Alternative jobs for journalists are popping up all over as the industry declines. People choose to work as journalists for many reasons — the thrill of working on a deadline, the opportunity to speak truth to power, all that free pizza on election night. But they choose to leave for many different reasons, too: better hours, better pay, better… and the free pizza on election night.

Sadly, many journalists have had the decision to leave the profession made for them. In 2024 alone, there were more than 3,500 job cuts across the journalism industry in the U.S. and the U.K.

If you’re a journalist wondering what your alternatives might be, here’s how to plan your move — along with nine of our favorite jobs for ex-journalists. (Salary information included!)

Focus on Your Transferable Skills

Experienced journalists develop a number of skills that translate very well to other jobs, but not always in the most obvious ways.

  • Research and analysis: Journalists rely on other sources as they determine the truth in a situation. They must interview people who have information, analysis or opinions about a story or article, as well as analyze and interpret information based on their own knowledge about a situation. This skill comes in handy in virtually any role that requires understanding other people’s viewpoints, getting up to speed on a topic quickly, and translating that knowledge for other people.
  • Communicating complex information: A journalist’s experience writing stories for a news organization can also be helpful in communicating to other audiences, both internal and external. Accuracy, style and grammar are all important components of this, of course, along with the ability to weave the facts into a compelling story.
  • Collaboration: Journalists rarely work alone. To be successful in their work, they must develop relationships with sources who provide tips and leads on stories. They must also collaborate with other writers, editors, photographers, and videographers, to publish a story.

If writing and content creation were your favorite responsibilities as a journalist, these three roles may be right up your alley.

Social Media Manager

Social media managers serve as the voice of their organizations across a variety of social media platforms.

The job frequently requires a mix of writing and design skills, and the ability to think creatively on your feet as you engage with people in the company’s voice. It helps to be tech-savvy and adept with data analytics.

Social media is constantly changing, which means staying on top of the latest trends and news. Because it’s constantly growing, the field is also changing quickly, similar to journalism. While it may have started as a primarily written format, it now also encompasses images, carousels (images that connect together in a row), and videos. 

What’s the Salary? As the role has grown, so has its average salary, with BuiltIn reporting the average base salary as $73,547 (though it can start as low as $28,000). 

Public Relations Specialist

This is often the first job that journalists looking to leave the field think of when they’re ready to make the jump. (We used to call it “the dark side.”)

But much like journalism has changed, so has public relations as a discipline. With fewer traditional reporters to pitch, public relations specialists have had to adapt to reach bloggers and influencers as well. Indeed, they’ve had to learn how to position their clients as influencers themselves. 

Depending on the organization you work for, you might write articles on behalf of your clients. Lastly, public relations managers may also be in charge of monitoring and responding to social media questions and concerns.

What’s the Salary? U.S. News and World Report found that the annual salary for a PR Specialist was $66,750 in 2023, with room to grow up to $92,290.

Content Marketer

Content marketers create written and multimedia content for a brand as part of a broader marketing strategy to build awareness and generate demand for a product or service. The content is often educational and informative in nature and designed to cultivate an audience, rather than make a direct sale. Content marketers can work in-house, as part of agencies or as freelancers, and they frequently have their own bylines.

Content marketing is also quickly becoming a large industry, with several paths you can take. You might stick to creating content or transition to a content strategy role, focusing on what content the organization will be creating and how it fits into the broader marketing strategy. Other niches for content marketers include email marketing, product marketing, and social media content creation. 

What’s the Salary? Indeed reports that the average salary for a content marketer in the US is $87,316 in January 2025.

Lean Into Your Vertical Expertise

If you’ve covered a particular beat, such as business or technology, the industries you used to report on may offer alternative careers for journalists. You already know the subject matter, where the growth areas exist and the business dynamics these companies face.

You should approach going deep into a vertical like you would a big story. You will have to network, both physically and virtually. Here’s where to start finding alternative jobs for journalists:

  • Step up your social presence: Signal to future employers that you know the industry well and can hit the ground running.
  • Reconnect with your sources: Reach out to people you’ve interviewed before to get their advice and discuss the latest industry trends.
  • Attend events in your vertical: Whether online or in-person, networking will help you figure out what employers would be a good fit for and find jobs before they are posted.

No one tactic may land you a dream job in your preferred vertical. But the combination of source outreach, LinkedIn thought leadership, and networking online or in-person can increase your chances of finding work you love. Here are three growing roles that can provide depth to any journalist who wants to explore careers in a particular industry.

Customer Success Manager

A customer success manager is not a customer service representative. These people identify problems before they happen and make sure that clients are happy with the products and services they buy.

An excellent customer success manager treats their products and services as a beat. They know their strengths and weaknesses, looking to reduce the pain points for customers and highlighting how their companies can grow their sales to meet demand. This position is ideal for a strategic problem-solver who works well with others.

What’s the Salary? A customer success manager in the United States makes $84,759 on average, according to Indeed.

Public Affairs Officer

Similar to public relations specialists for companies, a public affairs officer deals with bloggers, journalists, influencers and community members, usually for nonprofit or governmental organizations.

Many former journalists are public affairs officers because they understand how to communicate clearly with people and know the political and social dynamics of the institutions where they work. Great public affairs officers may be hard to find, but those who stand out are truly public servants, especially in times of crisis. This role may be desirable for journalists who miss the newsroom and the thrill of breaking news.

What’s the Salary? Between 2023 and 2033, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 6.2% growth for this role, and U.S. News and World Report found that the median salary is $66,750. 

Market Research Analyst

Excellent market research can be as compelling as a front-page story. Market research analysts connect the dots for companies to help them sell their products and services by collecting data through surveys, interviews, and other methods to identify trends and consumer preferences. It’s less about raw data analytics and more about fitting all the pieces of information together to determine whether the market is headed next. 

If journalists have a nose for news and are interested in particular industries, they can develop successful careers as market research analysts. You can dig deeper than you would on any feature story, and your insights may have more impact than an outsider’s.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the average median pay in 2023 for this role was $74,680. Its “Occupational Outlook Handbook” also reports that it will grow by 8% from 2023-2033, which makes its growth rate faster than average. 

Head Back to School

Depending on your financial situation, it may be worth it to earn an advanced degree to pursue a position in another profession, such as law or accounting.

Keep in mind that the career switch may be expensive in the short run. In August 2024, the Education Data Initiative found that the average total cost of law school is about $230,163, with tuition alone being $151,072 or $50,357 each year.

The cost of master’s degrees varies widely based on what and where you study and ranges between $44,640 and $71,140.

These three career paths may require some serious investments of time and money, but they’re sure to be rewarding alternative careers for journalists.

Lawyer

Words matter in the legal profession, just like journalism. As a result, almost every journalist who has covered a trial has probably thought they could be a lawyer. The field of law is vast, and plenty of opportunities exist at law firms, governmental organizations and companies for a savvy journalist with a law degree. 

What’s the Salary? The average lawyer makes more than double what the average journalist makes, $100,485 per year compared to $47,764 per year, according to PayScale.

Auditor

Some journalists hold the powerful accountable, and so do auditors. Like a journalist, an excellent auditor pursues the hard facts and uses them to draw conclusions. For financial and investigative reporters, this can be a rewarding career switch. The four main types of auditors:

  • External auditors work for external audit firms.
  • Internal auditors are company employees.
  • Forensic auditors investigate whether companies have engaged in financial misconduct.
  • Government auditors evaluate whether public funds have been used wisely.

While working as an auditor usually requires a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance, top positions require a master’s degree. 

What’s the Salary? Auditors can make about $64,894 a year, according to Payscale. 

Consultant

A consultant is simply someone who gives professional advice in a specific business area. If you’ve developed expertise in a particular area as a journalist, that advice is marketable and can potentially grow into a consulting business. And you may not need to go back to school to hang out your shingle as a consultant.

However, if you want to join the upper echelons of top management consulting firms, it’s helpful to have an MBA or specialized degree. 

Ultimately, consulting is identifying business problems and providing clients the tools to fix them. Journalists use similar skills when telling gripping stories of mergers, acquisitions and corporate downfalls. Consultants just tell those stories to smaller audiences.

What’s the Salary? The average salary for a consultant will vary based on the type of consulting, your degree level, and the size of the organization you work for, though the average base salary is $87,000.

A Future Beyond Journalism

The skills you’ve honed as a journalist — research, storytelling, and collaboration — are highly valuable in today’s job market. Whether you’re leveraging these abilities in marketing, PR, or customer success or pursuing an entirely new field like law or auditing, there are plenty of alternative careers for journalists.

Start by identifying your transferable skills, building your network, and exploring industries that excite you. The future is yours to shape — all you need to do is take the first step.