As a Communications major, I have often heard that I am taking the easy way out of school. That I’ll never get a job and I’ve just chosen this major because it will be the least amount of work. Let me tell you, it’s really not fun to hear that what you’ve dedicated your education to is not going to get you anywhere. Contrary to what a lot of people might think about this major, I actually want to learn about the communications field and make a name for myself and am really looking forward to having a career with it after college. But this doesn’t prevent the inevitable eyerolls after telling someone my major. As you can see, society doesn’t give communications majors too much respect. Simply searching “communications major” brings you to these…
I’ll be the first to admit that I still don’t know exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life, (props to anyone that does) but I do know that I’d like to do something in the range of what a degree in Communications can give me. I like that this degree allows me to pursue a wide variety of careers and doesn’t limit me to just one. With this in mind, majoring in Communications is not taking the easy way out. It does not mean that I am trying to skate by in school without having to do any work. It doesn’t mean that I just want to get a degree and find a husband who will make money, which is an unfortunately common assumption at an all women’s college…
I have nothing but respect for people who take finance or engineering classes because I could never do that, and quite frankly it doesn’t interest me. What I am interested in are the Public Relations, Journalism, and Media Communications classes that I am taking. Those are things that interest me, and I’m excited to be finally taking classes that I’m enthusiastic about instead of dreading a history class everyday.
One of my current classes is titled Mass Communication: Past, Present and Future and I personally find it quite interesting. The art of communicating has changed quite a bit since the beginning of time and recognizing this is extremely important. We live in a world that is constantly changing, and we’ve currently entered a period that is very dependent upon technology. With this dependency comes the importance of media and how to use it along with new technologies to communicate news all over the world. So much of our knowledge is gained from the media these days, and the people behind media are the people that study Communications. Chances are, you’ve watched a talk show, listened to a news report, or read a magazine before. And if for some reason you haven’t, you’re looking at a website right now while you read this, and it is pretty likely that a large portion of the people behind these sources have a background in communications.
Choosing a major can be really hard, because you’re finally committing to something you want to focus on for the rest of your college career, and most likely your post-graduation career. That’s a lot of pressure if you ask me. So why wouldn’t I want a major that can provide me a wide range of opportunities?
If you’re still skeptical about this supposed fake major and it’s lack of promise for finding a job, here’s what the Saint Mary’s website has to say regarding the Communication Studies major, “As a Saint Mary’s graduate, you will enter the job market not as a novice, but as a seasoned communicator with practical real-world experience under your belt. There is virtually no limit to the variety of career options open to a communication studies major, from performance-related careers to working in the media, advertising, or public relations industries. Our communication studies graduates are publicists, government and public affairs associates, an associate producer in event production, and copywriters for companies like Leo Burnett Company, Inc., ESPN, Inc., IBM Corporation, and CBS Television Network.”
Those sound like jobs to me.
College is a time to figure out what interests you, and so what if I want to take classes on media and not sit through a chemistry class? I’ve found what interests me and I’m going to pursue it regardless of how much money someone else thinks I’ll make or their lack of appreciation toward my studies. We all work hard for our degrees and we all have to work hard to find jobs. I’m not going to judge anyone for their major, so people should stop hating on communications majors because contrary to popular belief, we do a lot more than just talk.