You may or may not have had a specific career in mind when you enrolled in a communications program.
Fortunately, the skills you acquire throughout your course of study will open the doors to a multitude of career options; both in careers directly related to the field, as well as those not directly related to it.
What You Can Do With This Degree
So, how does a degree in communications actually help you earn these jobs? Well, the short answer is, because of the skills it teaches you.
Across most disciplines and industries, communication skills are listed as the top skills required by Canadian and American employers, which gives graduates a wide range of career choices, regardless of what area of work they are getting into.
As for the long answer, it can be found below!
What You Learn as a Communications Student
This major allows you to explore the many ways in which communication constructs and reflects society and culture.
It also helps you develop specialized skills for a career in our rapidly evolving communication landscape. Technological advances and the explosion of online media have created a demand for skilled, articulate and professional communicators.
Undergraduate and graduate programs in this area aim to educate individuals for roles requiring strategic or technical communication, writing and editing, and digital communication production. Skills learned while you're a student are applicable to careers in journalism, politics, marketing and many other professional sectors.
The coursework can provide you with the knowledge, applied skills and general competency to communicate ideas effectively to a variety of audiences. It also allows you to investigate methods of communication in-and-across a variety of media, including speech, writing, television, film, radio, digital media and interactive entertainment and the internet.
Best of all, these programs also typically offer co-operative education, practicum or experiential learning opportunities that would enable you to develop and apply your skills outside of the classroom...and get your foot in the door with an employer!
Employable Skills - Directly Relevant to Communications
As a result of this education, you have a chance to develop a set of refined communications skills. These skills are important, because whether it’s an email message, oral presentation, résumé, newspaper or magazine article, advertisement, instruction manual, travel brochure, novel, bus billboard, or web page, communications material must be written and presented in a clear and compelling style in order to appeal to the intended audience.
Refined communications skills are important both for communicating internally with one’s organization, as well as externally with the customers, vendors and other stakeholders of that organization.
Career Guides - Directly Related
Now that you have an idea of what skills you can list on your resume, it's time to find out what careers you can pursue with your degree. Here's a list of some of the most relevant:
• Advertising Account Executive
• Blogger
• Lobbyist
• Mediator
• Public Information Specialist
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Content Writer
Other Employable Skills
Apart from the technical skills that are specific to a communications degree or diploma, you will also develop fundamental professional skills through your studies::
• Non-verbal and social skills
• Effective listening skills
• Strong public-speaking skills
• Effective conflict resolution skills
• Competitive leadership skills
• Ability to work efficiently independently or in a team
• Organizational communication fluidity
Other Career Guides
The above-mentioned general skills can be applied to many, many careers (too many to list here), including:
• Corporate Social Responsibility Manager
• Customer Service Representative
• Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator
• Lawyer
• Mayor
• Recreation and Leisure Supervisor
Please Note: Some of these fields may require further education and training, beyond the scope of an undergraduate degree or diploma.
Graduate Salary
You may be curious as to what kind of salary you can expect to earn when you first enter the workforce upon graduation. The truth is, it can vary widely, based on what field you enter, what other skills you have, what region you work in, and many other factors.
Salary - United States: According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) September 2014 Salary Survey, the average starting salary for communications degree graduates from the class of 2014 is $48,253. This is compared to the average starting salary for all 2014 College graduates, which is $48,707 per year. Unfortunately, no similar data is available for Canada.
Internship Opportunities - Gaining Valuable Work Experience
Pursuing an internship or co-op position is a great way to gain work experience while you’re still a student. As an added bonus, you’ll earn school credit while doing so!
An internship, or other form of work placement opportunity, is the best way to find out firsthand what it may be like during the first few months or years of a career in communications.
These opportunities may be arranged by school administration as part of your communications program. If they are not, talk to your professors and school career counselors about any opportunities they are aware of. Either way, try to gain as much of this experience as you can while you are still a student.
Job Postings
Whether you're a student looking for a job to help you pay for school, or a graduate looking for an entry or mid-level job, our job board has opportunities directly and indirectly related to your degree.
Scholarships
Search our scholarships database for Canadian and American communications specific scholarships to help you pay for school.
Success Tip: Be sure to apply for any and all scholarships for which you qualify, as there are millions of dollars of scholarships in Canada and the United States that go unused every year due to a lack of applicants.
Relevant Professional Associations
Please consult the following professional association websites for more career-related information, professional articles and resources, as well as job postings.
Canadian Communications Association
Public Relations Society of America
The American Communication Association
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
The International Communication Association
