Good foundation for career

I graduated Loyalist College's print journalism program circa 2000 and have been working in the field ever since.
As a naive new journalist however, my initial job search didn't exactly go as planned. After completing my internship at The Guardian newspaper in PEI, I moved to Ottawa where I "would be certain" to find a writing gig at some international rag, or so I thought. I wound up taking another job, not in journalism, but six months later I found myself writing for the Port Hope Evening Guide, a little daily newspaper very close to home.
Graduates are best to start off small, begin on the ground in which they are familiar. I stayed on as a reporter with this newspaper for nearly eight years, gaining a wide range of experience and building on what I learned in school. After leaving however, I decided I didn't want the 9 to 5 gig and so I began to travel and write on a freelance basis. This hasn't exactly turned out the way I thought it would, either. Initially I was hoping to write about my experiences in Eastern Europe for the Globe and Mail, but wound up writing instead for Bulgaria's English-language expatriate newspaper. I also picked up a job reviewing hotels, a gig that takes me all over the world. For the experience, I went to work for a few months at a newspaper in Labrador and upon returning home, I was hired by a publishing company to write several chapters for book about Toronto.
I never expected any of this following graduation, but I can't complain. I'm writing and to me that's what's important. The current economic crisis has also worked in my favour as editors are replacing their full-time reporters with freelance writers.
The key to success in this industry is to become an expert in one particular field. Mine is travel. But there are a wide variety of publications out their looking for reporters who know their stuff in areas of health, technology, business...you name it!
Loyalist College gave me a great foundation on which to build my passion for writing and journalism in the very real world. It can be a hard career not only to pursue, but to keep as well. One must wear many hats to stay in the game and prepare for a life of feast and famine. I couldn't imagine a better career or a better school.

Karen Lloyd
Writer, MacIntyre Purcell Publishing
2000