Career Fields for Communications Majors

A Communications Studies major can open the door to several challenging and rewarding career opportunities.  Some of the careers include: Human Resources Specialist (HRS), Publicist, Journalist, and Copywriter.

Human Resources Specialist  

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics website Human resources specialists recruit, screen, interview, and place workers. They also may handle human resources work in a variety of other areas, such as employee relations, payroll and benefits, and training. (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2012)  They are responsible for hiring new employees and in some unfortunate circumstances, they are also responsible for firing of employees.  A human resources specialist also fields any employee issues or concerns with their pay, training, or employee disputes.  The median salary for an HRS is $52,609 per year.  According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics site the lowest 10 percent of workers earned less than $29,050, and the top 10 percent earned more than $93,260.  The growth rate for this field is expected at 21 percent over the next 10 years; faster than average for all occupations.  (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2012).  

Publicist

A publicist, also commonly referred to as a Public Relations Specialist produces and manages publicity for a client.  They are responsible for maintaining a favorable public image for their client.  They also often are responsible for writing press releases, and fundraising campaigns for their client or employers.  The median average salary for a public Relations Specialist is $52,090.  This field has an expected growth of 23 percent over the next 10 years.  Typically a Publicist is required to possess a Bachelor’s degree at minimum.  Training is typically done on the job for many public relations specialists while managers must already possess a few years of public relations experience.  

Journalist

Journalists sometimes referred to as correspondents, broadcast news analysts, or reporters, report on current news and happenings on a local, national, or even international level.  They may write news scripts to be read on the air, in magazines or in newspapers, and they also update news stories as they become available. Journalists may often have to write a story for print media as well as online publication since many news agencies also maintain a website as well.  Journalists may also work on a freelance basis in which they are paid per story by a news agency.  In this case their work is often purchased and published by several agencies rather than just one.  The median average salary for a broadcast news analyst is $54,140 while the median average salary for a reporter or correspondent is $34,530.  A Bachelor’s degree in journalism or communications is typically the requirement to work as a journalist.  Along with the education requirement, employers also like to see that the prospective employee has prior work experience in the field either through an internship or through college.  The reporters and correspondent fields are actually expected to shrink by about 8 percent while the broadcast news analyst field is expected to grow by 10 percent over the next 10 years.   The field of journalism, broadcasting and/or freelance writing has been of particular interest to me over the years.  I love to read the news and stay on top of what is going on in the world and my local community.  I’m somewhat of a snoop and like to know what’s going on around me so staying abreast of local news and being able to share that information for a living sounds like a very rewarding line of work.  Also, as a freelance writer I would be able to write stories and articles on a vast array of subjects that I am passionate about like travelling and food and have these stories published.  

Copywriter

A copywriter, sometimes referred to as a content writer, is a type of writer who helps a client promote the sale of a good or service.  They do this in several ways including assisting them in producing sales pitches, slogans, or advertising themes.  They may produce any number of media to assist in advertising and selling a product such as brochures, scripts and press releases.  The average median salary for this field is $55,420 and the field expects a growth of 6 percent over the next 10 years.  This is slower than the average for all occupations according to the BLS website.

           

Bureau of Labor Statistics [Data Base]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Bureau of Labor

            Statistics website: http://www.bls.gov/‌home.htm