Working as a newspaper reporter was a dream job for Rochelle Gilken, but that changed as the years passed and the industry shifted gears. "The pay left a lot to be desired, and the stress - oh boy! I have two kids, and I have to say that I couldn't balance home and work and be happy due to the stress," says Gilken, who spent six years as a crime reporter for the Palm Beach Post.
PHOTO GALLERY: The 10 Worst Jobs in America
Of course, low pay and high stress are part of a reporter's job description, but other changes led to Gilken's decision to change industries. "I had aspirations to get bigger and better newspaper jobs, but the opportunity to climb the ladder disappeared as newspapers cut back, which was very discouraging," says Gilken. "I always wanted to travel to cover the big stories, like the Olympics, but the money to allow for that just wasn't there and wasn't coming back," she says.
Ever-shrinking newsrooms, dwindling budgets and competition from Internet businesses have created very difficult conditions for newspaper reporters, which has been ranked as this year's worst job, according to the CareerCast.com Jobs Rated report.
Consumers can access online news outlets almost anywhere thanks to technological advancements, which are threatening the existence of traditional print newspapers. As a result, the number of reporter jobs is projected to fall 6 percent by 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), while average pay is expected to continue its decline.
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