Seeking advice

[kylevision]

Hi. I'm looking for advice to land my first chief gig. I have over 8 years exp. with the last 4 in top 40 markets. However, I don't have any management exp. I'm seeking a job in the 50-100 market range. Is it realistic to get a job in this range with my exp.? If any of you would not mind sharing how you got your first chief job and what market size it was that would help me alot. Also, do you think it's better to stay at a station you like and "move up the ladder" after several years or apply at a new station for the chief job? I'm quite happy where I'm at now but the chief job seems light years away. I feel I'm ready to lead and teach a photo staff. Any insight would be a great help to me in deciding what my next career move might be.

 

[LONGLENS]

Check your PM's

 

[foxlasvegas]

You may be ready but really look at the station you plan to go to. I had hoped that I could spend lots of time with the staff at my station but most of my time is spent on others things. From buying supplies to gear, doing payroll and vacation schedules you can eat up alot of time. Then there are the issues that arise from personell. Some folks just turn into 3 year olds as soon as there is a problem. Look at how much you will be shooting and assume it will be more. There are 18 folks on this staff (editors are counted) and it takes alot out of your day to keep it all running smoothly (or what passes for smooth that day). If you love to shoot hold off on the chief position. If there was a 20 market I felt I could settle down in, I would rather shoot there than be chief in a 50. Mark Anderson told me to ask the GM this question, "Will I be a photographer that manages or will I be a manager that shoots"? I was told I would be a "manager who shoots". I should have gotten that in writing.

 

[yellowbeta]

They are so right. I became the person to call when people didn't answer the on-call page. The paperwork never seems to end. I was lucky that it was a small market so I could still shoot, but my shooting quality took a big hit.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the smaller the market the more you'll have to teach.

 

[Charleston Chief]

I agree you should be careful what you wish for. I also wanted to "lead and teach a photo staff," but it seems like in between shooting, I'm just trying to stay afloat with admin duties. Whenever I have a spare minute I try to give pointers to my photojournalists or critique a PKG, but it's not nearly as much as I'd like. I'd like to have formal training sessions with them, but most of my teaching is done in passing. It is a small market though, so I have to do a lot of shooting.

To answer your original question, what happened with me was that I moved to a smaller market (my home town) as a normal photojournalist, then got promoted after 4 months. A lot of times chiefs are hired from within. But with your experience, you do stand a chance in a smaller market. It's just hard coming in from the outside. Good luck, but be careful what you wish for. It's a lot more stress.
Peace

 

[amp]

It is a TON more work. But, surprisingly, I found the paperwork and purchasing to be fun. You may not. Time management is as important as people management. Every free minute, get non-shooting cheif stuff done.

Also, some companies make you become salaried. Fight that if you can. If you can't, keep track of every hour of what would have been OT, and when you hit 8 hours, get a comp day. I bet you will be an extra week off.