What Can You Do With a Communications Degree?
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A communications degree suggests to employers that you’re an expert communicator — visually, digitally, and in writing in a general way. The positive career outlook for communications majors is nearly double what it is for all careers altogether. Here are some special jobs you can work with a communications degree.
Communications degrees are popular. And rightly so: A communications curriculum teaches the kinds of elemental skills demanded by employers in every sector and industry.?
What Is a Communications Degree?
Communications is the study of how information is passed on verbally, through writing, or via other media. And it is pretty popular, ranking ninth out of 384 majors.?
A Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree is often looked down upon for its lack of technical rigor. But while highly technical degrees land graduates in specific fields, they sometimes box them into them. Engineering students likely become engineers, medical students typically become physicians, and so on.?
A communications degree, on the other hand, allows job seekers to be more flexible. That’s good for those who don’t necessarily want to commit to one career path for life or those who experience career shrinkage in difficult economic times.??
What Jobs Can You Get With a Communications Degree?
A communications degree can lead you to a master’s and then a doctoral-level degree; then, you can teach communications.?
But since communication is among the most prized soft skills , a degree in communications opens up many non-academic doors.?
“Communication is one of the most crucial skills for your career success. In a recent survey of recruiters, communication competency was cited as the single most decisive factor in choosing managers,” says LinkedIn Learning Author, Brenda Bailey-Hughes .
Next, we’ll explore some of the jobs available to those with a communications degree.
?Marketing Coordinator?
Marketing coordinators have to take in information as well as explain it. They:?
Consider how much communication goes on here — from understanding trends and figures yourself to explaining them to others in simple language, good communication skills are necessary for a marketing coordinator to be successful.
Social and Digital Media?
It’s right there in the name: Social media is about making connections — forming a sort of society. And communication is key to that.?
And you’ll be communicating with a lot of different people: 58.4 percent of the world’s population uses social media. That is more than four and a half billion people worldwide.?
Social and digital media creators need to understand a diverse set of audiences and speak their language. You’ll struggle to connect with an audience if you speak academese to a non-specialist crowd, or if you’re really slangy regarding an industry known for buttoned-up, professional communication.?
Brand Strategist?
Everyone has a brand these days. And a brand strategist’s job is to help build and bring life to those brands.?
To create, develop, and perpetuate a brand’s image and public reputation, brand strategists work with a variety of channels:?
And of course, to get someone to buy into your brand you have to convince them that it is the best or at least better than the nearest competition. That takes some serious communication skills: You have to speak to people on their level and upsell them without seeming devious.?
Content Marketer?
Content marketers exist to get customers to act. They often write at length about why someone should choose their product or service, and then feature several calls to action (CTA) throughout their piece.
A content marketer’s end goal is conversion — that is, convincing a skeptical customer to buy what they are selling or take their advice. Doing that requires delicate persuasion.?
Content marketers, in addition to good communication skills, must be adept at:?
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Public Relations?
Public relations (PR) is similar to brand strategy but a bit more complicated.
PR utilizes many media channels. Social media is one, yes, but so is traditional print, visual media, and so on.?
PR agents have to keep a consistent, positive message across all media channels. This is difficult when dealing with, say, a controversial politician or disgraced organization. But PR professionals’ job is to find a way to put these things in the best possible light.??
Writing and Publishing?
People who can write well can write for a living. That may mean:
Publishing, too, is a possibility for those with a communications degree. If editing is helping others communicate well, publishing involves communicating the value of a writer’s published work to a larger public. And not necessarily a naturally receptive public: A good communicator needs to come up with creative solutions to bring the disinterested on board.?
Event Planning?
Event planners take care of every facet of an event. That includes:?
That’s a lot! But by communicating well throughout, it can all come together seamlessly.?
Communications Job Outlook
The career outlook for communications degree holders is extraordinarily good: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in media and communication-based occupations look to grow by 14 percent between 2020 and 2030. By contrast, overall job growth is only projected to be 7.7 percent in the same time frame.
And with a median annual income of $62,340, communication-based careers exceed the general median annual wage of $45,760.
Finding the Right Job With a Communications Degree
If you have a communications degree, finding the right job depends on several factors:
In any case, the economic outlook is good for communication-based careers. By attaining a degree in communications, you’re already in great shape.?
Top Takeaways?
What Can You Do With a Communications Degree?
(Reporting by NPD)