To me a communications degree is a degree you get when someone tells you to go to college, so you go to college. If I could do it again I would have stuck to a STEM program, an Education program (only because I was going to end up a librarian anyway) or even not have gone to college at all (if getting a degree in communications was the only alternative)
All of my friends that had the same major as me went on and got graduate degrees. I have one friend that studied broadcast journalism and is now an anchor in a major market...and he legitimately has that "news" look(We did not attend the same college). I know of other people that currently report for NBC and they majored in like History. My friend that works for PR Alvin Ailey.... sociology degree
Most success stories I know are very special cases.
So no. I don't recommend (based on what I know) that people step foot into the College of Information Science. I don't even recommend that people get a MLIS (college of info science). I only have a librarian job because of pure luck, most new graduates in my field don't have a shot in he-l
If you're going to pick this major I recommend not putting all of your eggs in one basket and be willing to accept that you may never work in the field and explore graduate opportunities
And this is something I wish someone had told me before I skipped my merry butt off to college back in 2003.
I HIGHLY second not graduating with a communications degree if you want to work right after college. It is a very basic degree that employers are not to impressed by anymore. I do not mean to offend anyone, but it is the truth. There are statistics that prove that this major does not have nearly the highest employment rate.
You will thank us when you are a senior in college.
Interestingly enough, when my dad started in radio (first DJ'ing, then Program Director, Now Operations Manager for 7+ stations including their HD counterparts (and still the program director for his "baby/firstborn" when we moved here) you didn't need a degree. Now he won't hire anyone without a Bachelor's Degree in some type of Communications, Broadcast Communications being ideal if you want to be on-air (a DJ for a radio station), Broadcast Journalism for the morning "news person" on the bigger/more popular radio stations, and of course for the couple of "talk radio" stations/programs. Other than those specific ones, a degree in some type of Communications can get your foot in the door in that world. Won't guarantee it, but it will outshine a few other degrees considered depending on other variables. Even back then those jobs were hard to come by, not impossible- but def hard. As in, my dad would have found a way to pay THEM just to get his foot in the door back then. Fortunately he settled on way less than minimum wage circa 1975-77ish. *insert sarcasm* It is true though!
It is humorous though, that his parents absolutely did NOT want him to study radio in college! They were livid!!! :eek: My grandmother holds a Master's Degree in teaching and my late grandfather had one in business/finance and was a "banker" (kinda meant something different back then than it does now, lol). My father didn't need a degree at the time for his "dream job". He appeased his parents by going to college for a while, but that only lasted a couple of years. ;) Don't get me wrong, he is an incredibly educated man- can give my grandma a run for her money, constantly reads, just as he did growing up. He was just one of those rare people who knew what he wanted to be ever since he was 8 years old. If a degree would have been required at the time, by George he would have gotten one!! But it wasn't and he had the opportunity to learn literally everything about radio:cool:- not just what we typically think of when hearing his job title, but the history behind it, the science and engineering aspects, the ability to fix/handle engineering problems, despite the fact that it has actually nothing to do with his titled job; Thanks for nothing mr. engineer guy during a snowstorm around Xmas circa 1992ish!!! Guess who literally went fix something on the antenna (25 miles away) his station was broadcast on (those big towers like cellphone towers), but was causing the station "dead air", because just like everyone else for those few days- most people couldn't get out or do squat. Not my dad :help:
Anyway, sorry for the semi derailment from my story. Carry on!
P.S. Sorry for any grammatical errors in my post today. I'm wiped. Did four papers today for a couple of my finals (I'm an adult back in college-oh the irony) and I make no claims of impeccable grammar due to my lack of proof reading and sheer lack of energy.
