Political science vs communications major

[Anonymous]

DD is currently a college sophomore. She is a poly sci major right now and enjoys it. However, she is now unsure abt going to law school. I know a poly sci degree doesn’t mean you have to go to law school after but she is unsure if it is the right degree for her. She is not interested in coming back to dc(she goes to school in nyc). She is inspired by the wealth and plentiful of high paying jobs she sees in nyc in industries like finance marketing advertising etc but doesn’t know how to break into those fields. UN might be a possibility but does not want to work as a gov employee or do political campaigning where there is little compensation for lots of hard work. There is a major at her school in her current arts and sciences discipline called business communications. It would overlap with lots of her classes she already took and doesn’t require the math heavy classes that the business school does(she is no math student). Any advice on switching major and future career paths?

[Anonymous]

Communications tends to be an oversaturated field but so is poly sci

[Anonymous]

Major does not matter...internships do. If she does not have one lined up for summer...tell her to get on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Major does not matter...internships do. If she does not have one lined up for summer...tell her to get on it.

Major matters getting the right internship

[Anonymous]

What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

CUNY Baruch. She is not a math or science person so data science is a no go. Would economics open up more jobs compared to a poly sci or communications degree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

CUNY Baruch. She is not a math or science person so data science is a no go. Would economics open up more jobs compared to a poly sci or communications degree

Economics at the college level is very math heavy.

To me, poli sci signals better critical thinking skills than communication. But I don't think the available jobs will be that different. Which classes sound more interesting to her? Getting good grades and making strong connections with professors matters more than the major, so I'd choose based on which is more interesting to her.

[Anonymous]

GenAI will totally disrupt law and marcomms.

Polisci probably less so.

[Anonymous]

Communications is viewed as a much fluffier degree. Less critical thinking, making an argument and supporting it, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Communications is viewed as a much fluffier degree. Less critical thinking, making an argument and supporting it, etc.

This ^^

[Anonymous]

They are both pretty fluffy. And regardless of major, most new grads need to start in an entry-level, hard-work-for-low-pay kind of job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

CUNY Baruch. She is not a math or science person so data science is a no go. Would economics open up more jobs compared to a poly sci or communications degree

Economics at the college level is very math heavy.

To me, poli sci signals better critical thinking skills than communication. But I don't think the available jobs will be that different. Which classes sound more interesting to her? Getting good grades and making strong connections with professors matters more than the major, so I'd choose based on which is more interesting to her.

Longtime comms professional, and I agree. I would never advise someone to major in comms. Writing, research, analytical skills are foundational, which she will develop in poli sci. Tell her to write for the student newspaper and get an internship at a firm that does political or issues comms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

CUNY Baruch. She is not a math or science person so data science is a no go. Would economics open up more jobs compared to a poly sci or communications degree

Economics at the college level is very math heavy.

To me, poli sci signals better critical thinking skills than communication. But I don't think the available jobs will be that different. Which classes sound more interesting to her? Getting good grades and making strong connections with professors matters more than the major, so I'd choose based on which is more interesting to her.

Longtime comms professional, and I agree. I would never advise someone to major in comms. Writing, research, analytical skills are foundational, which she will develop in poli sci. Tell her to write for the student newspaper and get an internship at a firm that does political or issues comms.

What is the comm major is more interesting to her? She is getting bored of the readings in her poly sci classes and the theoretical approach that she feels is not preparing her for a career outside academia

[Anonymous]

Can she just add on the business communications major? I was journalism/poli sci, and that was a good combo. Not overly taxing, so a double major was very manageable. I've had a nice career in media. Lots of government organizations have communications roles, not just being a spokesperson, but writing content, white papers, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school?
That's an important information.

Change to econ and minor in data science

CUNY Baruch. She is not a math or science person so data science is a no go. Would economics open up more jobs compared to a poly sci or communications degree

Economics at the college level is very math heavy.

To me, poli sci signals better critical thinking skills than communication. But I don't think the available jobs will be that different. Which classes sound more interesting to her? Getting good grades and making strong connections with professors matters more than the major, so I'd choose based on which is more interesting to her.

Longtime comms professional, and I agree. I would never advise someone to major in comms. Writing, research, analytical skills are foundational, which she will develop in poli sci. Tell her to write for the student newspaper and get an internship at a firm that does political or issues comms.

What is the comm major is more interesting to her? She is getting bored of the readings in her poly sci classes and the theoretical approach that she feels is not preparing her for a career outside academia

College isn't vocational training. The point of the theoretical approach in poli sci isn't to prepare her for a particular career, it's to teach her how to read, think, and write critically.