During our week in New York City I began noticing similar trends and themes throughout the week. Many if not all of the companies we went to stressed the importance of certain skills and traits of a desirable employee. A phrase that we heard over and over was to "not be an asshole", or to just be a good person and be easy to get along with. The second most common theme was to be versatile and be able to learn new things. Most places are looking for photographers who can edit and do video. Another point that was stressed was location.

There is a lot of work in NYC and San Francisco but there is also a surplus of photographers capable of doing that work. Places like Miami and other states between NY and CA. are where there are not enough photographers. Which brings about the common theme of very few staffer but many freelancers. So, put yourself in a spot where you will be able to live affordably and still do jobs for a range of organizations.

This trip left me feeling very hopeful for the future. I never had in mind a staff position at a newspaper and I think that is a good thing because those are disappearing fast. I feel hopeful because it has become clear to me that the issue of everyone having a camera at their finger tips isn't an issue at all. Real story tellers have a skill and it's no longer just making a nice looking image and because the majority of people are so in-tune with the visual world it makes that skill more valuable. This profession is unlike most others because you really have to make your own way. I have accepted the fact that freelancing will be apart of my future but I am keeping all doors open for any opportunity.

One of the most inspiring pieces of advice came from the second speaker at TIME magazine who said that it's not enough to make a storytelling image, it should also be beautiful. I really appreciated this because he said it in a way that didn't mean take "pretty pictures" but it meant to make photographs that appeal to the human spirit. I saw this at Blue Chalk with the video they showed us of two blind girls getting to see for the first time. We should be making work the moves people who are watching it across the world.