If you want to know more about the day-to-day life of a motoring journalist, Juliet gives us a peek into her world.
She’s a motoring journalist and she shared a little of her daily work with us, so we could learn more about the day-to-day experience of a successful motoring journalist.
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Juliet shares that it was in fact an old petrol-head boyfriend who ignited her passion for cars. She wasn’t, at that time, aware that she could make a career from this love, but when a relative became the publisher of CAR magazine she started to seriously consider it. “I was already studying towards an Honours in Journalism at Stellenbosch University, so I applied for an internship at CAR magazine. I also wrote a thesis on females in the motoring journalism industry in South Africa. Then, once I got to CAR, I refused to leave! And as they say, the rest is history.”
We asked Juliet what she loves most about her career as a motoring journalist and Editor at Women on Wheels and she shared this with us:
“What is there not to love really? I get to drive a new car every single week, sometimes more. I travel the world and South Africa. I get to experience things that most people have on their bucket lists on a weekly basis. But most of all, I love the thrill of getting in to a new car! I love being one of the first people to experience it.”
Find out everything you need to know about becoming a Journalist.
She jokingly adds “And I love that my job generates a lot of conversation, it tends to make a lot of people envious!”
A motoring journalist test drives new car or motorbike models and creates opinion pieces and reviews for magazines, web sites or television. The work involves road-testing cars, writing reviews, creating features and sharing newsworthy stories with readers.
Juliet advises others trying to get into this line of work that they must be able to write. “You cannot just have a passion for cars and you cannot just be a petrol head. This job is not about loving cars, it's about testing new cars, which means you have to be able to remain objective and you cannot get in to this job just to drive super cars, you will be sorely disappointed!”
Juliet adds, “If you are serious about being a motoring journalist (and note the second part of that phrase), then study towards being a journalist while simultaneously learning everything you can about cars. It is one of the best jobs in the world, but it is still a job and you will have days where you are stuck behind a computer trying to meet deadlines. You need to be prepared for that!”
If you’d like to be featured in this Instagram series, send a mail to editor@careers24.com, telling us about yourself and your awesome job, and we’ll be in touch!
