5 things I wish I knew before getting a COMMUNICATIONS DEGREE

Hey y'all. Welcome back. I wish someone had given me these tips before I majored in communications in college because it would have made the job search after I graduated much easier/better. Also, I know that things with college are weird right now because of the coronavirus, but this video is intended mostly for use after things get back to some type of normal.

I hope this helps someone!

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#college #communications #university

[pieman]

“A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” Is the full quote btw. It is not a negative quote towards talented people, people just turned it into one.

[sharih]

This video is like a godsend. I'm a graduating high school senior and I've been really torn between a marketing major + comm minor or comm major + marketing minor. Your vid really clarified some things for me. Thank you!

[TS-fhii]

I think Communication Studies can be a great degree if you put in the time with internships, involvement, and choosing courses that will apply to a future career. If you just randomly choose courses that don't teach you a lot of tangible skills and try to apply for jobs you aren't going to find much.

[duaawail]

hey yall, as a person who graduated with a communications degree, she was on POINT WITH EVERYTHING!!! its not only centered around english speaking countries too. Im currently doing a masters because degree or experience isnt enough unfortunately. HOWEVERRRR I dont regret doing my degree in comms as it really helped get a feel of a little bit of everything! and if your able to get those internships during your breaks and get more after your degree, u will get a job! Experience is truly the key!!

[JH-stwg]

I studied communications and cannot stress enough how much I regret not taking advantage of all the internship opportunities. Even though communications isn't a "master" of something, you can *become* a master of something by doing more internships. For example, a friend of mine did a lot of qualitative and quantitative programs as well as some internships related to them -- he is now working for statistics Canada.

I managed to land a decent job after graduation after obtaining a high level of Chinese. But I do plan to go back for my masters and tailor my experience to something more suitable for my interests.

[jacobhardbarger]

The most informative video I’ve watched in my life

[sabrinaroberts]

Great video! I was a COMM/PR major in undergrad and I got a masters in Integrated Marketing Communication. I did do social media management and SEO. I would say at least 15-20% of that job was me researching changes on social media platforms and studying SEO strategies. I graduated in the Great recession and it was sooo hard to get established. If you are interested in the job, do multiple internships, very early! Take any experience you can get because the major is growing, and the jobs are competitive. You can even double major or minor just in case you want to pivot and take on a new career. I switched to education a few years ago and I love it! Those times doing social media management were great too. All in all, be focused but also be flexible when pursing this career. Start early and network! Good luck everyone!

[shappuden]

Super great video. I want to add a little more details as well. I'm majoring (senior graduating in 3 months) in Integrated Marketing Communications. Much like in the video, this degree teaches you to be a jack of all trades as opposes to a "master" in one subject. I learn how to run campaigns, conduct research/analyze data, film/edit videos, take photos/photoshop/graphic design, write for PR/news, analyze markets/conduct basic marketing/digital marketing. With that said, I've also taken electives like HTML/web design, crisis communication, political science research, stats, speech communication and more to make me more viable in the field. My degree (and my school's regular communications degree) does not require most of these extra electives. Some of these classes make ALL the difference when applying to jobs. Particularly stats/conducting research/web design. These are crucial in our big data/digital age. Also being a "jack of all trades and master of none" is actually extremely beneficial, at least from a managerial perspective. Knowing how everything works, enough that you can do it yourself, will allow you to lead people in a management role. You don't have to be the best at something but knowing what IS good and how to communicate a marketing/communications campaign to your team is extremely vital. With that said, having all these random skills also makes it extremely easy to get an internship. Because you mostly only need basic knowledge of a skill as an intern. Having such diverse skills makes you muxh much more appealing as an intern, since you'll typically be thrown around a lot. After you get your first internship getting your 2nd or 3rd is much easier, since you alresdy have that experience. Internships, like the video said, is absolutely crucial. Most schools will have an internship available to you, weather its in the newspaper, teacher assistant, local non profit or biz your school operates, etc. Another thing that's rather important is a Master's degree. You will most likely want one of these in this type of field (communications/marketing). My one summer internship paid me 16.50 an hour. Now that I'm getting my masters I'll be paid 22$ an hour per company policy, to do the same job for only having a masters degree. 5.5$ more to do the exact same job (AS AN INTERN) for just 1-1.5 more years of school. Trust me, it's worth it. However I'm more focused on marketing/strategic communications. Not so much journalism, tv/film, or any of that-- mind you. This video just painted itself more as a marketing/communications degree, which is literally what my degree is (as opposed to strictly just communications), so I thought I'd chime in too! Hope this was even more clarifying!

[hangarby]

Getting an internship or multiple internships is key; find your niche area within the Communications field; try to seek some additional, 'technical' areas either as academic minor(s) (Info Systems, Computer Science, Statistics, etc) or better, through industry certifications to augment your academic degree.

[justintoth]

Very good tips! I wish I had this years ago. I have been done with my undergrad since 2001, not knowing what I wanted to do. I spent over a decade in middle school teaching, and after a lot of hard work and stress, I learned it wasn't for me, and that I was in the wrong field. Copywriting, Communications, and Digital Marketing is what I should have been doing all along. I am interested in this field, and I am a super hard worker who likes to learn and apply myself and write. I didn't know writing was my best transferable skill until I was 39. Now I am in my 40s with an uphill climb ahead of me trying to get into this field. I hope that there is hope for me!

[jordynbateman]

This is sooo important. In my first job... I was like ummmm I’m so sorry but I have ZERO CLUE what ANYONE is talking about lol

[BreakinBeatz]

communication studies is more like monologue:
1. You can't really stare at the manuscript
2. You must know what's need to be told live on air
3. You must have confidence and be ambitious
4. You never should forget news
5. Finally, know production off and in air news, and business. Business is what makes the media rich and famous!

[TheMakfather]

Very interesting video.. am 41.. used to be PE teacher... them decided to get a masters degree to change Carrier... I did master's in information and communication (which it was really vague eventhough I got a lot of personal knowledge and education from it) and I made all the mistakes that you mentioned... I fluently speak Arabic, English, French and Spanish and been learning German for fun for the last year... never got a job in communication... I did many call center jobs(CS, tech support and fraud) I ended up doing a trade DEP and am a proud plumber now :D
I would do it differently... but life happens... am still 100% sure that all the learning i carry, will get me somewhere sometime... for now am making a decent living and a family.. tnx for sharing your story.. sharing mine is an way to show you my appreciation :)

[quarterlifecrisis]

Hey y'all. I just want to say that I know it's a really weird time right now for everyone, including college students, and a lot of these tips won't be possible right now for college students. This is just a video I've been wanting to make for a while and I felt like posting it today lol. It's mostly intended for when things in the world get back to somewhat normal!! I feel for y'all in college.

[kobemalden]

I think you really nailed it. I majored in COMM, but I always gathered new information through Google Certifications, Hubspot, Linkedin Learning, so I really didn't have any problem finding a job after college. I also took numerous Advertising/PR/Strategic Comm courses that taught me a lot of the Digital Marketing lingo that you talked about so shout out to my professor.

[princessdianaox]

Go after what your heart tells you. a college degree isn’t really going to be as valuable in the future as it is now. Do not stress yourself out.

[greenbeans]

I have a degree in communication, I’m currently in grad school for communication (focusing on organizational communication as well as PR) and deciding I need to be prepared and trying to get an internship. I’m very scared of the real world, that’s actually the reason why I’m in grad school.

[AnonYmous-gpcc]

I’m impressed you’ve gotten 0 thumbs down. I honestly couldn’t give you a thumbs down either. Thanks for being so down to earth and easy to listen to.

[Academiacaramelcurlz]

Your video was gold! I earned a bachelors in communications in 2016 and soon after that, learned that digital marketing was the way to go! Now, years later, at 31, im going to school to earn a Master’s in marketing. I wish I would’ve pursued marketing sooner but I’ve learned a lot about the workforce because of this experience! I just pray that im able to land something I truly love! It really sucks that entry level jobs expect candidates to have like 3 years of experience! And now im running into the same issue with some companies with internships! It’s like, okay ppl, how are students supposed to get the opportunity to grow and learn if companies aren’t willing to take a chance on you to begin with?! It’s sad!

[itsagood]

Yes to all of this 🙌🙌🙌🙌 I’ve graduated in 2020 with a major in Communications and wow it’s been so hard to get a job. Way to general and behind those who concentrated in college.
I want to add COMMUNICATION DEGREE ISNT THE SAME AT EVERY UNIVERSITY!! I didn’t realize this until it was too late but my college focused on theoretical communication building students for college teaching and didn’t focus at all on media production etc… so now I’m in a spot where I need to either go back to college and get a different bachelors degree or try to turn it into a teaching certification and teach English or something.
I’m just so far behind other applicant’s and didn’t get the experience in college to get the entry level positions. I interview and still can’t get the job and I understand in conversation or when I present projects to them just how much catching up I have to do.