Using your Arts Degree to Springboard to your Dream Career
Contemplating your career post-undergrad can be a daunting task. It’s natural for a graduate to have feelings of uncertainty. The good news is, more graduates than ever are leveraging their degrees beyond their “traditional” application.
At the University of Waterloo, Arts degrees are often underestimated despite their leveragability and usability, in favour of classically professional certificates such as Engineering, Accounting, and Computer Science. However, the career paths for Arts graduates are far more extensive and varied than one may initially expect!
We were fortunate enough to connect with an amazing alumnus, Camille Jay. Camille graduated with a degree in Speech Communication in 2008 and is now a Product Manager at NCR Corporation. We asked Camille a few questions about her career journey and how her Speech Communication degree prepared her for this technically-inclined role.
How did you transition into a technical role despite having an Arts degree?
Transitioning from my early, more administrative co-op placements into roles that really challenged my technical aptitude wasn’t easy. I found what gave me strength and allowed me to prove myself in a scenario where I was unfamiliar, was charging forward with the skills I knew I had. I’ve always considered myself to have good communication skills and from this, I would ask lots of questions in order to learn from the extremely intelligent people I always had around me. For example, at Cedera, I used those skills to write the technical documents in a way that carried forth the brand at BlackBerry to run engaging beta projects that motivated people to provide the crucial feedback we needed to make the product better.
How did your first co-op position set you up for your future?
My first co-op placement was at an inbound call center working for Canadian Niagara Hotels, a company that owned 3 hotels at the base of Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. The role was to receive calls and encourage reservations at one of the hotels, with incentives for top sales. What I learned is that I’m actually a pretty good sales person, and that it was something that put me out of my comfort zone a bit, which turned out to be a definite growth experience. It was during that placement that I learned more about confidence and independence because it was my first time moving away from home, how to listen and understand the needs of a situation then find the solution that best fits, and how to professionally handle situations of conflict; these are all skills I use every day.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about an Arts degrees?
I’d say the biggest misconception about an Arts degree is that it’s a degree that is hard to get a job with. However, that’s not necessarily true. Although, I think for an Arts student it may have been a bit more difficult to be placed in the early co-op placements, with a little experience and opportunity to prove oneself. An Arts major is shown to be equally successful and job-ready as anyone; Arts graduates have a plethora of crucial skills that I believe all employers are looking for.
What advice would you give undergraduates trying to find their career? The first advice I would give undergraduates trying to find their career is to apply to jobs that you’re interested in, even if you think you only meet some of the qualifications listed on the site. You never know which of the listed skills are the most important to the recruiter to start the job with and which you can receive training for and learn after you’re there. The second piece of advice I would give is to leave your ego at the door; you will likely apply to a lot of jobs before you get a call for an interview, but don’t worry everyone goes through this! Sometimes you won’t hear back and that’s ok, because as cheesy as this sounds, it just means you are still available to interview for the job you were really meant to have instead.