18.
“Years ago, when I started in publishing, I had a second job as a cashier in a bookstore. It both brought in extra funds and, thanks to the store’s borrowing policy, prevented me from spending money I didn’t have on more books.”
“My publishing job required a master’s degree, and I made exactly $10/year over the poverty line for my area — just enough so that I didn’t qualify for government assistance because the company would have found that embarrassing. (And yes, a supervisor confirmed the reasoning behind the salary amount when she got drunk at a holiday party.) My coworkers were in the same situation: 50 young women with advanced degrees who survived by living with their parents, having a partner with a better-paying job, or getting a second night-and-weekend job. My friends who became teachers earned 50% more than I did, plus got educator discounts, union protection, pensions, good and subsidized healthcare, and summers off. My passion for the written word sustained me through four years, and then I couldn’t take the poverty anymore, and I retrained (with a third Ivy League degree) for a job that would allow me to survive. This was the 2000s, by the way. I have no idea how young people suckered into a publishing career survive now. I’m sure it’s gotten even worse.”
—41, California
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