Taking a communication degree can help you to kickstart your career and to grow your passion for communication with all of the relevant skills and knowledge that you need to do this professionally. However, you might not always have much information about what a communication degree involves or what you can use it for. As such, if you are seeking more information about communication degrees as either a high school leaver or mature student, read on to find out more about them and what they can do for you.
What is a communication degree?
Communication degrees are excellent options for those that want to find out more about the way that we communicate with each other and who want to prepare for careers in marketing, journalism, or public relations. You will both study communication in print and in-person, as well as new ways of communicating in the digital age, such as through social media. By studying these, you will be able to get all of the knowledge and skills that you need to communicate with the public, readers, and customers throughout your career. However, communication is important for any career that you choose to do, and so you should consider taking a communication degree regardless of the field that you eventually want to end up in.
How can you take a communication degree?
Communication degrees are offered by a range of universities and colleges across the United States and beyond, meaning that you can take a communication degree in many places across the globe. You can either choose to take a bachelor’s degree in communication, which can give you a grounding in the art and can allow you to learn about basics such as mass communication, or a master’s, which you can study for to build on another degree and learn about communication in more detail. A bachelor’s degree will typically be three to four years, and a master’s degree will be one. These courses may also include a placement year, where you will be able to apply your studies to a real working environment.
However, whereas you traditionally had to move to campus to study for a communications degree, with the best universities that offer these being located throughout the United States, you can now choose to take a communication degree online. For instance, St. Bonaventure University offers a communication masters degree online, which you can find out more about by clicking here. An online communications degree can be advantageous for those who want to study for a degree with minimal interruption to their daily lives, as well as for those who have other commitments or who want to maintain their current career as well. However, you will need to be great at independent learning and have a quiet and peaceful place to work if you are intending to succeed at studying online. As such, you should look into the requirements of these online degrees to see whether they could be a great option for you.
What can you do with a communication degree?
A communication degree can be incredibly useful no matter what career path you want to follow. However, generally, you can use a communication degree to get the skills and knowledge that you need for a possible job in marketing, PR, or journalism. For instance, at St. Bonaventure, they allow their students to choose between two specialisms: integrated marketing communication or content marketing. You can also use a communication degree to improve your career in event planning, HR, politics, and publishing, and you might even decide to use the skills that you have learned throughout the course to start a business. As a business owner, the better you communicate with both employees and clients, the more successful your business is likely to be. As such, you should not think that your communication degree will be wasted, as there is a wide range of different options that you can use your communication degree for.
Who should take a communication degree?
You might not always think that a communication degree is the right option for you. However, a communication degree is not exclusive, and there are many reasons why it could be useful to or the best option for you. For instance, you should take a communication degree if you are just starting out in your career and want a head-start that will allow you to get into new industries without finding that the way is barred to you. You might also decide that a communication degree is the right option if you find that you are in the middle of your current career and would like a change, or would like to increase your chances of gaining a promotion. It may also be a good choice for you to look into the advantages of a communication degree if you are lacking confidence in your skills and abilities, as a communication degree can teach you to communicate well with others even if you are shy, quiet and do not have a natural aptitude for communication. This will then ensure that you are not held back throughout your career by your struggles to communicate.
What are the salary expectations?
Before you take a communication degree, if money is important to you, you must know what salary you should expect after you have taken and completed a communication degree. Although this salary is by no means guaranteed, most graduates of a communications degree make over $40,000 annually when they start out, and the average reaches around $70,000. As such, if you believe this is a salary that you would love to obtain in the future, you should consider whether the dedication and commitment that studying for a degree demands are worth the money that you will be making in the future. If not, you should look around for other roles that have an average salary that matches your lifestyle and aspirations more.
What do you need to do after you graduate?
Although graduation may seem like a long way off when you have not even applied for the course yet, it is vital to think about the steps that you will need to take after graduation to get your dream career. This will ensure that you do not take a communication degree only to find that you have years of unhappiness trying to stumble through a career plan that you dislike. After you graduate, you may be able to find a graduate scheme or an internship in marketing or PR that can allow you to get to grips with the world of communications and which might be able to open the door to a permanent position. You may also need to put in a lot of background work to reach your goals, such as deciding to attend networking events, contacting professionals on social media and creating your personal brand. If you are struggling to know what the next steps should be in your career, you should speak to a career counselor, who might be able to help you to plan the next steps that you need to take in your career. You should not wait until you have completed your degree to look to the future, though, as many graduate schemes and internships start to look for candidates at the start of the academic year.
What are the chances of success?
Although you might not like to diminish the possibility of your dreams before they happen, before you take on a communication degree, it might be useful to find out what your chances of success in the career path of your choice are. Luckily, those that are skilled in communication are usually in demand since written and verbal communication are skills that need to be constantly honed. Not only this, but many growing companies are forever looking for those to aid them with marketing and PR. As such, if you are a skilled communicator and have the qualification and experience to prove it, you should not have trouble finding a position that you are great in. However, jobs in marketing and journalism are in demand, with more and more people now taking communication degrees. As such, you should make sure that your resume and cover letter stand out and that you are never half-hearted when completing your application. Although you might have a lot of competition for a certain role, a communication degree may help to set you up for success by giving you all of the skills and knowledge that you will need.
Communication degrees might not be the first degrees that you think about when you consider applying for university, but they are versatile and exciting qualifications that can allow you to hone your skills and get all of the essential knowledge that you need. As such, whether you want to go into marketing, PR, or journalism, or simply have a passion for communication in all its many forms, a communication degree can help to build your confidence and ensure that you have a bright future ahead of you.