A communications major covers many disciplines including advertising, marketing, public relations, journalism, broadcasting, media, and business. Students who choose to pursue a degree in communications learn how to assess the needs and preferences of readers, viewers, and listeners. They have the creativity to devise innovative strategies for conveying their messages, as well as the ability to craft the best possible media content for an audience. Having these skills means that the career path of a communications major is a broad one – but depending on your individual interests, skills, and values, here are ten promising career ideas to consider as a communications major.
1. Digital Marketing Coordinator
Digital Marketing Coordinators track campaigns, coordinate marketing events and develop web content for social media platforms. They determine how the company’s position works in the marketplace by researching their competitors and analyzing their prices, sales, and marketing methods, as well as evaluating data using statistical techniques and software. They must interpret what the data means for their client, and they may forecast future trends. You must be creative, innovative, and multimedia savvy. If you love social media, can collect data, and have a strong attention to detail, then a future career as a digital marketing coordinator should interest you.
2. Social Media Specialist/Manager
If you excel at writing short, engaging copy and have a metrics-oriented mindset, then a social media specialist or manager role is the job for you. Social Media Specialists develop distribution strategies for a company’s content on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram as well as spearhead standalone campaigns such as hashtags or community engagement. Social media specialists may also be tasked with responding to customers in real-time, or creating timely posts to comment on current events. According to PayScale, the average salary for Social Media Managers is $50,231 with top 10% earning $77,000 or more and the bottom 10% earning $34,000 or less.
3. Public Relations
A degree in communications is the perfect to step into the industry of public relations. Public Relations Specialists develop press junkets for media outlets, including press releases, images, pitch letters, feature articles, and trending stories, and are also responsible for building and managing relationships with journalists and various media outlets. For this role, it’s not only essential to have strong writing skills to craft press releases and emails; as a Public Relations Specialist, you will also need a strong sense of determination and perseverance coupled with great interpersonal skills.
4. HR Coordinator
HR Coordinators are people who plan and direct the functions of a business that have to do with people, such as recruiting, hiring, onboarding, payroll, and compliance. While this role seems very people-centric, HR Coordinators often use their writing skills to create employee manuals, compose web content, produce recruitment literature, and communicate policies and other announcements to staff. Communication majors that enjoy a mix of business, writing, and interpersonal skills could make for an ideal HR Coordinator.
5. Brand Manager
Working as a Brand Manager is a collaborative role that requires a high degree of competence and leadership. Brand Managers develop business and communication assets to build brand value while furthering corporate goals. They must have interpersonal and communication skills to generate the cooperation of other sales, and marketing. Brand Managers are responsible for evaluating ads, commercials, and other marketing tools. If you have an eye for advertising, promotion, and public relations, then becoming a Brand Manager is a good fit for you.
6. Event Planner
Being an event planner isn't just about throwing parties. Event Planners assess a client’s goals and needs to create an event that encompasses the purpose or message of the event, and then coordinate everything from invitations to catering to decorations to music to venues. Bringing all of these details into one cohesive, final product requires having an eye for details and design, extreme organization and time management, and great interpersonal skills. Event Planners often work long hours and have their nights and weekends tied up, but it can be an exciting and rewarding career.
7. Copywriter
Copywriters create content to sell products and services, increasingly for websites and social media. Copywriters need to have a strong understanding for their target buyer, and will benefit from having a sense of creativity to create standout and attention-grabbing copy. While you may not need a graduate degree to become a copywriter, companies do prefer to see that you’ve earned an undergraduate degree in English, communications, or journalism. Copywriters might work in-house for a company, an agency, or work as a freelancer.
8. Sales Representative
Most communications majors don't think being a sales representative is an eventual career option when they enter college. However, they will learn many skills while studying communications that could lead them to a successful career in sales. Sales Representative sell products to businesses, organizations, and governments on behalf of the companies. In order to be a successful sales representative, you need to have effective writing and communication skills to respond to the customers' needs, wants, and concerns, often through email or via phone. For more on starting your career as a sales representative, check out this guide.
9. Content Manager/Editor
Many companies today have a blog to drive traffic to their website in order to capture leads and find new customers. If you enjoy generating ideas for articles, whitepapers, webinars, and even in-person events, then becoming a content manager for a company can be a great career to pursue. To be successful in this role, you will need to become an expert in the domain of the company so that you can produce content that will provide value to your target customer.
As a communications major, you might receive questions about how you’ll use your degree after graduation. But the truth is, there are plenty of opportunities out there. As long as you use your time in school to get involved in various organizations and to pursue freelance opportunities and internships, you’ll find the right company and role to begin your career in.