Regular jobs

There are some days where I wish I had taken a regular job. The kind of job that's somewhat easy to find and offers a certain level of stability. The kind of job where you get vacation time, benefits and maybe even a few perks along the way. The kind of job my parents would have liked me to take. But no, I did what I always wanted to do and became a journalist.

In journalism we will spend a countless amount of time as 'interns,' or just at full-time jobs that come with low pay, no benefits, no perks (well maybe a free movie pass now and then), and vacation time doesn't exist. In this field we are taught/told that we need to work hard to get where we want, and by hard it seems employers want us to give up our entire lives for our work. Of course it's cheaper to have employees who are on contract, and it's naturally cheaper to have employees that aren't paid very much. It makes me wonder why so many employers are content to just have employees rather than having employees who love their jobs.

Several of my journalism colleagues love what they do but often hate their jobs, I place myself in this category. My colleagues work very long hours, often during anti-social (overnight) shifts and will go days or weeks without seeing signs of life outside of the newsroom and their bed. Yet, most of the people I speak of are on either contract positions or internships. The concept of two days off a week, let alone a long weekend or vacation, is foreign to many of these people. We are all made to feel guilty for asking for a day off for an occasion, let alone several days in a row. How many nervous breakdowns caused by stress and sleep deprivation does one need to have to become a successful journalist? How hard do we need to work to show that we're worth a salary and benefits? Yet these are the jobs many of us covet.

I lucked out somewhat for my first job, but I do find myself guilted into wondering if I'm working hard enough/long enough, should I ask for this weekend off? When I watch my boss work 60 hour weeks, I wonder if my 45/50 hour weeks are good enough. How does this happen? Why don't those of us who are new to the workforce ever feel like we're working hard enough?

When I think about these things asI watch my friends lose sleep, weight, and their sanity I think a regular job would be nice. But I wouldn't be happy there, I'd want a job where I could express myself or something. But I'm sure I'd enjoy the paid vacation and benefits.