Exploration Activity: Communication & Careers
- Due No due date
- Points 0
- Questions 2
- Time Limit None
- Allowed Attempts 2
Instructions
For this connection activity please see Reading: Communication Contexts
What Can You Do with a Degree in Communication Studies? (pg 11 in textbook)
You’re hopefully already beginning to see that communication studies is a diverse and vibrant field of study. The multiple subfields and concentrations within the field allow for exciting opportunities for study in academic contexts but can create confusion and uncertainty when a person considers what they might do for their career after studying communication.
It’s important to remember that not every college or university will have courses or concentrations in all the areas discussed next. Look at the communication courses offered at your school to get an idea of where the communication department on your campus fits into the overall field of study. Some departments are more general, offering students a range of courses to provide a well-rounded understanding of communication. Many departments offer concentrations or specializations within the major such as public relations, rhetoric, interpersonal communication, electronic media production, corporate communication.
If you are at a community college (like SLCC) and plan on transferring to another school, your choice of school may be determined by the course offerings in the department and expertise of the school’s communication faculty. It would be unfortunate for a student interested in public relations to end up in a department that focuses more on rhetoric or broadcasting, so doing your research ahead of time is key.
Since communication studies is a broad field, many students strategically choose a concentration and/or a minor that will give them an advantage in the job market. Specialization can definitely be an advantage, but don’t forget about the general skills you gain as a communication major. This book, for example, should help you build communication competence and skills in interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, group communication, and public speaking, among others. You can also use your school’s career services office to help you learn how to “sell” yourself as a communication major and how to translate what you’ve learned in your classes into useful information to include on your resume or in a job interview.
The main career areas that communication majors go into are business, public relations / advertising, media, nonprofit, government/law, and education. Within each of these areas there are multiple career paths, potential employers, and useful strategies for success.
Business: Sales, customer service, management, real estate, human resources, training and development.
Public relations / advertising: Public relations, advertising/marketing, public opinion research, development, event coordination.
Media: Editing, copywriting, publishing, producing, directing, media sales, broadcasting.
Nonprofit: Administration, grant writing, fund-raising, public relations, volunteer coordination.
Government/law: City or town management, community affairs, lobbying, conflict negotiation / mediation.
Education: High school speech teacher, forensics/debate coach, administration and student support services, graduate school to further communication study.
Read about these careers and more in the articles below:
https://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/what-can-you-do-communications-degree
Respond to the Following Prompt
- Which of the career areas/contexts that you learned about are you most interested in studying in school or pursuing as a career? Why?
- Whether or not you are or plan to become a communication major, how do you think you could use what you have learned and will learn in this class to “sell” yourself on the job market?
Each question should be answered in the quiz. You will have two attempts to take this quiz, but if you need another just let your instructor know.