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no advice - in the same position with a different field...so following!

My B.S. is in marketing and I worked in marketing for about 4 years. I was unhappy, not feeling like it was the area for me. I'm not a shmoozer, didn't want to play the game, was stuck in a good ole boys club where I worked.

I started researching different careers, with encouragement from my parents. I eventually decided to go into physical therapy for a few reasons - I liked that it's healthcare without relying on drugs, I like that I could work my job and be done with it at the end of the day, it can offer flexible schedules, a variety of settings, etc. So I ended up going back to school - 1 year to take the science pre-reqs, then 3 years of grad school. I've been practicing for 6 years and am pretty happy with it. While it's not my "calling" in life and I'm not sure I'll be doing it for the next 30 years, I do enjoy a flexible schedule (gives me time for DD and family), I hardly ever take work home with me, and it's a fairly stable career.

It was really hard making the decision to go back to school. Sometimes I felt awkward being 30 and starting over, but in the long run it was the best decision for me. I did a lot of research on a website like this http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ looking at all different kinds of occupations.

@MrsSCB: I totally get what you're talking about. My DH is in news and he works W-F 2:30-11 PM, Sat&Sun 2-10:30 PM. I can't take it anymore! I wish there were other options for him.

@MrsSCB: I worked in PR a while ago, and found that people with a specialty were the most sought over. Crisis PR, non-profit PR, tech PR... these all made people a lot more attractive to employers/recruiters! Well the non-profit PR work wasn't very lucrative so there's that, but crisis and tech PR pays well and is pretty intellectually challenging.

There are a lot of online resources on the transition from journalism to pr (or from hack to flack, as people say)... let me know if I can be of any help!

@MrsSCB: you might be interested in an agency position then. You wouldn't necessarily need to start at the bottom and your media background would help you in media relations. Plus, them with an agency you could branch into other areas of PR and get more experience. Another alternative is to look for an in-house media relations position. Larger institutions/organizations have sizeable in-house communications staff and sometimes a specific person dedicated to media relations. I would search if your town has a local chapter of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) and check out their job board for starters. You may also want to attend some of their programs/events to network with PR professionals. You could get some contacts that way. I think big name show experience could really help you in getting resume attention, etc. Let me know if you have any other q's!

I had a BA and was working in HR. I was really unhappy so went back to school when I was 26 to get my BScN. I love my job!

@MrsSCB: I haven't switched careers, but work in government, and have noticed that a lot of the public affairs/spokesperson type jobs are often filled by people transitioning from news careers . . . it's a fast paced, busy environment but there are all sorts of spokespeople for every politician, city/state agency, even advocacy organizations that interface w/ government. I think of it as a field with lots of opportunities and it will never be the same day twice!

Good luck with whatever you do.

@MrsSCB: I kind of switched careers to a different path in the same-ish field. I had to apply to A LOT of jobs and a lot of different areas. Even then, I only got a few interviews. Have you tried the hospitals, colleges, and maybe even school districts in the area? I found they usually had a wide array of opportunities. Please don't get too discouraged. I know it's easy in this situation to feel that way. It took me about 6 months to find something, but it seemed like once the first job offer came in another one came in right behind it.