Hi everyone! I’m Laura Dick the Digital Content and Marketing Manager at MontanaPBS. While I’ve been at MontanaPBS for almost three years, I started my career with the mindset that I was going to follow the path I set out from my undergraduate studies: corporate publishing. In a sense, I spent years trying to make a career fit me, rather than finding the career that I fit in. It wasn’t until I took a leap (or technically MontanaPBS took a leap) into public media that I truly understood what it meant to love your job and to feel passionate about the work you do day-in and day-out.
My career started in corporate publishing in Colorado at an organization that was driven by monetary goals. Each day of my job was defined by the financial gains that I did or did not reach, which clashed with my value of wanting to serve others for the greater good. I knew - quickly - that this was not the fit for me. After about eight months in that role I took a risk and jumped into a position at a startup digital magazine working in graphic design, marketing, and advertising sales. Then I took another jump and began working in Corporate Human Resources. Through these two roles I learned a lot of valuable lessons - that I wasn’t meant to work in the corporate world and that I needed to be serving others in my work, regardless what that might look like. I enjoyed being in HR and serving the organization, but I was still searching for how to fill that creative drive I had formed from my start in publishing. So, I took the biggest leap of all and started a second Masters program, quit my job, and moved to Montana and after nine months found, applied for, and was offered my current job at MontanaPBS!
Now, this process wasn’t easy or perfect - but it was the right decision for where I knew I wanted to be and where I felt I needed to be.
In my role at MontanaPBS, I have been able to bring together my passion for creativity and stewardship that I knew was of value to me. I immediately felt like I was home. I had finally found the career that fit me. As the Digital Content and Marketing Manager, I have been able to move out of the cut-throat attitude of the corporate world and move into a world where you are built up and supported daily. In my position, and as a part of the public media community, I have so enjoyed - and relied on - the friendships I’ve developed across the system. I never hesitate to pick up the phone and reach out to a colleague at another station to ask questions, learn from them, and connect.
The most challenging component, though, and I know others feel this as well, is that there is always more work to be done. We are a small station and at times, I have to learn to say no to my team. Something I never want to do, because we all have dreams of what we can do to serve our audiences. I have to be the person that balances my teams’ dreams and the needs of our audiences, which sometimes means saying no. It has been a learning experience for myself that has pushed me to truly consider how to support others’ dreams, while achieving the greater good of our community. There is no perfect answer, and if you are working through this - you need to reach out to those who support you to understand how to best balance the needs of the organization, your team, and your community.
One of the biggest supporters I’ve had through this time is my General Manager, Aaron Pruitt,who has let me play in my digital sandbox since I started and understands the value of what we do as a team. Because of his support, I’ve been able to grow my team in unexpected ways - through student interns and thinking outside of the box. It is due to this support that when I announced I was making another jump…Aaron and my team supported me. Last year, I announced I was moving back to Colorado and suggested the idea of me working in a fully remote role. All of us were nervous about what this transition would look like, but I knew I wanted to stay with MontanaPBS. They agreed! And, I’ve been working remotely for almost a year.
Working remotely isn’t always easy and I had to learn on my feet as to how I was going to make this work. My advice for everyone who is now working remotely, is to always over communicate with regard to everything you’re working on. Whether that is over communicating project deadlines or connecting with individuals to ensure our project collaborations are still on track. You can never over communicate enough! Another piece of advice is to create a formal workspace in your home - even if it’s tiny! This will help you to create separation between your work and life and it will help you stay in the right headspace for the “work” part of your day. Make a space that you want to be in! I made small changes to my space like having a set of drawers, a hanging calendar and a favorite candle in my space to make it feel like my office. It is important to be comfortable and “logged in” - whether it is physically at the office or at home.
My advice for anyone and everyone in public media or who is starting their career, is don’t be afraid to advocate for your career path because you never know how it will morph and change. My original career path ended up not being fulfilling in the ways I had hoped, so I went back to school…twice. The work I do in my current role is very different than when I started only because of the nature of projects that arise and because I have good lines of communication with my supervisor (my GM). I hope that my story can give you some courage to make big (or small) changes to your day-to-day that will eventually lead to career fulfillment. And while I don’t necessarily subscribe to the concept that, “finding a job you love will mean you’ll never work a day in your life”….because I have been working overtime these past few weeks during quarantine…it sure has been an exhilarating ride that I most certainly do love.
Looking to connect with Laura and learn more about her experience or to obtain additional career advice? Email her today at: laura@montanapbs.org.
