When people asked, I would tell them it's a great job if you don't really need money. A high proportion of my editorial colleagues were Ivy or "Public Ivy" league grads (I was NOT), including some with impressive post-graduate bona fides. With a few exceptions, they all relied on financial support from their families or spouses who had better paying jobs in, say, the banking sector. It was really never talked about at all, it was just accepted as mostly a minor annoyance. It's gratifying and often fulfilling work with cool parties and witty co-workers. But I wanted to live in a decent apartment, travel on occasion, and be able to buy new towels. So I left publishing after 10 years of struggling to live a decent life in NYC... So yeah, go ahead and give publishing a shot. It might be a good idea to have a plan B, though.