I'm at a point in my life where I'm deciding what I should do for the rest of my life now that I have graduated high school . I'm planning to go to college to get a degree in Management Information Systems (which I'm not sure I like yet, but it is in demand and pays well.) And that's what I will be doing for the next 4 years, but I'm trying to think further in the future. I love writing stories here, and cycling in general. And I'm wondering if there is any way, or possibility to break into the cycling industry as possible a writer, for team blogs, race reports, etc. or somewhere in management. I just thought I would ask because this as this is a cycling forum and I wondering if it is possible. This would be my dream job and I'm curious as to how hard it would be to actually make a career out of it.
Any help, advice, or even warnings are appreciated. Edited by Mresuperstar on 28-06-2024 14:23
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I have been in a similar situation a year ago when I graduated from what is probably the German equivalent of high school (here, it's just called school ). My original plan was to spend a year abroad but for several reasons, that didn't happen. I had about half a year with nothing to do but to figure out what should be happening next in my life.
My first intention was to study economics, for similar motives as yours, plus I really liked (and still like) maths. But since I had the time, I decided to visit some university lectures and made an internship and I soon noticed that it was not like I imagined and it was nothing I could do for the rest of my life.
I don't want to go too much into detail, so here's my current situation: After a more or less spontaneous decision, I decided to study law because it really intrigues me and I enjoy thinking logically. I'm still in my first term but I enjoy it a lot and I feel like I made the right decision. Because I do something I like.
Conclusion: I really, really don't recommend to do something just for economic reasons (then again, I'm in the comfortable situation that I have numerous possibilities and supporting parents, I don't know your situation). The job is something that'll define a huge part of your life, and call me a romantic but I do think that you should prefer enjoying what you do to making more money.
That's for the first part. Now to your second one:
I'm not sure if there already is a profession called "blog writer". What you're going for is, if I understand you correctly, public relations. The entrance for that is, as mentioned above, usually journalism. From my experience (and I'd say I have some, since my dad is a journalist and I did several internships in that area), most journalists are lateral recruits. I don't think I know any journalist that actually studied journalism (maybe CrueTrue can tell you more about that, though). Also, at least here in Germany, journalism seems to be a very unsafe business, regarding economic safety. Therefore, it might be the right thing to study "something real", if you want more of that safety. What I would recommend you is to look out for possibilities to develop your writing and especially to network with other journalists. Do internships (and keep contact afterwards), try to get a job at your local news paper, participate in your college paper (if there's none, create one!). My dad for instance made an education as a photographer, then went to the university where he participated in a radio group and through that, he got to work at a local radio station, then a bigger one, then he changed to print journalism and is now part of the public relations team of one of the biggest national broadcasting stations in Germany.
Conclusion 2: There's always a chance to get into journalism (which should probably be the base for your further job in cycling - so you might want to specialise as a sports journalist ), no matter what you did before, but it's hard! Tips: Use every opportunity to work in that field, be it as small as it may. And above all: Try to make contact with as many journalists (or PR guys, for that matter) as you can. I don't think you'll get into that metier if you don't have the right connections.
Wow, that turned out into quite a wall of text. Hope it helped somehow
Thanks cunego and cactus-jack that was really helpful. I'm considering minoring in Journalism if Management Information Systems is something I enjoy. Or I might look more into it if it's something I can't see myself doing. But all in all thanks for your posts.
Now that the journalist side has been covered, does anyone have any information on getting jobs with the management side or of cycling teams or any sports team? As I think that would suit me more then journalism.
A lot of people in that area are ex-pros. The best examples that I can think of are Riis and Louis Pasamontes (Movistar). That, or they personally know someone in the field. Even the soigneurs generally have some affiliation to someone in the team.
DaBobScotts wrote:
A lot of people in that area are ex-pros. The best examples that I can think of are Riis and Louis Pasamontes (Movistar). That, or they personally know someone in the field. Even the soigneurs generally have some affiliation to someone in the team.
Does this happen with lower teams as well, because I really wouldn't mind helping manage (or just somebody that helps the team/writes and advertises) say for a small team. But I'm thinking that could be a huge risk considering many small teams don't last for a while.
Also do you think being an active member on this forum would interest perhaps a small cycling team (maybe say UHC or Spidertech) if I contacted them asking for a job opportunity as what most are calling a journalist?
I call dibs on Spidertech. (although you are a year ahead of me)
I always cringe when ESPN and TSN get something horribly wrong when talknig about cycling. I have always dreamed of working for them, but I dont think thats very realistic. I really dislike when most broadcasters just hire ex=pro's. There are "Sports Nerds" like me who know quite a bit about so many different sports and I feel that although I lack some of the actual experience I know a lot about analysis and things like that.
Maybe watching the Tour de France on Versus gives me too much hope, but those guys..... oh man.
I hope you get the job you want! I really want to do something similar to you. All I do is sports.
Bah! The versus coverage of the TDF is horrendous unless Liggett (bless him) and Sherwin (to keep Phil tethered) are holding the mic. That Bob person needs to be hauled up a col and punted off of it.
Re; Journalism: speaking as someone who can barely remember/barely wants to remember final years of 'school' (high or otherwise) and as someone who's worked around journalistic enterprises here and there over the past couple of decades, I would recommend actually going to school (college/University) to study journalism, in tandem with finding some kind of freelance/volunteer sports reporter work in local radio/newspaper/internet media. Journalism is unique among professions in that it's very possible to make ground without holding the highest on-paper qualifications in the room. Hard work and lots of aggressive self-promotion are key to get where you want there, should you really want it. You're in Michigan, I see, which isn't exactly a hotbed of small media, however.
I'm not remotely qualified to comment on cycling team management but I would imagine it to be a very, very narrow field that's hard to break into without having a medical/trainer/cyclist opening to begin. Maybe consider athletic training/management options in school and attack every cycling team you can for possible openings? It may, like most things, be a case of who and not what you know. You know? Good luck, all the same. I don't envy you.
It was eleven more than necessary. Jacques Anquetil
just a little correction for valv and 9-ball it is nbcsports now not versus
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
Ah, Bob Roll is the perfect example of ex-pro's/riders that just shouldn't be in journalism. But "they've lived it" so they are 100% more qualified than a non pro.
(I dont like how it seems ex-pros more and more now seem to get the jobs as analysts and such over others.)
I mean he's a cool guy, and seems very nice and light spirited, but his commentating is horrendous. He has picked Hushovd to win a mountain stage before.
valverde321 wrote:
I mean he's a cool guy, and seems very nice and light spirited, but his commentating is horrendous. He has picked Hushovd to win a mountain stage before.
DaBobScotts wrote:
A lot of people in that area are ex-pros. The best examples that I can think of are Riis and Louis Pasamontes (Movistar). That, or they personally know someone in the field. Even the soigneurs generally have some affiliation to someone in the team.
Does this happen with lower teams as well, because I really wouldn't mind helping manage (or just somebody that helps the team/writes and advertises) say for a small team. But I'm thinking that could be a huge risk considering many small teams don't last for a while.
Also do you think being an active member on this forum would interest perhaps a small cycling team (maybe say UHC or Spidertech) if I contacted them asking for a job opportunity as what most are calling a journalist?
I would probably say yes, it would also be the same for "lower" teams as well. This is a different field, but doing some coaching for young riders, then breaking into a small team that way could work, but that's coaching. Same sort of thing here for sports medicine, but those are completely different fields.
Where I am, you could break into team management by starting to work with juniors, and getting friendly with some sponsors for a local series (here, it is Rendition Homes), a local crit series that gets some "big" riders (Aitkin, Rowan Dennis, Cunningham) then breaking into the National Road Series, and so on. But that would be hard, and again, many people who manage the teams there are affiliated with either the sponsors or members of the team.
Best I can offer from here is good luck, and I hope that all goes well!
valverde321 wrote:
I mean he's a cool guy, and seems very nice and light spirited, but his commentating is horrendous. He has picked Hushovd to win a mountain stage before.
And he was right in the end wasn't he?
I think he was going to win the GC that year, but he punctured several times on the last mountain of the Tour and lost over 15 minutes
I can mind and sort of like Phil and Paul, but i can't stand Bob. He tries to pronounce every riders name like it is a French name and he does it in a french accent
Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.
I regularly have to put up with the stupid commentators on EuroSport. They have no idea about cycling, and if it doesn't involve Cavendish or another member of Sky, they don't care. A good example of this was the Ardennes Classics earlier in the year... Anyone who had to put up with them for those three races would understand...
A bit late here but I'd say you just follow whatever you want to do and go for it 100%, that's what I intend to do, no matter how low your chances are. You'll never be what you wanna be if you don't try first. You can always do something else later if it doesn't work out
Tomorrow marks 12 years since I posted this thread looking for career advice, little did I know it would change the rest of my life. Let me explain:
I was naive high school graduate who had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. This thread gave that 18-year-old "adult" reassurance that it was OK to dream big. Made me feel like I wasn't being delusional, and I wasn't alone (even though it felt like that all the time because I didn't know anybody IRL who enjoyed or even watched the sport of cycling here in Michigan, USA).
This forum, through writing PCM stories, encouraged me to become a better writer every single day and gave me the confidence to believe in myself. So, I did.
Halfway through my freshman year of college, I switch my major to Journalism. To my surprise, my parents were very supportive. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was now on the right track to pursue something I actually enjoyed.
My sophomore and junior years in college, I got an unpaid internship writing for a now defunct sports blog about one of my favorite teams, the Detroit Red Wings. I even branched out and wrote a few posts about the Tour de France. It was a start. Two articles a week for over a year and a half.
Then came my senior year and I got recruited by a professor to write sports for our college newspaper. I got assigned the women's volleyball and softball beat. I also did a little basketball, football, and other sports here and there. I had a blast. I learned so much. Made new connections and friends. But then it was over. I graduated. I had to get a "real job" and start making money.
This was probably the hardest part of my journey. I graduated in April and didn't have a single job offer (I probably applied to over 100 jobs my senior year). May came and went. Finally, by the end of June, an opportunity... in North Dakota.
After a heart-to-heart talk with my dad, I decided to leave home and travel 16 hours away to start my career as a sports journalist for a local daily newspaper in the middle of nowhere. My dad said, "You can always come back home if it doesn't work out." That stuck with me. I always had a Plan B.
I spent four and a half years in North Dakota. Crazy, I know. I was a sports reporter covering mostly high school sports my first two years before my boss got a job at a different newspaper and I was promoted to sports editor. I was in complete control of the entire sports section!
I covered everything from the DII college, to dirt track racing, to bull riding... you name the sport and I have probably wrote about it. It vastly expanded my sports knowledge. Every day was different, and every day a newspaper had to be printed. The 11 p.m. deadline still haunts me to this day. It was always a exhilarating rush at the end of the night to finalize the sports section.
I made a lot of memories. Met a lot of really cool people. I made a name for myself, winning multiple writing awards against the other three daily newspapers in the state.
Then, COVID happened. Sports shuttered. I had to get extremely creative on how to fill a sports section everyday when sports in town and around the world had completely stopped. I did this for roughly six months. While being a challenging time, it was somewhat refreshing to take a step back from the daily grind of covering games every night to come up with new, fresh ideas. Our sports section exceled by coming up with new content and a plethora of features on all the college seniors in our area who had lost the ability to play out their final season.
Everything was going well. Until it wasn't. The newspaper used COVID as an excuse to start cutting costs. I lost a sports reporter, who I just hired six months prior. They then decided to move our deadline up an hour from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. I was told this was just a summer thing and would change back when (American) football season started in the fall. It didn't. HS football games usually run from 7 p.m. to 9:30-ish every Friday in the fall. You do the math. I was now in an impossible situation trying to give coverage to roughly 40 high schools with just myself and one other sports reporter. I got phone calls from angry parents every single day complaining about our coverage and why their kid's game wasn't in the paper like it used to be. There was nothing I could do. It was deflating. For really the first time in my career, my best was no longer good enough.
With my encouragement, my other sports reporter quickly found a new job. And, with no light at the end of the tunnel in sight, this was also my sign to leave as well. It was time to come back home to Michigan, like my dad said. Even though I didn't have another full-time job lined up.
I got three part-time jobs instead, and focused more on bettering myself and having more of a work-life balance. For four and a half years, I put everything into my job and I was burnt out, frustrated, and angry that it was all taken away from me. Little did I know that was exactly what I needed. After doing everything on my own for so long, it was assistance and help from others that kept me going.
I did gig work for roughly two and a half years. Each contract job was different and allowed me to meet new people and open new doors, all within the sports community around my hometown and across the USA.
In the summer of 2022, I finally secured a full-time job again as the Sports Information Director for a nearby college that I didn't have to move halfway across the country. It was only a 30-minute commute. My boss, who hired me, was an assistant SID who helped me a lot when I was a senior in college writing for the student newspaper. Sometimes it's about who you know.
I did this for 15 months before another opportunity just popped up in my work email. A new professional sports team in town was looking for PR specialist and the person who sent out the email also knew me through one of my other gig jobs.
I got the job. I have been here for almost a year now. It's been a wild ride. My boss is even a pro cycling fan! (Hopefully, he doesn't see this post... lol)
I chased my dreams and found exactly where I'm suppose to be.
Maybe one day I'll get to work for a pro cycling team, but the fact I have gotten this far and get to stay in Michigan surrounded by my family and friends is a blessing that will be hard to give up to travel the world with a cycling team.
Also, I'm getting married in 15 days (!) to my best friend who came into my life when I decided to focus more on myself. We have plans to start a family in the future, so staying put where we are seems pretty logical to me.
One day I hope I can show my kid this thread and give them inspiration to chase their own dreams. I'm so grateful that I did with the support from a video game cycling forum... PCMDaily has always been my safe place, where I can write to relieve stress, be creative, and has always empowered me to just be myself.
Forever grateful, Mre.
Parting side note: Last week was my 15-year PCMDaily anniversary. I'm now 30 years old. Weird to say that PCMDaily has now been part of half of my life.
This is so cool! I genuinely remembered this thread when I saw it pop up again, and then I half remembered maybe having written something here myself, and I scroll up and indeed there it is. 12 years ago, just goes to show how long this website and this community have accompanied us - I had that same half-my-life milestone a few months ago -, and that it can actually make an impact. Honestly made me a bit emotional reading this (also the fact that you resurfaced the thread to share this with us).
And so cool to read how you've found your way through sports writing so far. I also remember how you wrote that your stories here helped you land one of your first jobs (at least I think so), and that already was so neat. To see that it paid off to follow that career is really awesome. I hope it has only more and better things in store for you!
And like Laurens said, congrats on the upcoming wedding!
. I'm planning to go to college to get a degree in Management Information Systems (which I'm not sure I like yet, but it is in demand and pays well.) And that's what I will be doing for the next 4 years, but I'm trying to think further in the future. I love writing stories here, and cycling in general. And I'm wondering if there is any way, or possibility to break into the cycling industry as possible a writer, for team blogs, race reports, etc. or somewhere in management. I just thought I would ask because this as this is a cycling forum and I wondering if it is possible. This would be my dream job and I'm curious as to how hard it would be to actually make a career out of it.
). My original plan was to spend a year abroad but for several reasons, that didn't happen. I had about half a year with nothing to do but to figure out what should be happening next in my life. 
(although you are a year ahead of me)
