Initially going to study acting, Ferber abandoned these plans to help support her family at age 17. Forbidden to study elocution and on the spur of the moment, Ferber ended her higher education and dropped out of Lawrence, subsequently being hired at the "Appleton Daily Crescent" and eventually the "Milwaukee Journal." She covered the 1920 Republican National Convention and 1920 Democratic National Convention for the United Press Association during her period as a reporter.