During my time here at UMaine, so many people have stared blankly back at me once I tell them that my major is Mass Communication. I have found that this is for several different reasons: they have no idea what it means, they dismiss it as an “easy” major, they assume it is just leraning about how to talk to people, or all of the above. I am going to explain what it really means to be a Communication or Mass Communication major.
1. We don’t just learn how to “talk to people” in our classes, but that is one component.
While some classes might be things like Health Communication or Public Relations, they are not just lectures focused on basic conversations and how to talk. We learn how to communicate with different cultures in business environments, we do a lot of writing, learn how to market company brands or represent a company in public relations, or sometimes we focus on journalism-based classes, advertising, or we learn how to communicate to large groups in Mass Communication through social media and writing.
2. It is not simply an “easy” major.
While communication is certainly different than say, Engineering or Biology, I do not believe that certain majors are better than others, also known as major-shaming. We definitely do different things in our classes than you might be used to, but we are also college students who have to write essays, take exams, attend class, give presentations, do homework that we don’t want to do, and take gen ed classes to graduate.
3. Communication and Mass Communication majors set you up for a ton of different career options.
Contrary to popular belief, we will not be unemployed after graduation. These majors encompass so much learning that can be translated to a ton of different fields. To name a few, they are: Public Relations, Marketing, Journalism, Graphic Design, Communications specialist for a company or hospital, Advertising, Social Media, Business Administration, Broadcasting and Film.
So the next time that you hear that someone is studying Communication or Mass Communication, consider these points before you make a judgement. Now you can hopefully know what it means to be studying Communication!
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