertising dollars are the only reason papers have lasted this long. Layoffs and buyouts started in the late 80s early 90s. And let's face it, "high noble purpose" may have applied to the reporters, but not the news outlets. They've been bought and sold since they began as profit seeking businesses.

[Deli]

Jennifer, Be sure to visit your local job center of the National Workforce System. As part of a layoff, you likely qualify for training dollars you can put toward your education. These training funds are where most of the jobs stimulus money went, and it is being distributed to people who enroll in these centers. The system is national, every "Workforce Investment Area" has them and they all have pretty much the same programs available. What is on the approved list of educational programs varies by how the local boards set criteria. People are just not aware enough of what is out there.

Special populations, such as veterans, low-income, chronically unemployed and even mothers who have had a husband as sole support, whether he dies or deserts her, qualify for job training and education dollars under these programs. They haven't publicized them much because the dollars have been limited because Bush cut the Department of Labor funding to nothing to fund the war. Obama has put big money back into it. People need to take advantage of it. For those who don't qualify for paid education program help, there are plenty of free job-search related programs.

Also for those in need, do not hesitate to take advantage of your local food bank. Get some friends and make standing in line a "happening". There is no shame in getting what you need for free or inexpensively. The wealthy have been doing this with heads held high for eons.

[Highwind]

i just got my bachelor's in December. I may have to go back and get into nursing or get a master's in social work. Those are the only sectors that have all the jobs at the moment.

[quantumspin]

For anyone under 30/35, back to school makes sense. 35 and beyond may not pay dividends, and especially so if over 40 (exccept for rare cases). But to the young, yes, go for it by all means, and don't wait five years to do it. Also go to the best school you can get into/afford---the credential and contacts will be invaluable. Bypass the second/third tier schools if at all possible---not worth it to work hard at a school that is not highly ranked. If you're going to work hard to get a new degree, get it from a decent school, not podunk u.

[uglygnome]

And, in the meantime, find a job to pay the bills.

[RunningARaceWorthRunning]

I disagree completely. Even after 40, we still have 20 plus years of work ahead of us. We are in better health and have a long life and work expectancy in front of us. What do you think is going to happen to those over 40 if they are not retrained?

Even for someone who has an advanced degree already, there can be a new advanced degree sought in a different field or an extension of the previous degree to make the person more marketable.

The fields that are in demand have changed since some over 40 graduated from school and it wouldn't hurt to get degrees in the fields that are in demand. Those over 40 might also be in a position to finally be mobile and be willing to move to areas of the country where those new areas are in demand.

To say otherwise is shortsighted and insulting.

[tc2598]

Exactly. Again, what would the alternative be? Work at Wal Mart?

If you're over forty and go back to school, and if you don't like the job market, then go ahead and get your Phd and teach. Good health care, free or reduced tuition for your kids, good pay..

[gorooster2]

Sorry; gotta disagree about going for the top dollar schools. By all means, go to school (or back to school) and go the teaching/nursing secure-future route, but don't think for a second about mortgaging your future w/ 50, 60 or 70 thousand dollars worth of debt... ridiculous!! I've been to many schools and in and through a few careers, and good professors can be found in small Universities and Junior Colleges. Big schools can have some perks, but certainly not to the tune of that much debt. If you apply your heart and mind in an earnest, mature way and really pick your professor's brains, you'll do great no matter where you attend. This tends to be a truism: First employers might look twice at your application if you've come from a big-name school, but after your first job the only think employers care about is your track record as a professional... who gives a damn that someone went to an Ivy League school if they're not able, professional, accountable, etc. Get your degree as fast as you can and move on into the workforce.

[KDog76A]

agreed $50k in college loans will cripple the woman in this article for a decade. She'll be 50 and still paying the bank, and likely not recoup it in her salary as a special needs teacher.

[ThePeoplesKey]

Ah yes. The age thing. For me, also known as "Education Discrimination." The new education discrimination isn't about getting accepted to a university because of your racial makeup or culture. It's about discriminating against older people (I mean older than say, 40) with viable work experience who don't want to go in debt yet another 50K to learn what they probably already know but isn't represented by some sort of expensive certification or degree of some kind purchased at some qualifying school somewhere.

Work experience and knowledge obtained from sources that don't cost thousands of dollars doesn't qualify as real knowledge.

The education system in this country should also be on the agenda for massive reform. So much of it is so wasteful, expensive, and frankly, unnecessary.

My general argument regarding this issue is; that if a person can demonstrate knowledge or experience in an occupation from sources that don't include spending thousands of dollars at a university, that knowledge shouldn't be considered any less viable then knowledge obtained at a university just because it didn't cost you anything (Or cost very little) to learn elsewhere.

That's all I have time for. Have to get to work, but it's a much bigger issue than this little post can cover.

[KDog76A]

agreed, real experience is actually worth more than a piece of paper from a university.

basically a degree says you are trainable and that it... unless its a specialty (engineering, nursing etc) even then your knowledge is conceptual and whatever you do your employer has to train you anyway

[Lindsey Duchac]

Or you could always flee the country and live abroad teaching English until the economy is under control. That's what my friends and I have done. No need to experience the nightmare first hand. Plus, living in a country that is smart enough to give its citizens free health care has its perks. I'm American, but I often think we are complete nimrods when it comes to such basic, logical social solutions. Move abroad, there's more to life than the US.....

[lyta]

Where do I apply.

[gfs5541]

Great idea, but you have to be bilingual (Able to speak two languages fluently). Another mistake I didn't learn.

[Cizinka31000]

no you don't! most english teachers in foreign countries live the expat life, and don't learn the native tongue, which is sad, but inevitable in certain cases.

if you want to teach english in asia, they'll pay your flight there and your rent. (at least they did before the crisis -- a LOT of my friends have done it - do some googling --- you'll find it)

[confidance government]

She is indebting herself $50,000 for a career position with middling job prospects and an annual pay of $40,000? She is going to be spending a good portion of her remaining working life just paying off that debt. Has she realized how many years; it will take her to pay off that sort of money?

Seriously, don't go back to school unless it involves a lot less debt, a position that is more lucrative, or an industry that is set for serious expansion like healthcare.

[tc2598]

I thought she made it pretty clear that her current job prospects were non-existent. Which makes 40K a year pretty good.

Student loans are paid off over a long period of time. It's not a fun idea, breaking off that check every month, but neither is working a temp job for eight bucks an hour, which is her alternative.

My wife will amass half that debt, by the way, doing the same thing, because of academic grants. I'd rather watch her break a chunk off her teacher's salary paycheck every month, to pay her loans, than watch her not have a paycheck at all, or watch her ring up a cash register at Wal Mart.

I advise the opposite of this guy. Speak to a financial aid advisor at the state college of your choice, and they'll show you exactly how you can afford it. A lot of people think that when you are broke you should wall yourself up in your house and not spend a dime. But you will never get out of your rut that way. Education is the key. 40k/year minus student loan payment beats the ^$### out of zero minus zero.

I've done the math on our end. It works out just fine, when you consider the alternatives.

[KDog76A]

um no you aren't getting the amth if you think it works. She'll be paying the equivalent of a mortgage payment for a decade and competing against 24 yr olds willing to work for less, she won't be "promotable" because she won't be in the workforce long enough to warrant a higher position.

At $40k her net will be around $28k maybe a little more

Car payment/insurance: $500
Rent/Bills/Mortgage $800
Grad School Loan $500
=$1800
That leaves her $200-300 a month if she ends up taking home more than $28k, even it were $400, thats only $100 a week for things like gas, food, clothes and a social life.

[Deli]

Or work in the public sector or non-profit for 10 years while making the new minimum payments and see the debt forgiven. That program was just announced.

[tc2598]

My wife is in school again. She gets straight A's, and so receives lots of grants in addition to her student loans, and will leave school with about 50k in debt, like this woman in the article, but her grants can be applied to living expenses. Her grants and loans, in short, provide a better income than any job thie current economy has to offer her.

For my part, I was laid off last year. I chopped up the job I was doing in to little pieces and started subcontracting out to similar companies, instead of looking for a new Job. Wound up making more money, and with more flexibility to take care of our girls while their mom is in school.

I'll have insurance through my wife's school by fall. I'm starting to believe that the whole interview everyday-carpet bomb the city with resumes thing just isn't the way to go. Maybe right now, a job isn't the answer. Work is the answer. It's very clear that "jobs" as we are accustomed to thinking about the do not care about us in the slightest, so I'm not too interested in kissing anybody's butt just so they'll let me sit in on of their cubes.

[FS Gilbert]

Hate to burst people's bubble about going back to school esp. as a teacher. The unions control the pay scale, so you might get a job with a BA, but not with a MA or MS, because now they have to pay the higher scale. Guess who's going to get hired? This I know about from 2 people in my family that are teacher's. One was recently on the Nightly News and working in the inner city. That's where the teaching jobs are. Not in the posh neighborhoods or at the elite private schools. Good luck and I hope you get hired.

[Schell]

That is absolutely untrue. Some states, New York for one, require masters degrees either right out of school or within five years.

[alohakauai]

I'm 58 years old, and unemployed, and believe me; I feel your pain. Good Luck.

[lyta]

ditto.

[Christopher in NYC]

Engaging story. Reminds some of us out here that we should be happy to have a job.

[kidjudas]

I teach high school in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. If you have a journalism background, you'll find a job because the majority of good high schools have journalism classes (and the school paper) which require someone with a journalism degree. We'll have an opening in about 2 years here if you're still looking, as the head of our department has a journalism degree and we will be looking to retire after 30+ years! You'll land a teaching job, Jennifer! English teachers are a dime a dozen, but qualified Journalism teachers are a niche that is hard to fill! Good luck!