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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Joslynn on February 23, 2004, at 12:16:14
I am a writer and the industry for which I write is very high stress. I think it triggers some of my depression and anxiety.
Does anyone know of writing jobs that are not high stress?
This has been my experience so far: Tech writing: medium stress, good money but way too boring for me. Journalism: high stress and low money. Publishing: high stress and low low low money. Advertising: high stress and good money.
Ack! I am thinking of just going back to proofreading even though it would pay much less. I am tired of juggling all these deadlines and feeling like crying at work.
Maybe I should change careers entirely.
Maybe I should have gone to VoTech.
Posted by octopusprime on February 24, 2004, at 1:45:08
In reply to writing careers, posted by Joslynn on February 23, 2004, at 12:16:14
joslynn, i'm interested in the responses to your questions.
as i have said before, i'm an unstressed tech writer. my new job is more interesting than my old job. i do sales and proposal writing, marketing writing, technical writing, quality assurance, and a little web development. because of the variety, it is more interesting. but i know i will be tired of this in two years, then where do i go?
i am seriously considering academia. publish or perish as a paradigm does not seem too stressful a burden to me. graduate student and faculty politics is a bit of a pain, but the flexible schedules, excellent salaries, and good perks after 10 years of mild to moderate pain and suffering (including a retirement plan!!!) make it seem worthwhile. plus you get to write about a topic you care about.
writers don't make any money. consultants do, though. :) so if you have acquired specialized subject matter expertise in your time as a writer, could you apply it to a consulting field? (of course, then you have to suffer the powerpoint fools, which i could not do gladly.)
or maybe you could freelance? it comes with its own set of pitfalls (for example, getting paid) but you could be your own boss and set your own schedule.
i took a course in indexing once, which was kind of neat. it's more of a freelance thing. deadlines are short, so i imagine that would be stressful, but you do get to be your own boss, and the woman i learned from seemed fairly comfortable doing 12 indexes a year and teaching courses to supplement her income. (i like indexing and i think it's neat)
so i have no real advice. sorry your job is sucking. i definitely agree that job issues can affect your mental health. can you take a vacation, even a long weekend?
are you sure it's your industry, and not just your company? moving from a big company to a small company in the same industry really improved my outlook on my work.
this is long and rambly but i hope you get some ideas.
Posted by crushedout on March 8, 2004, at 20:34:10
In reply to writing careers, posted by Joslynn on February 23, 2004, at 12:16:14
i don't know of any. can i ask which you're in now?how does one go about getting proofreading jobs, anyway?
i'm interested in a writing career, too, but i hate stress. and work. well, jobs, anyway. i like to work at home.
> I am a writer and the industry for which I write is very high stress. I think it triggers some of my depression and anxiety.
>
> Does anyone know of writing jobs that are not high stress?
>
> This has been my experience so far: Tech writing: medium stress, good money but way too boring for me. Journalism: high stress and low money. Publishing: high stress and low low low money. Advertising: high stress and good money.
>
> Ack! I am thinking of just going back to proofreading even though it would pay much less. I am tired of juggling all these deadlines and feeling like crying at work.
>
> Maybe I should change careers entirely.
>
> Maybe I should have gone to VoTech.
>
>
This is the end of the thread.
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