Advice

From the EIC of CosmoGIRL! (on ED2010.com) to recent college graduates aspiring to enter the magazine industry:

"You’ll see your [non-magazine] friends landing jobs at big companies, entering sales training programs, making pretty good salaries, etc. You are not in the same kind of business so don’t compare yourself to them. You may not get a job right out of school and you may not even have a staff position a year after you graduate... "

Umm...k, thanks?

But let's be honest with ourselves here. That's just how it is. I've heard of people interning for free AFTER they graduate just so they can land real jobs (good lord, how long can someone work for free until she just whores herself for money?) Some people take freelance/paid intern positions for a year or two after graduating until they finally land a job. The magazine or even the journalism field as a whole is definitely not for people who are in it to make money fast.

Boo.

So to my friends who chose more practical majors and life paths, please take this into consideration when you've landed your job and are earning more than 30K a year, while I, umm...can't even finish this sentence.