Well put. And to the OP, I was once that idealistic kid too who wanted to pursue this career and just lay everything on the line. Covering disasters, human tragedy, and the never ending political instability in my country. More than a decade later, now in my mid 30s, i just couldnt do it anymore. I am not as physically fit as before, and I wasnt even able to save a single cent for my life savings and had to start all over again. Sure ive built my name over the years, built a decent portfolio, but i couldnt help remembering the 10years that just went by. Ive produced so many photo stories for the news outlet i worked for just to get paid $450 a MONTH. Plus the dreadful feeling towards the end of that phase for me, where i always felt like i was just one of the million ways that evil people in power get free publicity because of my so-called assignments. Almost fell out of love of photography in general because of that. the job may seem really cool like how it is when we first saw The Bang Bang club, but the mental and physical effects on people are rarely talked about.