I didn’t always take the jobs that paid over the years, but I’d like to think that I took the ones that paid off.

With this lazy week in between Christmas and NYE, many of us (hello, me!) are just taking it easy and not doing much work (although… I am, for the next issue of the magazine). So I thought this would be a good time to whisper into your ear that, in 2011, you have some big decisions to make. Yes, I’m talking to you.

So, what does it mean to have a job “pay off”?

For me, it meant seeing my name in print (as a writer), so I took a volunteer position at my university paper. My first story, I tracked down a student walking around campus barefoot to raise awareness for homelessness. That article was published  in 20,000 copies of the school newspaper within a week. Oh the thrill of it! I remember grabbing a paper hot off the news stand, dashing away into a corner and then reading every. single. word. in slow motion, absorbing every second of this cool, new experience. And even though writing that piece meant that my english essay would be two days late, it was worth it.

Eventually I was hired at the school paper as the News Editor, or rather I was voted in. It was a democratic system and every editor voted in the next editor and so on. To this day, it’s one of the few systems I’ve seen actually work in a collaborative and creative environment. Go figure.

That initial unpaid opportunity at the newspaper turned out to pay off in more ways than one: First, I was hired to join the editorial staff and gain invaluable experience and a training ground in journalism. That job helped pay for my car, which took me to and from school, news stories, internships and gave me a sense of independence I never thought possible.  That exposure in the school paper landed me my first ‘real’ freelance job for NOW magazine in the Spring of 2002. From there, as they say, the rest is a blur.

Just kidding.

But seriously,that journalism experience in my college years later translated into PR jobs (that helped me pay my way out of school debt), which led to more freelance writing jobs in Web and marketing. Everything I’ve ever done in Web and in marketing/PR is paying off in big ways lately, as I navigate through new writing, editing and public relations projects. In fact, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: This blog helped three key people find their way to me, which led to some pretty great opportunities in 2010. So yes, I’d say my time and sweat equity has paid off.

But don’t get me wrong. I’m not sharing any of this just for the sake of putting it out there or to put some positive spin on how difficult in can be make your mark in a new industry. Whether you’re a new grad or a 30-something making a career-switch (like so many professionals I know) the secret is taking on the right amount of unpaid work that goes onto a lasting (and eventually paid) opportunity.

But beware: that doesn’t mean you should undersell or underpay yourself for too long. At some point, you have to pull the trigger and declare your passion or skills a job – a paid job.

To do that, however, you have determine your work’s worth, but be humble and realistic and fair when you do. Too often I see really incredibly creative and talented people short-sell themselves simply by taking only paid jobs and then never being called again because all they cared about was the paycheck, not the experience or the networking. In and out, wham-bam, thank you ma’am!

Lesson learned: There are times when collecting for your talents is nothing more than a quick transaction, and the long-lasting results (like a full-time writing job) just won’t be there. So be wise.

Trust me, it’s worth it.

****

Here’s a link to an interview I did for a cool site called, “Human Detour”. I’ve posted a smidgen of it here on the blog before, but here are all three parts… (you have to click on the arrow to get the next two vids.) It’s the story (mostly) of how I became a full-time writer and got un-stuck in 2010. I hope you enjoy, and think a lot.

http://www.humandetour.com/sandy-braz/

Love,

s