With a degree in communications, you can work in a wide variety of career fields. I will be talking about what jobs you can do with a degree in communications, how to become a successful professional in the field and how to break into the industry.
So you’ve graduated with your communications degree, and now you’re wondering what kinds of jobs you can do with it. The good news is that there are so many options! Here are some of the most common jobs for communications majors:
- Copywriter – A copywriter is someone who writes advertisements, promotions, and other materials for businesses. They might work in advertising agencies or freelance from home.
- Public relations specialist – A public relations specialist is responsible for promoting a company or individual to the public in a positive light. They often work for companies or organizations that want to improve their image or increase their brand awareness.
- Speechwriter – A speechwriter writes speeches for politicians, CEOs, and other public figures who need help communicating their message effectively to audiences large and small.
What jobs can i do with a communications degree
Introduction
Your college major is an important part of your resume, but it doesn’t need to define you. If you want to change careers or try something new, a communications degree is a useful tool that can set you up for some interesting and unexpected career paths. Here are ten jobs you can do with a communications degree:
Advertising and Promotions Manager
Advertising and promotions managers are responsible for managing the advertising and promotion efforts of a company. They manage the creative and financial aspects of a company’s advertising, as well as works closely with the sales, marketing, and public relations departments.
Bachelor’s degrees in communications or business administration are generally required for entry-level positions. However, some employers may prefer candidates who have completed graduate studies in marketing or communications with an emphasis on advertising.
Communications Director
To become a communications director, you need to be well-versed in public relations and have experience working with media outlets. As a communications director, you’ll be responsible for developing the company’s message and branding strategy. You’ll also need to draft press releases and create content for the company website or social media channels.
The salary of a communications director varies based on location and industry type—the average annual income is around $84k per year according to Payscale data published in 2019—but it’s generally higher than average due to the high demand for qualified candidates who can fulfill this role successfully. There are many different paths that lead up to this position, but they all involve some form of related work experience including:
- Public Relations Specialist: Working as an assistant at an advertising agency would allow you get hands-on experience crafting messages for clients who want exposure through various media platforms (print ads, radio commercials). After several years working as an assistant, you could move up into more senior roles such as account executive or account manager where your job would entail handling PR campaigns from start-to-finish including drafting press releases and managing relationships with reporters/bloggers/journalists;
- Media Relations Associate: This position offers less responsibility than other career paths but still gives valuable insight into how companies interact with journalists so that when it comes time for promotion within their organization they will already have established relationships which makes getting hired easier since their colleagues already trust them implicitly because they have worked together before;
Development Officer
Development officers work in non-profit organizations and are responsible for fundraising efforts. They raise funds for the organization, as well as planning, implementing and evaluating its fundraising strategy.
Development officers are also responsible for the organization’s fundraising activities, including writing grant proposals, conducting feasibility studies and creating marketing materials.
The job of a development officer can be challenging but rewarding; it requires an eye toward detail, strong communication skills (to keep donors on board), passion for your cause and patience when things don’t go as planned.
Event Planner
Event planners have a wide range of duties and responsibilities. They plan conferences, conventions, trade shows and other events that require coordination with multiple vendors and attendees. Event planners keep track of the budget for all aspects of the event to ensure it stays on track. Event planners may work for an organization or a freelance basis.
Fundraiser
Whether you want to volunteer or make money, fundraising is a great way to help others. You can work in a wide variety of industries and do it full-time or part-time.
If you’re interested in fundraising as a career, start by reading up on the different types of fundraisers: cold calling, direct mail, telemarketing and so on. We’ll discuss some of these options below.
Government Relations Representative
Government Relations Representatives are the people who are working in the government. They’re supposed to be working on behalf of the people, but they’re actually only working for themselves and don’t care about anyone else. It’s like they hate their jobs and hate everyone else too! But anyway, if you want to work as one, you’ll need an undergraduate degree in communications or journalism and then some postgraduate experience dealing with other people who already have degrees in communications or journalism.
Grant Writer
>You can write grants for a variety of organizations, from government agencies to nonprofits to corporations.
Unlike most jobs you’ll have with a communications degree, grant-writing doesn’t require you to have any specific background in order to be successful. You should be comfortable writing and editing documents, but that’s about it—no degree or certifications are required!
The salary range for grant writers is wide because the job requires little specialized knowledge. If you work for an organization with an established budget and hiring process, your pay may start at around $25K; otherwise, it might be closer to $10K per year (or less). However, if your grant-writing skills land you employment at an agency or nonprofit that needs help with funding proposals or grants management (i.e., managing awards and contracts), then the pay could be significantly higher: as high as $80K annually if working directly under a senior manager who manages multiple projects at once.
Human Resources Specialist
Human resources specialists are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of a company’s HR department. They are tasked with hiring, firing and training employees. Additionally, they often help with labor negotiations and union management. A human resources specialist may have a degree in human resources or business administration; however, some employers do not require one.
Information Officer
Information officers are responsible for managing and organizing various kinds of information, such as facts, ideas and data. They also create written materials that present accurate information to their audiences in a clear manner.
Information officers typically need to be knowledgeable about both the field they work in and how to communicate effectively with a variety of people using different media. They must be able to organize information into logical sequences or patterns that make sense for their audience and support the organization’s goals. For example, an information officer may need to organize data from multiple sources into one document so it can be used as part of an annual report on the company’s activities or finances; this process involves selecting relevant pieces of data from these sources (which may include internal reports or pages taken directly from websites) while ensuring that any missing pieces are properly represented by noting why they were left out in the report itself.
International Aid Worker (NGO)
If you’re interested in working for an NGO, you’ll likely be involved with the following:
- Raising awareness of social problems and injustices, such as poverty or disease.
- Reaching out to donors to raise funding for your organization’s activities.
- Coordinating with other NGOs, government agencies, and local partners to help alleviate the world’s most pressing issues.
Journalist/Media Researcher
What kind of job can you get with a degree in communications?
The following are some examples of careers that require this degree:
- Journalist/Media Researcher: A journalist researches and writes stories for newspapers, magazines and websites. They often specialize in a particular topic, such as sports or law enforcement. A media researcher collects information about companies for news articles or other publications. Both jobs require strong writing skills, along with experience working with computers to gather and organize information from sources such as social media sites like Twitter or Facebook.
- Media Relations Manager: A media relations manager works at an organization that wants to share its message with the public through news stories written by reporters who cover the particular industry this person works in (for example, pharmaceutical companies). The manager helps prepare statements on behalf of his employer when a reporter calls asking questions; he may also coordinate interviews between reporters and company executives so that they’re able to discuss their products more clearly than if they just spoke directly with reporters themselves
Lobbyist/Public Affairs Manager
If you’re interested in influencing government policy and making a difference in people’s lives, lobbying can be a great job for you. Lobbyists are paid to influence government policy on behalf of their clients. They work for corporations, non-profit organizations and other groups that need help getting laws passed or repealed. The pay is usually good because they’re dealing with high-level government officials who have a lot of power over the future of the country!
Lobbyists might focus on one specific area (like energy or trade agreements), but they also typically cover many different issues related to corporate interests. For example, if a company has more than one product line, each product line might demand different laws so that it can compete effectively against other companies’ products; therefore, lobbyists will often specialize by industry instead of broad political issues like foreign relations or immigration reform.
There are many diverse and interesting job options for communicators.
It’s a career that can be both fulfilling and fun. It’s also one in which you can make a difference in people’s lives.
Since communications is such a broad field, there are many diverse and interesting job options for communicators—from journalism to public relations to marketing, advertising and promotion. If you’re interested in working with people, the human resources field could be right for you; if you enjoy working with data or numbers, consider becoming an accountant or financial analyst; if your passion is fashion or design then consider joining the retail industry as a buyer or store manager; if art is your thing then perhaps becoming an artist manager would suit you best!
Conclusion
The career options for communicators are endless. Communications is a diverse and interesting field that can work in many sectors of the economy and provide opportunities to work in the public or private sector. If you’re looking to build your skills further, consider adding a minor, second major or certificate program like environmental studies, political science, public administration or even business administration, depending on where you want to take your career.
