Letters to the Editor
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Work is what justifies the rewards
The benefits that accrue to alumni of the LW's school are not some random branding process (well, okay, they are a little), but the fact that all of the alumni survived the trials the LW is suffering now.
Multiple deadlines? Lots of writing? This is life in publishing. If the LW wants a job in publishing, or a job making a living as a writer, this is what life is going to be like. Too much reading? People start out in publishing as readers and publicists, and if you can't get through three or four manuscripts in a week, you won't go very far.
And you learn to write by writing. Writing a lot, writing to deadline, writing on subjects you don't give a rap about.
The big cultural difference between Southern California and New England is that Southern Californians seem to think it's supposed to come easy. To be fair, New Englanders seem a little too committed to making sure it doesn't, but the truth is still somewhere in the middle. The letter writer's getting a chance to learn this lesson early.