Why I'm Happily Saying Goodbye to My Full-Time Career in Journalism

And freelancing as a side hustle + entering a new era in media.

Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30

If you know me, you know I love journalism. I love writing, media, pop culture, and all the fancy events and fun perks of working in the industry. But after some soul-searching, I realized I wanted something different next — at least as my full-time gig.

I spent the entirety of my twenties working towards my career. I was focused and determined and because of that, I accomplished everything I wanted to. However, it was challenging as fuck. Working in journalism was filled with so much rejection. It taught me to be resilient and to never give up on myself. Through this career I spent the last decade cultivating, I learned that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. That is now something I will apply to all areas of my life, so in hindsight, I’m so grateful for the tough times. Now I’m stronger and wiser for it. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that depending on the season this career was heaven or hell. My fellow journalist friends know exactly what I’m talking about.

I knew I wanted to become a journalist when I watched 13 Going on 30 for my 10th birthday. I loved Jenna Rink and I wanted to be just like her. I wanted to be an editor and work for a magazine in New York City. At the time, it was just my then future dream life I would fantasize about. I thought it was unrealistic, so I had my mind set on becoming a child psychologist.

Psychology was initially my major in college. It took me only a few weeks into my first semester to realize it wasn’t for me. Then, my major was established as “undecided.” Thankfully, I had two amazing professors, who encouraged me to follow my dreams. So, I finally went with my passions; I majored in English and minored in journalism. Most people told me I was stupid and unrealistic; they said the only job I could get with that was teaching. They also said my only chance at succeeding in journalism was if I knew the right people from the get. I proved them all wrong. Plus, I loved it when people underestimated me and I still do. I’ve always thrived when people say I can’t do something because I love a challenge and because frankly, I believe in myself and know I’ll accomplish it. If you’re going to bet on someone, always bet on yourself.

So after college, I went and did the damn thing. I worked my ass off. I would get rejected, and it didn’t matter. After a while, I stopped taking it personally, which is an attitude I’ve taken regarding everything in my life (rejection is redirection). So I kept trying. I’d reach out to people in the industry whom I admired, asking them for advice. About 98% never answered, but that 2% did and it was so helpful. Eventually, things began to fall into place and I finally started landing internships, and then full-time jobs. Before you know it, I accomplished all these amazing things on my bucket list that happened because of this bittersweet career — working in New York City, writing for Seventeen, Billboard, Hypebae, and many more, getting invited to New York Fashion Week numerous times, attending a Met Gala afterparty, interviewing my favorite celebrities like Bad Bunny and Becky G, going to concerts for free, hanging backstage with some of my favorite artists … the list goes on. However, while I did all these incredible things, the industry was always unstable.

At first, I couldn’t land a journalism job because I didn’t have plenty of experience. Then, I finally had experience but by this point, the industry was dying.

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, journalism changed drastically for the worse. In 2023, I noticed another big shift. All the major media companies experienced layoffs, and I was affected. It’s been nearly a year since I was laid off from Hypebae, and even while applying nonstop, I still couldn’t get another full-time job in this field. So I did the next best thing — freelance.

Freelancing gave me both so much freedom and anxiety. I realize now that the future of journalism lies in freelancing. These days, many media companies barely have budgets, so they hire freelancers instead of old-fashioned full-time staff writers. Don’t get me wrong — outlets with a proper full-time editorial staff still exist, but it’s becoming rare.

There were some perks to freelancing, like having more free time or writing for several publications at once. However, when it’s your main source of income, it’s anxiety-inducing. I’ve experienced not getting paid on time, I’ve experienced not knowing how many hours I’ll get the following month, etc. That, plus the pressure of entering my thirties, made me realize I wanted to get a full-time job in something else while building off the career I’ve made for myself. It also made me realize I now wanted to focus on journalism on a freelance level solely as a side gig.

I spoke to several media friends to get their advice and many encouraged me to explore the PR (public relations) world since I could apply my experience there. So that’s what I did. I recently accepted a job offer at a PR firm, which I’m super excited about. Most of all, I’m ecstatic to have stability and a great income.

This experience has taught me that our needs and wants change drastically as we age, and that’s OK. It doesn’t mean I’m quitting my dream life. It just means I’m evolving and my priorities have shifted.

During my twenties, I didn’t care about stability. I was all about the hustle and grind. I don’t mind hustling and grinding but now that I’m 30, I want to be comfortable, too. I want to settle down eventually, and that’s not something I previously cared about, which is why being financially stable with a set future is crucial to me now. While I love and care so much about my career, it no longer defines me how I thought it did before. I’m more than my career. And it took me going through hell and back to realize it.

I’m excited for what’s next. I’m taking this time to focus on my new passions — building this blog and only freelancing on projects I really care about, all while entering this new era as a PR corporate girlie. I can’t wait.

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Thank you so much for reading. If you want to continue supporting my writing, please subscribe, like/comment, and share this article with others. <3 — Jenn