Fellow journalist in recess here! I started off at The Michigan Daily and Benzinga and transitioned to tech (Fetchnotes, Occipital).

Things I miss:

• The global view you get of the world — constantly I now find myself thinking “What? How did I miss this?” when reading
• The ability to help others tell a story and give a loudspeaker to causes/issues I cared about
• The amazing, multi-faceted discussions I had with people in newsrooms.
• Writing! I don’t get to enough anymore. It truly does make me happy.
• Working with other writers — I know more about what they do than developers, so it’s easier for me to give feedback from a place of authority and experience

Things I don’t miss:

• The pay
• Being forced to write about things — and the fact that it turns something I love, writing, into a chore
• The cynicism that becomes inevitable when you work in the industry long enough

If you ever want to chat about the transition, give me a holler at alex@alexdschiff.com. I also think about whether or not I want to get back into the game all the time.