In about a month, a whole new crop of graduates coming with numerous internships and hours spent at the student paper will stumble into the working world. Many may already know that they want to work as a journalist or in communications in D.C. This is a great time to come to D.C. to start a career. So if I may, if I could provide some bits of advice to the Class of 2010:
1. Make the decision that you want to work in D.C. Except for this year, the weather is usually good. If you’re an East-Coaster, it’s pretty easy to get to other cities on the seaboard. The restaurant scene gets better and better. There’s a 50/50 chance you may make a good salary here. You’ll meet people from everywhere–U.S. or otherwise. You might catch a politician in civilian life or get to hug a First Lady. Those are all cool things.
Plus, there are new websites and news agencies opening and expanding. Do you know Spanish? Did you know that Russia Today is trying to launch a Spanish-language news channel? That’s one opportunity for you. I give you that one for free because despite listening to Spanish all my life, I can’t speak a lick of it. So if you can, you should reach out to RT. Good with digital media: writing, editing and or shooting for the Web? Watch out for opportunities with TBD, the new Albritton site for Washington, D.C.
2. If you can’t get a journalism job, don’t be afraid to work at a non-profit or on Capitol Hill. Both places provide a great opportunity to gain knowledge about a political issue and how things are done in Washington. There’s lots of bargaining and strategizing in D.C. and it helps to know how these things are done. You can draw upon that knowledge base once you do get a reporting position somewhere.
3. Save up A LOT of money. Apartments here are stupid expensive, almost as expensive as New York. I’ve considered moving to San Francisco just because rent will be nominally cheaper. Or…
3.5 Live with a roommate, or two, or five. It’s an easy way to make connections and friends (and get tips).
4. Reconnect with alumni. It’s nice to have a built-in network of support, plus an automatic schedule of social events.
I’ll add and adapt this post as I think of more stuff. Is there something I missed? Add it to the comments?
