Why do Communications majors get a bad rap?

[Anonymous]

% with advanced degree by college major:

Literature and languages 46.8
Social sciences 43.6
Liberal arts/history 43.1
Communications 21.1

https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-18.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:% with advanced degree by college major:

Literature and languages 46.8
Social sciences 43.6
Liberal arts/history 43.1
Communications 21.1

https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-18.pdf

And? Is a bachelors degree not enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Marketing, public relations, journalism, speech writing, media production....

I'm not sure why they get a bad rap at all, actually,

These are different than a "communications " degree.

Not really: most of these concentrations are under the umbrella of communications. I majored in Radio-Television-Film in the communications department of UT Austin. It was one of the toughest programs to get into when I attended, and still is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:% with advanced degree by college major:

Literature and languages 46.8
Social sciences 43.6
Liberal arts/history 43.1
Communications 21.1

https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-18.pdf

And? Is a bachelors degree not enough?

It may be enough in engineering or accounting, but a stand-alone communications BA really doesn't lead to any more opportunities than a degree in English, political science, psychology etc. But the holders of these degrees are far more likely to get higher degrees.

[Anonymous]

At my flagship state school, all the football players majored in communications, so yeah...

[Anonymous]

I think it intuitively seems a little content-free. In an ideal world, everyone who graduates from college would have decent written and oral communication skills AND would have acquired a bit of expertise in some field of actual content, whether it's art history, philosophy, geography, computer science, or Spanish literature. If one of my kids wants to be a communications major, I will strongly advise at least a minor in a more content-rich field.

[Anonymous]

Because it is easy and doesn't require analysis, critical thinking, and complex thinking and writing skills.

[Anonymous]

It's really the worst of both worlds. It's not as respected or intellectually difficult as a proper liberal arts major and offers poor preparation for graduate school. It has a vocational bent, but it doesn't have a good degree to jobs pipeline.

I mean how many PR specialists and communications "consultants" does the economy need?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's really the worst of both worlds. It's not as respected or intellectually difficult as a proper liberal arts major and offers poor preparation for graduate school. It has a vocational bent, but it doesn't have a good degree to jobs pipeline.

I mean how many PR specialists and communications "consultants" does the economy need?

This just isn't true. Depending on your focus - and communications students typically have a focus - you'll learn about journalism, marketing and public relations, filmmaking, media production, scriptwriting, etc etc etc. In a media-rich world ever more dependent on effective, concise communication, these skills are invaluable.

[Anonymous]

exactly pp. Too many ignorant posters here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This just isn't true. Depending on your focus - and communications students typically have a focus - you'll learn about journalism, marketing and public relations, filmmaking, media production, scriptwriting, etc etc etc. In a media-rich world ever more dependent on effective, concise communication, these skills are invaluable.

Well the facts speak for themselves. A PP suggested that the graduate degree isn't needed for communications majors because their major is so useful and can land a good job.

http://time.com/money/3829776/heres-what-the-average-grad-makes-right-out-of-college/

Not so. They earn basically the same as social science and humanities BAs. But they have a much worse track record in terms of applying to graduate and professional schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:% with advanced degree by college major:

Literature and languages 46.8
Social sciences 43.6
Liberal arts/history 43.1
Communications 21.1

https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-18.pdf

makes sense. With those useless degrees you pretty have to go on and get an advanced degree!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:makes sense. With those useless degrees you pretty have to go on and get an advanced degree!

Well, a much lower % of communications majors do.

A stand-alone BA has never been a road to riches - not even in the "good old days." Serious students in the humanities and social sciences (few of whom major in communications) know this and generally earn a higher degree after college.

You don't become a historian, psychologist, philosopher, sociologist or economist with a BA only. If you want to be one you go on to graduate school. Many others go on to law school, teaching etc.

How is collecting a BA "on the way" to a professional or graduate degree "useless"?

[Anonymous]

I have a communications degree (journalism actually) and its from a mid tier Southeast college, nothing fancy. Looking back, I would have also gotten a business degree to go with it. But, at the time, I wanted to be a writer, and now I am in sales, and frankly, much better at it than writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a communications degree (journalism actually) and its from a mid tier Southeast college, nothing fancy. Looking back, I would have also gotten a business degree to go with it. But, at the time, I wanted to be a writer, and now I am in sales, and frankly, much better at it than writing.

Hit submit too fast. I think the Comm degree was a pretty broad one, and it touched on a lot of different aspects of the business world in general including writing, editing, digital media, etc. It has served me well, but, really after a few years in the workforce, no one cares what the degree is, they're more interested in your experience.