For all the young people out there ready to jump ship on the journalism industry and try and switch their careers…

There’s more opportunity out there than ever before, and the best part about it is, you get to be your own boss.

I mean, that’s the dream, isn’t it? You pick where you work, what you work on, and when you work on it. Just ask Julianne Pepitone. She’s been a freelance journalist for some time now and says she wouldn’t go back to her old desk as a corporate employee.

She took a calculated risk and chose to be her own boss. One thing she talked about was how sometimes in life it is important to take risks, especially when you are in a field of study like journalism where there is no one straight arrow pointing you in the right direction. There are so many possibilities out there that it is important to try new things and be open to taking a job that you wouldn’t have previously conceived.

Another thing that Julianne talked about, that I think is important, is no matter what you study in school, what you do for a living, or how much money you make, you have to truly know YOURSELF. It is soooo important to know who you are inside. Be confident, be strong. I have always tried to stay true to myself and not let other people influence my decisions or steer me away from my own path.

I believe that is one thing that drew Julianne to be a freelance journalist. She knew herself and the type of work that she is capable of producing and felt it was her time to promote the work she creates into a brand new career path. From her description, the reward has far outshined the risk.

I feel that is one thing we should all be mindful of. Sometimes risks are scary, but more often than not, if you know yourself, and you are focused on the light at the end of the tunnel, those risks turn into blossoming rewards.

Just remember, kids. Andy Samberg once said…