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The Washington, D.C., job scene for journalists in general is very shaky, although there's a lull in the cuts for now. But wait until it's time for "strategic planning" again.

I moved more than a year ago to take a job at a prestigious bureau in D.C. and felt I was finally making progress after more than 10 years working hard in the trenches as a reporter and sometimes editor. I stayed put at a smaller newspaper for family reasons that have since resolved themselves.

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But I loved journalism and writing, so I made myself content. My worry now is that one of the newspapers I work for back home will decide they don't need a journalist in D.C. after all, and then I could be out of a job very quickly.

This bureau is the best place I've ever worked. My editors are great, and they trust us to do a good job.

On the down side, about four out of five days here have been 12-hour days, and I'm not that crazy about covering politics.

I've always been able to motivate myself, though, regardless of my beat.

Because of what's happening in the industry — the constant job worries and the obvious shrinkage at the bureau — it's harder to do that now. I'm feeling burnout nipping at my heels and have even thought of changing careers. The attractive options call for going back to college, which is not really an option for a couple of years.

I'd like to stay at the bureau another year. That would help me recoup my debt from moving, as well as give me a chance to get better at my job and develop more contacts.

But I'm running scared, wondering every week if the end is near. I don't know if I should stay here or try to find another job in the area, perhaps at a trade magazine or Web site. Going home doesn't interest me. I've already seen the big-city lights.

My editors tell me to stay put, and that everything is fine. The reality that I've seen is they may not know what's going on until it all comes down.

What's your advice?

Worried in Washington

You have really struck a chord with me. I hope the following strikes a chord with you.

Like you, I have been spending half my time feeling excited and half my time feeling anxious. I am finished with that. Listening to people at the Asian American Journalists Association conference last week, I decided we can choose excitement over dread. Join me.

Joe Grimm

Although I know we can't control our feelings, but I believe we get so mired in worry that it saps our energy and creativity. I plan to replace anxiety with action. It is the only way to strengthen our positions, expand our options and create our futures.

Optimism won't make your bureau's clients stay under contract, but it will help you do better work and master new approaches.

Don't run scared and don't stand still. Run smartly. Keep working on your journalism, pay attention to the news industry's transformation and aggressively acquire the skills you'll need to be in the thick of it.

Help us out: I know this is weighing in on a lot of us. Do you think we can get past the worry? How are you transforming your career?

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Coming Monday: He believes his best clip is a 4,000-word article he wrote in college, but worries that it is too long and now too old to do him much good.

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