“Oh really? What magazine?”

“It’s a trade magazine called …” I’ve already lost my audience. How about a little respect? My job is important, after all! Over the holidays, for the first time ever another person asked me for career advice. She’s 28, studied art in Europe for years and is now looking for a job — writing. From the look on her face, you’d think I killed her puppy when I told her the best game in town is the trade press (OK, so this isn’t exactly New York).

And this week, the scariest prospect of all is upon me: career day. So to prepare myself, I’ve composed the top 10 reasons trade press is awesome:

10. No math. Well, some math. But no math for math’s sake.

9. Free coffee. Maybe this isn’t an exclusive to the trade press, but it’s good.

8. Free travel. I’ve seen so much stuff I never would have without the trade press.

7. Free swag. Pens, notepads, coffee cups, t-shirts and the occasional gym bag.

6. Monthly deadlines. Or weekly. Better than daily. Which reminds me …

5. No city council meetings. No explanation necessary.

4. Fame beyond your wildest dreams. In the industry, anyway. I’m a semi-celebrity. Especially during the aforementioned travel.

3. Stet. Does the average person know what it means? No. Do I? Yes. It’s like a secret society.

2. Being around other people who laugh at bad grammar, too. And who also have an addiction to good pens. See #7.

1. Full-time writing job. You can’t really argue about this one. It is pretty nice to be making money for putting pen to paper

And there are millions, millions more reasons.

Movie critics, who do nothing but watch and rate movies all day, can’t even predict what will happen with Oscar nominations. How am I to know what kinds of articles trade press judges are going to like? Without knowing an industry, how can you judge how valuable new information is to an audience? And the comparison between industries seems a little apples to oranges to me.

What wins? Humor? Levity? Hard-hitting news? Analysis? I still haven’t figured it out. I have to win something sooner or later. Anyone have any advice for me? My ego is aching.