There are quite a few aspiring journalists honing their skills on iReport. We caught up with five iReporters who have turned their journalistic dreams into a career in journalism.

Kyle Aevermann has been a constant presence on iReport since 2008, discussing his thoughts on everything from “American Idol" to one of his favorite annual events, Black Friday. This year, he took on a role as weekend anchor, reporter and morning producer for KOBI-TV in Medford, Oregon.

“I think that being part of iReport really helped me shape my philosophy as a journalist,” he said. “I want to use my position to give people a voice.”

Katy Brown joined the team at WCHS/WVAH-TV in Charleston, West Virginia, in just the past few months and she's already on air. Describing herself as a “one-man band,” she’s responsible for being the photographer, reporter, editor and writer for all her stories.

She credited her time on iReport with developing a very specific skill set.

“When I was iReporting, I was watching debates and speeches for the 2008 election. I trained my ear for things that didn't seem right or were just odd. I would then take off from there, researching or voicing my opinion on whatever caught my ear. Now, I do the same thing. I listen really close to interviews and sometimes catch things that maybe I wasn't supposed to or no one else caught.”

Ashley Porter made a big impression right away on iReport with stories from the Boston area, such as the star-studded “Hasty Pudding” event and the Boston Marathon.

It wasn’t long before she was working in local markets like West Palm Beach, Florida, and Austin, Texas. She’s currently a multimedia journalist at WTSP-TV in Tampa, Florida.

“In college, iReport was what inspired me to dig for stories about people making a difference,” she said, referring to her iReport about a man walking across the U.S. gathering peoples’ messages for then-President-elect Obama. "I never thought about using those stories to get my first job out of college, but I put them in a portfolio and, thankfully, it worked.”

Chris Soriano caught our attention with his very first iReport: a video poem in honor of the movie “Moneyball.” The San Diego resident went on to report for KYMA-TV in Yuma, Arizona, starting less than a week after he attended the 2012 iReport Awards in June. (He is now a weekend anchor.)

“I learned that the vital component about being a reporter is throwing yourself in the story and overcoming your fears of what others might think,” he said.

“I was a shy person when I first started as an iReporter. I was afraid of what people might think as they passed me by on the street as I'm filming myself doing a story, but the more I did it, the more the confidence it built inside me.

Abbey Niezgoda, whom we first caught up with last year, is now a multimedia reporter for Providence, Rhode Island’s WLNE.

“iReport gave me an outlet to measure my work through view counts and comments, beyond my inner-circle of friends and colleagues,” she said. “And while not all of my iReports were popular or received positive feedback, that only helped me grow the thick skin needed to survive the broadcast world.”

We’re tremendously proud to have contributed – if only in a small way – to the new careers of these reporters.

Have you been able to apply your experience with iReport to your own career? Let us know in the comments.