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CRS In Action: Your Career -- Is Bigger Always Better?
February 21, 2014 at 3:13 PM (PT)
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The CRS 2014 “Your Career -- Is Bigger Always Better?” session featured WSLC’s BRETT SHARP, WXTU’s SHELLY EASTON, WUBL’s BRIAN MICHEL, BELMONT UNIVERSITY Coach RICK BYRD and was moderated by LON HELTON. The panel covered what should be taken into consideration before moving to another market.
“I just realized it’s about quality of life for me,” said SHARP. “I live on top of the mountain; my wife is an elementary school principal at the bottom of the mountain and my son loves his school. There’s been some good offers, but my quality of life in ROANOKE has been fantastic. I love it.”
“There’s a big difference between being selfless and selfish. I think sometimes people just want to get to a bigger market, and once they see that nut they don’t look at the rest of the picture,” said EASTON. “Whether it’s a big market or a small market, it’s got to be a good situation. No one mentions the fact that when you get into a large market there’s a lot of money tied to everything that you do, but in a medium market sometimes you have more leverage to try some things or be creative and there isn’t the intense pressure.”
MICHEL added, “It’s not just about being in a big city. Quite frankly, the size of the market really wasn’t a driving force. Of course I want to be successful and have achievements, but being in the right place was more important. The thing that was most important was the chance to move close to family again.”
The panel also noted that more money doesn’t always mean living more comfortably.
“From a monetary standpoint, the money is relevant, too,” said SHARP. “Big money in a bigger market is fairly comparable to decent money in a small market.”
EASTON added, “I would suggest to anyone thinking about moving to look at that cost of living scale that you can look at online because I know people who have starved in SAN DIEGO and thought they were making a good salary compared to what they did.”
The panel ended with advice on keeping your ego in check and knowing what’s really important.
“I think the tipping point came for me when my ego was not as important as my quality of life,” said BYRD. “As you move along and you have a family, then their life and what’s good for them should become more important than your ego, where you want to go, how many people know who you are or what awards you’ve won.”
“People need to ask themselves, whether they’re on the records side or the radio side, what made them want to start to do this?" said EASTON. "It’s not so much about where you’re doing it, but how you’re doing it. Are you staying true to that passion that started you in the beginning? If that’s what motivates you, then the rest will fall into place. You’re not going to find happiness if you’re constantly trying to feed an ego. You’re always going to be dissatisfied.”

