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Q. I have a unique situation. I migrated to the U.S. at 18 and obtained an associate's degree in computers. I realized that I hated the field, so I switched to journalism. Unfortunately not knowing any better at the time because I was new to the education system, I pursued a bachelor of arts in communications, which hasn't helped me land a journalism job.

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I've been writing for free for the last three to four years, hoping to gain some experience, but it hasn't helped much. I worked full-time jobs through all my degrees thus far. I'm currently pursuing my master's in journalism.

My dilemma is that I'm a married 31-year-old with a young child, so doing summer internships are out of the question due to my current full-time job. So how do I gain any hands-on experience? I want to learn but I can't seem to find an outlet that will accommodate my situation. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Tricia

A. You clearly have your hands full.

Despite your serious pursuit of a good journalism education, I don't think that will be enough all by itself. You'll simply have to get more experience. I don't see how you can fit in substantial journalism work while

Joe Grimm

you are working toward your master's degree, working full-time and raising a child. The only give you have is on that job. I don't know your financial picture, but I would try to shift some of my work hours from this job, which seems to be non-journalistic, to something that gets you published and paid.

I understand that you hate working in computers, but I wonder whether that experience might give you a unique advantage that could help you get a paid opportunity to do some online journalism. I would certainly start saving or lining up child-care help to get an internship upon graduation. I'd hope to use that as a transition into full-time, paid journalism, so I'd work harder on landing something with a good, smaller outlet that might be more likely than a big one to hire new grads.

Your schedule sounds intricate, and this will take time and planning. In addition to looking at your day-to-day minutes and hours, you might see if there are options for arranging your academic semesters to allow some time to get that all-important work experience in.

Good luck with this really tough set of demands.

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Coming Tuesday: She took a job as an editorial assistant at a large newspaper, but now finds that she and the other assistants cannot advance to bigger and better jobs. Did she make the wrong move?

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