SPORTS CAREERS: Dann's Journal - Week #3

This past week I had to return to the University of Missouri to finish some courses and arrange some independent study projects. And because I was not at work, I thought I would write about how I got my job.

The one thing we try to let every aspiring sports worker that drops by the site know is that experience and internships go a very long way.

When I first started getting interested in working in the sports industry, I had already interned for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News-Sun. I figured that the writing and editing experience I had gained there was good enough.

I was wrong.

The sports industry is a very specialized industry. While writing, editing and computer skills are valuable, they alone will not prepare you for a career in sports. The same holds true for your degree. While a degree in journalism, communications, computer science, marketing, sports management or a similar field is a great start, you need experience within the industry. What you learn there can't be found in a textbook.

During my sophomore year of college, I called Michael Ringering, who is now my boss with the Cincinnati Reds. I knew little about the sports industry, and he had the job I some day would like to have. I gave him a call and asked for some advice. He was more than willing to help me map out a class schedule, and he told me to start working in my sports information department, which I did for two years.

That random call eventually led to an internship in his department, and later on, my current job. I thought people were nuts when they stressed the importance of networking and making connections. Now I realize that doing those things are about the only way to make it in the sports industry.

When the Reds decided to expand their communications department, I was one of the first to know. My letter of recommendation was from the person interviewing me, and he knew that I was already familiar with how the department worked because I interned there the summer before. An outsider didn't stand a chance.

Dann Stupp can be reached via email at dann@sportsworkers.com.