Certain careers are indispensable in our everyday lives, one of which is a career in communication. Due to this, it is valuable in several industries and career options. Graduates of communication understand how to communicate information effectively and the factors that influence communication. Long before now, careers in communication were limited to marketing industries and media houses, but today, several companies achieve their business objectives through the internet, offering more ways for communication graduates to explore their skills and more job opportunities. Let us know What You Can Do With A Communication Degree?
Here, you’ll learn about the various career options available to you if you have a communications degree, the skills required, and how much they pay.
Before we discuss careers in communication, you should know that a Bachelor’s degree in communication can be generalized, however some specialized communication degrees include a Health communications degree, fashion communications degree, business communications degree, media communications degree, international communications degree, and mass communications degree amongst others.
You can explore the degrees above to explore your interests and find your niche career in communication.
Aside from a degree in communications, you should also know that there are some skills you’ll need to build to excel in a communications career. These include communication skills like written, visual and verbal communication, collaboration and teamwork, public speaking skills, research and analysis skills, presentation skills, and ability to pay close attention to details, and leadership & management skills.
That being said, let’s delve into the careers you can do with a communication degree. Here are 10 career opportunities or options that require the skills of communication degree graduates.
Advertising Manager
Advertising managers are responsible for the consistent advertising activities of a company and lead the marketing team to create unique content for advertising campaigns & programs for a company’s brand, including the best mediums and platforms to use. Being managers, you can guess they are responsible for supervising other employees and ensuring efficient teamwork to complete a project successfully.
An advertising Manager will also need to stay updated on the latest techniques for advertising campaigns, especially on social media. They also need to have great interpersonal skills to maintain client relationships, and research skills to understand market opportunities and audience behaviors.
This is no big deal for communication major graduates because they have in-depth knowledge of marketing and promotion strategies and public perception. However, since an advertising manager job is not an entry-level job, you’ll need more years of on-the-job experience aside from a bachelor’s degree in Communication.
In all, the role of an advertising manager is valuable in several companies that need to heighten their brand awareness, which tends to be challenging especially in today’s technology-driven world. Therefore, advertising managers earn a median annual salary of $106,130.
Journalism
You’re probably more familiar with this career because it has been part of top careers in communication and media. A career in journalism is founded on communication as journalists are specialized in researching a topic and finding the most efficient way of communicating the information.
Sources add credibility to a journalist’s writings and stories, hence they have to utilize their interpersonal skills to learn information from insiders and also to maintain working relationships built on communication and trust. Journalists also have to understand their audiences and devise new and effective methods of delivering information to make their stories more interesting.
Journalists get to write about a variety of topics, and hence can explore opportunities in media houses, publishing companies, or the internet, depending on their specialty. Some companies with this position include Sinclair Broadcast Group, Disney ABC, and others.
The average salary for a journalist in the US is $47,494 per year. Journalists in other parts of the world are paid more or less depending on their years of experience.
Communications Manager
A career in communications management requires excellent writing and other communication skills.
A communication manager, unlike an advertising manager, oversees the internal and external communication strategies of a company. In large organizations, a communications Manager develops effective ways of conveying information about policy changes or industry news to employees or brand awareness to customers.
Asides from communication, they are responsible for organizational and creative tasks to improve their organization’s communication strategies. A communications Manager can work with specific departments of an organization such as a fundraising department or an education department.
On average, a communications manager is paid a base salary of $67,404 in the US.
Brand Manager/Strategies
Here is another career choice through which communications graduates can exercise their marketing techniques and analysis skills. A brand Manager or strategist works and communicates with other sales, marketing, and advertising groups to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.
The main aim is to promote a product or service to the public to achieve purchase or referral. They work with and analyze public perceptions and adjust the packaging, accessibility, and marketing of a brand to suit customers’ preferences.
Brand managers or strategists also create advertising campaigns to promote the sales of a product and develop strategies for repositioning a brand’s image or visibility.
Due to the high value of a Brand Manager’s skill, they are highly sought by several companies and businesses such as Smart Apartment Data, MicroVentures, and Somnio amongst others.
A brand Manager or strategist is paid $23.63 per hour or $71,000 yearly on average.
Social Media Manager
With the rise of social media comes an effective method of communicating and reaching a larger audience. This, therefore, opens up another career choice well suited to communication graduates, owing to their ability to communicate effectively with an intended audience and their knowledge of analyzing communication patterns.
A social media manager can confidently work using various social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter to promote an organization’s message to a large audience.
Now, social management is less formal than press releases and a social media manager gets to choose the best content and social media platforms to promote a company’s brand.
A social media manager requires strong writing abilities, patterns, and marketing skills suited for each social media platform to ensure a company’s marketing goals are achieved. A few companies with this position include Nfp, Just Media, and Lifesize amongst other companies.
A social media manager is paid $50,632 yearly on average.
Human Resources Specialist
HR or Human Resources specialist plays several roles like recruitment & retention, compensation, training, and development. Whatever the role an HR specialist plays, communication skills are inevitable, hence a well-suited career choice for a communications graduate.
A human resources specialist performs more internal duties such as:
– Recruiting & Hiring: HR specialists develop the ideal criteria required to hire candidates. They also attract and match qualified employees to jobs.
– Employee Relations: They serve as a bridge or liaison between the management and employees, they convey grievances and negotiate contracts. They also resolve disputes among employees and direct safety & employee health programs.
– Training & Development: HR specialists organize orientations for new employees and determine when training is necessary. They also provide materials and workshops for presentations and ongoing education for employees.
HR specialists also identify and document job descriptions and requirements.
Generally, a Human Resources Specialist requires strong public speaking skills, writing abilities, and interpersonal skills to deliver information throughout the company effectively.
If you’d want to explore this career beyond an entry-level position, you will need a master’s in Human Resources. There are also several companies with this position such as Seaboard triumph foods, and Hose Tech USA among others.
On average, a Human Resources Specialist is paid $77,733 per year.
Public Relations Specialist
These professionals help in managing an organization’s public image. They organize press releases & conferences and also use social media platforms to create public awareness of an organization’s products, services, and/or missions. They achieve this by creating engaging content and stories about the company to attract the audience’s attention.
The role of communication in this job is quite glaring, right?. If you’re a communications graduate and want to explore your skills in this career, you can work with organizations or agencies such as AAA National, Academy Sports & Outdoors among others. You can also work with government agencies to inform the public about government goals and activities.
A public relations specialist makes $63,734 yearly on average.
Event Planning
There’s this feeling of joy and a sense of fulfillment when an event goes successfully as planned. Event planners put in a lot of effort to ensure this happens. They have the responsibility of creating and promoting awareness of an event, even before the event starts, to a broader audience through press releases and exciting captions and descriptions.
They also create content for advertising upcoming events on the company’s website, social media, or other media sources.
Event planners require strong communication and interpersonal skills to work efficiently with vendors, clients, and event attendees.
Asides from communication skills, event planners need to pay close attention to details and a sense of organization to be able to meet the requirements of the hosts and event attendees.
In all, event planners develop and organize small or large-scale events, conferences, or meetings. They could choose to organize their events with their client base or work for an organization. Some companies with this position include Agile 1, Referee Enterprise Inc., Service Corporation International, and other private companies.
If you have a bachelor’s degree in Communications and want to explore this career, there are several types of event planning niches for you, ranging from corporate events to private events like wedding ceremonies and the likes.
On average, an event planner makes $62,565 per year.
Copywriting
Ever seen an ad so compelling, funny, convincing, emotional, or educational that inspired you to make a purchase or make a referral? A copywriter takes the credit for that.
A copywriter is tasked with writing clear and concise copies of ads or marketing materials, creating and advertising slogans for a company’s brand, or writing blogs in a way that appeals to any audience, to achieve purchases, referrals, or other marketing goals.
Regardless of a copywriter’s specialty, he or she requires strong writing skills (with emphasis on strong), communication skills, creative thinking, research skills, interpersonal skills, technical skills, and problem-solving skills.
Want to hear some great news?
Copywriting is ranked one of the top high-income jobs in the world today, and while a lot of people are venturing into it, a Communications graduate with good grades and experience still has an upper hand in this career over others. Good news, right?
A copywriter can choose to work as a freelance writer or for a company or organization. Some organizations with this position include Deloitte, Clearlink, Nordstrom, and others.
A copywriter earns about $27.08 per hour on average.
Other career opportunities available to a communication graduate are Business reporting, marketing coordinator, managing editor, content marketing manager, and web production amongst others.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a degree in Communications offers a variety of career options in several industries. These jobs have high-earning potential, owing to the indispensable skills of writing and communication. You also get to earn more and explore senior positions as you gain more experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
– Is a degree in Communications worth it?
Indeed it is. A degree in Communications is indispensable and according to BLS (Bureau of Labour Statistics), it is predicted that media and communication jobs will grow at a rate of 4% in the next 10 years.
– Why should I consider a communication degree?
First, communication is an essential aspect of living, hence a degree in Communications offers so many career opportunities in literally almost every industry. Secondly, a Communications program teaches skills such as project management, critical thinking, and the best market targeting techniques to engage the intended audience. Hence if you’re looking to grow a business or pursue a career in one, you’ll need to consider a Communications degree or at least learn the skills.
– What is the highest paying job with a communication degree?
Chief executives or legislators top the list of highest-paying jobs with a communications degree earning an average of $176,126 per year, followed by Sales managers earning $125,577 per year and Advertising sales agents earning $111,521 yearly.
