"What kind of ideas do you want to convey to your readers?"
After thinking for a moment, I said, "I hope they can all do the work they truly want to do, without worrying about others' opinions. If the salary is too low, they should start their own ventures."
Because of this thinking, after experiencing the tension between dreams and reality, I chose a full-time job whose salary is relatively low compared to my education and experience, with higher time demands and stress than typical jobs. Though it's sometimes really exhausting, and it doesn't have a great reputation in the public eye, my spirit is enriched because I know this is something I'm truly passionate about and committed to doing. No matter how difficult, I feel I'm gaining growth.
These are things that no amount of money can provide.
But making such a choice really requires courage. I just want to say that we work hard, not solely to make money. Although money allows us to accumulate wealth, realize our ideals, and make life less difficult, the reality is that there are some things where "if you don't do it now, you'll never have the chance again" because they require thresholds and youth to qualify for, rather than being something you can pursue whenever you want.
For example, in journalism, especially television news, educational background isn't heavily weighted; practical ability is more important. Some people already have broadcasting and actual interviewing experience through campus television during school, or they work part-time or intern at TV stations, getting actual exposure to the industry. When they finally transition to full-time positions, they can handle things better than others and have more sense to understand their supervisors' requirements, writing style, and work attitude.
Using myself as an example, I studied mass communication, so I didn't only learn journalism; instead, I focused more on film, television, and advertisement production. My graduation projects were mainly feature films. As for accumulating journalism work, I almost did it all by myself through participating in competitions and workshops, but looking back now, all of this is "discontinuous" accumulation rather than continuous accumulation.
What's the difference?
What I call discontinuous accumulation is when you try to enrich your resume, but tasks A, B, C, and D, when viewed individually, each appear quite diverse—such as participating in business competitions, journalism competitions, video competitions, and so on. However, these competitions have no connection to each other; they belong to different fields with different objectives, and cannot be consolidated into a single professional domain where you can make a name for yourself within that scope. After participating, it ends there with no continuity.
Conversely, continuous accumulation means that tasks A, B, C, and D are all within the same field, strengthening your professional expertise. For example, being a campus broadcaster from the student period while working in the industry, serving as editor-in-chief of a news club, having actual works that are presentable, or demonstrating that you have deep expertise in a certain field. This helps others understand your needs and leaves them with the impression that you're "well-planned from the start."
Of course, discontinuous accumulation isn't absolutely bad. Right now, I know quite a few people who are starting to envy people like me who have touched on various fields. I can continue developing my interests outside of work hours, and also exercise my strengths and pursue my ideals during work time. Whichever path it is, the most important thing is to return to your own heart—"What kind of person do you want to become?" and "What are you passionate about?"—so that you can persist for the long term and gain spiritual growth and stability.
