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What do you do?
I am the technology editor for a national B2B (business-to-business) publication for in-house lawyers. I started as the associate editor in 2005 and was promoted in 2007. As technology editor, I write multiple sections of the magazine, including the technology section, features and short front-of-book and back-of-book pieces. I also create a monthly tech e-newsletter, help develop the Web site and manage technology-related supplements to the magazine.

How did you get your job?
I applied via JournalismJobs.com. After working many, many odd jobs in Chicago for a year and developing a semi-successful freelance business, I lucked out with this.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
Listen to your editors, even if you think they are wrong. Because if they're good, they're probably right.

What advice do you have for current students?
Don't try to plan your journalism career too much. Your dreams of working for The New York Times or CNN will likely change when you get out and realize the world of journalism is drastically different than the way the J-School presents it. Besides, hitting the big time isn't everything. Doing what you love and challenging yourself is more important than having a byline in a nationally recognized consumer magazine (And no, I'm not bitter).

What's the best part about your job?
Your career will take you places you never imagined. Let it. I'm a technology editor for a national legal magazine. There are so many things wrong with that. A) I shun technology. I've never even owned a DVD player. B) I've worked for lawyers. They're not typically the life of the party. C) I always thought B2Bs were lame. The reality is writing about technology is a challenge. I don't understand this stuff. So I have to educate myself on a monthly basis. Every story is a learning experience. And writing about lawyers has opened my eyes up to so many socio/political aspects of society you don't get to read about in the paper. Sure, you might read a story in the Trib (Columbia Daily Tribune) about a politician trying to pass an ordinance to ban Wal-Mart. But I get to read that ordinance and the complaint filed in court and talk to the politician and to Wal-Mart and see what's really going on. It's fascinating stuff. B2Bs can be lame, but some are pretty awesome. Like mine. I write about stuff that you see in the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, just more in-depth and with a different audience in mind. If you want to write hard-hitting news pieces and service pieces, B2Bs can be the place to go; newspapers and magazines are going all soft for the most part, which is sad.

What is your favorite J-School memory?
There are so many.

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