A job for any interest

Now, before we begin, I think it’s important to address the meaning behind this article. It could be confused that I am writing this article because I am desperate for new writers (which I am) or that I’m biased my job here and believe it to be a positive experience (which I am). 

However, my true purpose here is to highlight an open job listing which I don’t think NDSU students either fully understand or are taking advantage of.

Last year when I began writing for the Spectrum, I had no clue that they paid their writers. I could get money to write down the opinions I would have happily discussed for free? It was the perfect job for me.

Yet, as my time has progressed at the paper, I’ve seen how there really is a position and a section available for the life of any student here. 

I began my time as a Contributing Writer, providing pieces once or twice a month as my schedule allowed. Then, I moved to Staff Writer, where I hit every deadline the paper required. Finally, this year, I took a position as editor.

Throughout my experience here, with the different time commitments, different amounts of money being raked in and different skills being gained, I always wondered why more people have not taken advantage of this easy opportunity.

Few jobs allow people to work from the comfort of their bed, on their own schedule and concerning only the topics that each individual cares about.

I think there are a few reasons people are wary to join the paper and I’ll try to address each and say why they should be disregarded.

“I don’t feel qualified to write for the newspaper”

This one I address because it explains my initial reaction to writing for the paper. I was intimidated by my own inexperience and felt like I couldn’t go into the Spectrum office and act like I knew what I was doing.

However, as anyone who has been into the Spectrum office can say and anyone who is an editor can assure, the Spectrum environment is one of the least intimidating you will find on campus.

Everyone starts off not really knowing what they’re doing. It’s not as if our own Editor in Chief was a highly experienced professional before the start of this year. He was just as clueless as the rest of us, but you learn through trial and error.

For those who have been keeping tabs on this year, there’s often a lot of error. This is a student newspaper, it’s okay to be unqualified. That’s where we all started.

“I don’t have anything to say worth writing about”

Unless you’ve spent the last nineteen or so years in a padded room with nothing to look at but a white ceiling, I have a hard time buying that this is true.

No doubt it’s hard to come up with things to talk about. Hell, I’m writing about the newspaper in the newspaper, but everyone has something unique to say or a unique prospective to provide.

If nothing else, the News section allows the writer to focus on the story. If you don’t feel like you have anything worth talking about, we can help you find a story with merit.

“I wouldn’t know which section to write for”

This one is always funny to me. Kind of like a terrible high school movie, most students can pretty easily fit into a section of the newspaper. 

There’s the studious and organized News writers, the spirit-filled and optimistic Features writers, the worldly and cultured Arts and Entertainment writers, the enthusiastic and dedicated Sports writers, and as soon as I figure out what kind of people Opinion writers are, I’ll let you know.

The point is that anyone can find themselves at home in a certain section. However, if you’re still confused, you can always come into the office to talk with the various section editors.

“My schedule is really busy this semester”

Listen, if you can’t find an hour in your week to crank out an article, I really feel for you, but for most students that time is there.

When you’re passionate about a topic, which writers usually are when they choose what to write about, the words often come much more naturally than expected. Writing in the past might have meant hours of painstaking school essays, but here it means reflecting on things in a way that feels natural to you.

If you spend six hours a night watching TV, try instead to spend five and use that extra hour to write an article about that show you’re bingeing. Really, it’s that easy.

“I’m a bad writer”

Okay yeah, so is everyone until they give it some time to go ahead and write.

Personally, I know I have and will continue to work with people whose writing can often be a little messy or unorganized. I don’t really think of this as bad writing because each week I see it getting better.

Certainly, writing poorly for a while but improving is better than accepting that you will be a terrible writer for the rest of your life. So why not come write poorly for the Spectrum for a little while?

“My major has nothing to do with journalism”

I’m a Sociology major. I have absolutely no intention of going into journalism in the future, nor does the art education major, the psychology major, or the communications major who write for me, to name a few.

Wanting to make easy money is not major-specific. In fact, I would say most NDSU students regardless of major are not opposed to making money. The Spectrum is a job that allows an individual to make as much money as they want regardless of the major a writer is in.

Plus, it doesn’t look bad to differentiate your resume from other candidates by getting experience outside of the usual and expected jobs.