What majors should DD explore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My first thought was journalism. I personally have no experience with that field so I don't know if it's one of those degrees where you can actually find work. I know there are journalists but I don't know if there are enough jobs for the number of degree holders.

Isn't journalism a shrinking field due to the internet?

Traditional media is shrinking (newspapers, magazines, radio, television, but the thing these days is content. I would say journalism AND public affairs (which you can spin to PR) and maybe some technical skill (digital editing, photo editing, web design) if she's at all technical. Marketing or business would also be useful. Web site content, social media, new media will all need good writers who can handle the technical aspects of their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You hit it on the nail with marketing if DD is exploring majors that have solid early entry-level jobs. Perhaps she can look into journalism if she likes to write? She seems like she would also do alright in more squishy liberal arts majors, such as political science, international relations, or history. However, these aren't marketable majors so which four year college DD ends up is very important.

You need to put it in context too. Majoring is only one small part of the equation of post-college jobs nowadays. She also needs to land good internships during the school year as well. So among everything else, where she ends up post-CC is the most important factor.

Yeah, there's NO jobs for political science or IR folks around DC. Not a one! Are you kidding me? Help her to find what she likes. She will be good at something she enjoys. Ask her to think about what type of life and job she might like and work it backwards. Help her find something that will of course give her security but also something that she will want to do each Monday morning. Nothing sadder than people who wish their lives away 5 days at a time. All the money in the world doesn't make up for hating your job. She doesn't have to have it all sorted now. If I had a nickel for everyone I knew who majored in one thing and ended up somewhere else, I'd be a rich woman. The beauty of a liberal arts degree is that students learn how to learn, how to apply knowledge and HOW TO COMMUNICATE - something that is sorely lacking amongst college grads these days.

I was a political science major. I would major in it again, but would probably add some business courses? My first job out of college was on the Hill (I had done internships there). I was there four years. I then moved on to working in academia, as an administrator running a regional studies program at a major university. There I made a lot of connections, and parlayed them first into a gig teaching at a university overseas, then consulting on political affairs for the USG in the former USSR (basically doing the sort of meddling that Putin didn't like), worked in international development in Africa for USAID and then moved into the private sector. I now basically oversee international government relations based in Europe for a large U.S. multi-national, represent U.S. states looking for foreign investors and do market entry consulting on the side for small U.S. exporting firms. Six figure income. Love my life.

What I do now really has nothing to do with my major, but the linkages I made from my first job, being able to identify and market my skills and be an outgoing and personable professional who plays well in the sandbox have been everthing to my career success.