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Stop Looking Down On Communications Majors

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

Choosing a major is probably one of the hardest decisions you have to make in school, and being a very indecisive person myself, I had a really hard time. After months of looking through all of the majors offered at the schools I was applying to, I finally decided on Telecommunications. Once I made this decision, I felt extremely happy and was proud of myself, because I had found a major that I really liked and was passionate about. However, this feeling only lasted for a month, as I had yet to discover the stigma that surrounds this career path.

 

Growing up with two parents who are engineers, I felt as though I had to follow their footsteps in order to make them proud. It might all be in my head, but I often felt judged by others asking questions such as “what job would you have with that major?” Although not everyone asked in a demeaning way, I always felt really frustrated trying to explain what Communications was and why I had chosen to major in it. I almost felt as though I had to excuse myself every time someone asked me about this topic.  

 

I’ve recently come to a conclusion that it’s all about balance. Not everyone was born to be an engineer or a doctor, and in order for the world to function, there needs to be people for everything. How would we be aware of all of the things that are going on around the world if it weren’t for Communicators? Every single major is important, and I don’t think that it is okay to shame others. Obviously not every class is going to have the same level of difficulty. In my opinion, every major has its challenges, and we should respect them for what they are. Your true level of intelligence is not measured by what classes you take or even what grades you get, but by how you carry yourself and what you share with the world. In today’s society, it would be ignorant to say that a pre-med major is smarter than a Communications major simply because of what career path they chose. People need to stop shaming other majors and just focus on their own future.

 

Throughout my freshman year of college, I would constantly hear people making jokes about easy majors like Communications, and I just felt like I was wasting my time. Why should I be studying something that other people view as a joke and useless? However, as I kept taking Communications classes, I became confident that this was the major for me, and did not care what anyone thought about it. I study Telecommunications because I like it, not because it is “easy” or a “joke”. I chose to follow this career path because it is what makes me happy, and I should not let others’ opinions define my future. At this point in my college career, I am proud to say that I am a Communications major and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I’m a current junior majoring in Journalism and French at Penn State. My dream is to work in publishing after college and go to law school to study corporate law. 
Allie Bausinger is a Penn State University graduate who majored in Print/Digital Journalism with a minor in English. She is from "outside Philadelphia," which in her case is Yardley, Pennsylvania. Allie is looking for full-time employment in writing, editing, fact-checking, podcasting, and other areas of the journalism and writing fields.