A communications major will allow you to study the best practices for conveying information on a range of organizational and interpersonal levels. Graduating with a communications degree means that you should have developed the necessary skills for speaking and writing effectively and persuasively, and it allows you to develop a wide range of further transferable skills including critical thinking, interpersonal, and time management abilities. Communications graduates are often skilled at gathering information and very detail-oriented, along with being able to work effectively both on their own and as part of a team.
A communications major can prepare you for a wide range of different careers whether you are looking to get into journalism, film and television, music, public relations, digital marketing, advertising, mass media, and many more. We’ve put together some top career options for communications graduates.
Marketing Manager
Click here to learn more about how a major in communications could be the ideal stepping stone towards your ideal marking career by preparing you for a master’s in digital marketing and data analysis. With a communications degree, you can work towards a career as a marketing manager – a role where you will be assessing the demand for the products and services that a company offers before deciding how, where, and to who they will be marketed and sold. Marketing managers are often also responsible for setting prices based on research and collaborate with a wide range of industry professionals including product developers, sales staff, and public relations professionals, which requires excellent interpersonal abilities and communication skills.
Sales Representative
Sales representatives typically work for wholesalers and manufacturers in order to sell products to organizations, retailers, and government agencies. They are tasked with convincing potential clients as to how buying and selling these products or using the services developed by a business will contribute to achieving their business goals or help grow their profits. This role is ideal for any communications graduate who enjoys convincing people, and your ability to communicate in a persuasive manner, along with strong interpersonal skills, will be a huge benefit to you in this career.
Producer
If you’d rather move into a creative industry instead of advertising, it’s worth considering being a movie or television producer. A producer deals with the business that’s behind the making of a movie, TV show, stage production, software tool, or video game. Producers are responsible for looking after budgets and schedules, coordinating employees, and making sure that everything runs smoothly throughout the production process. Since this is a role that requires you to spend a lot of time dealing with other people, it’s a great choice for anybody who possesses the excellent interpersonal and communication skills that you develop as part of this major.
Management Consultant
Management consultants can either work for companies or work on a self-employed basis, and they are typically hired by companies that want to improve operations in order to become more efficient or more profitable. Management consultants help business owners achieve these goals, which is why it’s an excellent choice of career for a business-minded communications graduate. Studying for a degree in communications will provide you with a number of skills that are essential to succeed in this role including interpersonal, communication, and time management skills.
Human Resources Professional
An HR professional is responsible for the hiring and retention of employees on behalf of an organization. HR professionals typically find, recruit, interview, and hire job candidates, which requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills to ensure that the right professionals for the job are selected and that all candidates receive clear and concise answers to any questions that they might have about the position. Another skill that many communications graduates possess that is an asset in this role is the ability to be detail-oriented and meticulous; this especially comes in handy when keeping records and performing background checks on potential hires.
Advertising Sales Representative
An advertising sales representative is responsible for selling time and space for advertisements, such as during television program breaks, between broadcasts on the radio, and in newspapers, magazines, outdoor media, and websites. This role involves being able to persuade various businesses that investing in advertising in the type of media that they represent is going to help them reach more customers and improve profits. In this role, a communications graduate will certainly benefit from their strong communication, persuasive, and interpersonal skills.
Event Planner
Also known as meeting or convention planners, event planners are tasked with making sure that an event runs smoothly. It is a flexible career option that gives you the choice to either work with an event planning company or work on a self-employed basis should you prefer to. An event planner is responsible for choosing the location of an event, researching and hiring suitable vendors, advertising the event in some cases, and depending on the situation, attending transport and accommodation for attendees. To be successful as an event manager, you will need excellent time management and communication skills, along with a strong attention to detail.
Graphic Designer
If you are more creative and artistic, you may want to combine your communications degree with a graphic design qualification. As a communications major, you have already learned about using words to get the message across, and graphic designers take this further by using visual elements to communicate. The strong communication skills that you develop from your studies plus further training in graphic design can be one of the best ways to get into this field.
Lobbyist
Lobbyists are some of the most well-known communicators, tasked with persuading legislators and lawmakers to act in the best interest of the groups that they are representing. Communications graduates have almost all the knowledge and skills that are needed for a successful career as a lobbyist, although some political and legislative training may be required. If you are interested in pursuing a political career with your communications major, you might want to consider a minor in political science.
Communications majors are highly versatile degree options that you can use to enter a diverse range of career opportunities.
