I feel like so much of what our generation was sold about work was a scam. It seems to be true for friends across all industries at the moment, including like scientists in biotech who thought scientific research was the safe and sensible option. They still face layoff cycles oddly reminiscent of what I’ve heard Hollywood screenwriting careers look like.
This! I’m a doctor in the UK and even today we’re seeing General Practitioners faced with the threat of redundancy. I feel like our millennial upbringing of idolising education and traditional success has sadly become a curse.
Totally agree! WORK WON’T LOVE YOU BACK by Sarah Jaffe (who is on here Substack, not sure how to tag from my phone) provides a great overview of the historical forces that have contributed to this.
Currently studying medicine but I write on the side. My career aspirations for most of my life had been geared towards being a scientist, a doctor, or a journalist, which are all the jobs of the "superhero's girlfriend" trope in the movies and shows i consumed much of growing up. now i discover that all three of these are terribly bad career paths to make enough money for anything!
love being a seventeen year old aspiring journalist and seeing nothing but doom and gloom shrouding the reputation of the profession 🙏 but i’m continuing to dream on regardless! love this piece :)
If it helps, it was all doom and gloom when I started out too but it's possible to find a way - even if it looks a bit different to what you once thought it might be x
I, too, fell victim to Carrie Bradshaw etc al, heading into the world hell bent on becoming a writer, only to find getting a foot in the door near on impossible, before settling in marketing. Carrie has a lot to answer for.
I started in magazines in the 90s and it really felt like the place to be. We worked hard, partied hard and believed in what we were doing. So did the media bosses. That’s perhaps the biggest difference now. There’s that constant feeling of being a thorn in the side of the business. Even when you’re apparently doing well.
Should young women graduates still consider a starting role in media? Yes! On the right (omni-channel) brand. Get your chops from those with the old school skills. They’ll learn from you too. Maybe it will be your longtime career. Maybe not. Hopefully you’ll learn what excellence in content means, even if it’s for future use in giving direction to AI.
For anyone launching in the 80s our romcom journo-lifestyle inspiration was Meg Ryan as Sally in When Harry Met Sally. And we mustn't forget about Lois Lane! 😊
Came here to mention Sally. I watched that movie every year in high school... and started journalism school in 1994. How did she afford that apartment?!
Nothing gives me more glee that bitching about And Just Like That (obviously watched all of it). The podcast bit was a real low point, in a sea of low points. I definitely wanted to be a journalist because of Carrie Bradshaw!
So funny. It got me and my other half (both graphic designers) wondering how our profession would be shown in a female lead: she rushes around all day, then circles a bit of clipart on her tablet and it whoooshes and the design job is done!
Thanks for writing this. I often wonder what the modern office room com would even look like in a world filled with remote work and Slack/Teams messages.
In 2018 I was living in Burma, a third world military dictatorship. Refinery29 published an article by a French woman living in the same city as me. The article listed exactly how much the woman had spent on cocktails and country clubs in the last month. The stated purpose was to “empower women to talk about money”.
Please also never forget Letters to Juliet!! Totally underrated Amanda Seyfried rom com, probably the last of the journalists leads before the switchover (well noted) to foodie queens.
So many greats over the years : Marlo Thomas - That Girl (recently bought the t-shirt), and of course the notorious Murphy Brown (love). Sad to see them go and replaced by the horrid / disturbing "And Just Like That".....not many women are like that. Not an ounce of reality in that show just pandering. Sadly Nora Ephron left us , who in fact gave us joy with a glimmer of hope.
My childhood dream of pursing a career in journalism, and now my grown up job in marketing/PR is 100% influenced by Romcoms. Was definitely misled but I still feel kinda iconic.
I absolutely adored this analysis. I love reading topics, like this, I would have never thought of! I am going into the art and fashion journalism industry, graduating in May, and it’s definitely not as glamorous and EASY as DWP or SATC make it out to be. One thing those shows did teach me is that you have to believe you’re the exception—because if not what’s left but failure?
Thank you SO much for this. I've wanted to be a journalist my whole life and often feel shitty for "giving up on it" when truthfully I just couldn't survive on it. I refused to take reporting jobs that paid less than Aldi or agreed to multiple unpaid internships for the sake of "experience." Not to mention I graduated college in December 2019...it's been a nightmare ever since!
I feel like so much of what our generation was sold about work was a scam. It seems to be true for friends across all industries at the moment, including like scientists in biotech who thought scientific research was the safe and sensible option. They still face layoff cycles oddly reminiscent of what I’ve heard Hollywood screenwriting careers look like.
This! I’m a doctor in the UK and even today we’re seeing General Practitioners faced with the threat of redundancy. I feel like our millennial upbringing of idolising education and traditional success has sadly become a curse.
Totally agree! WORK WON’T LOVE YOU BACK by Sarah Jaffe (who is on here Substack, not sure how to tag from my phone) provides a great overview of the historical forces that have contributed to this.
So interesting, I’ll definitely be having a read!
Currently studying medicine but I write on the side. My career aspirations for most of my life had been geared towards being a scientist, a doctor, or a journalist, which are all the jobs of the "superhero's girlfriend" trope in the movies and shows i consumed much of growing up. now i discover that all three of these are terribly bad career paths to make enough money for anything!
love being a seventeen year old aspiring journalist and seeing nothing but doom and gloom shrouding the reputation of the profession 🙏 but i’m continuing to dream on regardless! love this piece :)
If it helps, it was all doom and gloom when I started out too but it's possible to find a way - even if it looks a bit different to what you once thought it might be x
So true. I remember the rom coms and how much I wanted to be a journalist like the main characters. I am now in my 30s and still think about them...
I, too, fell victim to Carrie Bradshaw etc al, heading into the world hell bent on becoming a writer, only to find getting a foot in the door near on impossible, before settling in marketing. Carrie has a lot to answer for.
Ps. Players was awful, but I sort of loved it?
Definitely worse romcom offenders out there than Players!
Most of them made by netflix 😂
I started in magazines in the 90s and it really felt like the place to be. We worked hard, partied hard and believed in what we were doing. So did the media bosses. That’s perhaps the biggest difference now. There’s that constant feeling of being a thorn in the side of the business. Even when you’re apparently doing well.
Should young women graduates still consider a starting role in media? Yes! On the right (omni-channel) brand. Get your chops from those with the old school skills. They’ll learn from you too. Maybe it will be your longtime career. Maybe not. Hopefully you’ll learn what excellence in content means, even if it’s for future use in giving direction to AI.
Fun discussion - thank you for this context.
For anyone launching in the 80s our romcom journo-lifestyle inspiration was Meg Ryan as Sally in When Harry Met Sally. And we mustn't forget about Lois Lane! 😊
Came here to mention Sally. I watched that movie every year in high school... and started journalism school in 1994. How did she afford that apartment?!
Right?! That is a bygone NYC that probably never even existed! 🤣
Nothing gives me more glee that bitching about And Just Like That (obviously watched all of it). The podcast bit was a real low point, in a sea of low points. I definitely wanted to be a journalist because of Carrie Bradshaw!
Hate watching AJLT is truly one of my greatest pleasures. Roll on season 3!
Aspired to Carrie but more likely to be Miranda’s fifth assistant, once removed!
So funny. It got me and my other half (both graphic designers) wondering how our profession would be shown in a female lead: she rushes around all day, then circles a bit of clipart on her tablet and it whoooshes and the design job is done!
Thanks for writing this. I often wonder what the modern office room com would even look like in a world filled with remote work and Slack/Teams messages.
In 2018 I was living in Burma, a third world military dictatorship. Refinery29 published an article by a French woman living in the same city as me. The article listed exactly how much the woman had spent on cocktails and country clubs in the last month. The stated purpose was to “empower women to talk about money”.
Journalism, RIP.
Yeah that was the US. I oversaw UK.
Please also never forget Letters to Juliet!! Totally underrated Amanda Seyfried rom com, probably the last of the journalists leads before the switchover (well noted) to foodie queens.
So many greats over the years : Marlo Thomas - That Girl (recently bought the t-shirt), and of course the notorious Murphy Brown (love). Sad to see them go and replaced by the horrid / disturbing "And Just Like That".....not many women are like that. Not an ounce of reality in that show just pandering. Sadly Nora Ephron left us , who in fact gave us joy with a glimmer of hope.
My childhood dream of pursing a career in journalism, and now my grown up job in marketing/PR is 100% influenced by Romcoms. Was definitely misled but I still feel kinda iconic.
I absolutely adored this analysis. I love reading topics, like this, I would have never thought of! I am going into the art and fashion journalism industry, graduating in May, and it’s definitely not as glamorous and EASY as DWP or SATC make it out to be. One thing those shows did teach me is that you have to believe you’re the exception—because if not what’s left but failure?
Thank you SO much for this. I've wanted to be a journalist my whole life and often feel shitty for "giving up on it" when truthfully I just couldn't survive on it. I refused to take reporting jobs that paid less than Aldi or agreed to multiple unpaid internships for the sake of "experience." Not to mention I graduated college in December 2019...it's been a nightmare ever since!