I have career goals... that make no $.

[lifeisaparadox]

And I don't have my parents' approval.

 

I'm still a student, trying to get my parents' approval as a communications major.

 

I KNOW. This field is so looked down upon. So many people assume I'm taking it because it's easy and fun for college... but I do have career goals that are related to this field. Advertising. Public Relations. Marketing. Perhaps work in journalism or TV. It's broad, but it's because I don't want to focus on just one career path and have no back-up.

 

So many people also tell me I can't get any good jobs.

 

Yeah, I know many communications major who are unemployed or working retail (not what they imagined, I'm sure).

 

Anyway, this was just a little vent. I really have my head on and am working as hard as I can towards my dream career goals, but my parents' always look down on it and suggest me majoring in business or law or go into pre-med when I can tell you that it's something I can't deal with for the rest of my life.

 

It just really blows that I don't have their approval because even though it is my life, I feel like I'm disappointing them if I never get their approval.

[rocio]

Sure, it's your life. But are they helping out in any way financially? If so, then they should get some say in how their money is being spent. If not, then they are just being controlling.

[Chandra]

Hey lifeisaparadox,

 

I am also a communications major. I served in the AmeriCorps for two years and ended up going into nonprofit work. I'm in grad school right now and I do both communications and nonprofit management type work in my field.

 

I will say this: Communications is a great field, but it is all dependent on experience and experience alone. Do LOTS of internship (You won't be getting paid for a while though). Get good experience, and meet lots of professionals. This is the path to success.

 

If you want to see what experience it takes, a great way is to snoop on Linked In profiles. Check out the jobs you would like to have and see what experiences these people had before. Good luck!

[FathomFear]

Advertising/marketing jobs certainly do pay $. It very may be competitive, but there are opportunities.

[turnera]

I have a communications degree. I earn around $65,000 as a writer/editor. There are certainly decent jobs in communications.

 

Remember that, at your age, it's time for you to start pulling away from your parents' goals for you and to start coalescing YOUR goals for yourself. Their job is done; now it's your turn. It's part of human nature to start standing up to what your parents want for you and saying 'I understand but this is what I want. I hope you will respect me and my wishes and wish me well.'

[Batya33]

Why not double major where the other major is in something more "practical" like a teaching degree- something that entitles you to a license or profession - teaching requires both public speaking and communication/advertising skills.

 

And I'd strongly encourage you to start looking for internships now in TV or journalism and going to every possible networking event or opportunity there is.

[abitbroken]

I wouldn't get a general communications degree. If you want to go for PR, go for PR. If you want to go for Advertising, go for advertising. It IS wise to get a minor in business to go along with these things to learn additional skills. Or vice versa. Could it be that they think you are really just unfocused?

[RedDress]

The company I work for has a communications department. They are responsible for coming up with the wording for our web sites, press releases, etc. I don't think it's a throw-away job at all. I don't know for sure, but I would venture to say they are all making $50k or more. In a world where everything is going online, communications is vital.

 

I agree, though, that you should at least be looking into a minor in business, though. You say you don't want a business degree but you go on to talk about wanting to go into advertising, marketing, public relations... that's all business. It would be very much beneficial to understand what is under the hood, if you will.

 

It's no law or pre-med... but... you can definitely make a living with communications.

[woodsrose10]

It just really blows that I don't have their approval because even though it is my life, I feel like I'm disappointing them if I never get their approval.

 

Have you ever heard of the self-help book, The Disease to Please? It's amazing. There's a whole chapter that deals with wanting approval from parents. Some of the tips/facts from that chapter:

 

1.) You are not alive to fulfill your parents' expectations & needs. You are here to live your own life.

2.) It's nice to have your parents' approval but it is not mandatory that you have it in order to be happy with your life choices.

 

Obviously, there are more tips and facts but these are the two that can I remember right now. Good luck!

[Alezia]

I wouldn't say it's a non-lucrative field like you make it out to be. I have a good friend who's in communication, and she earns around 60K per year. The only thing she dislikes is that it becomes sort of an umbrella for all sorts of tasks, but she still enjoys it.

[katycloud]

There's nothing wrong with doing a Communications major if you're motivated to get a job in your field. I did a Communications major for my first degree and I had a plethora of fantastic jobs when I completed my degree such as being a journalist for a local paper, working at a radio station and with an events management company. They were awesome jobs that paid well! There is lots of opportunity in the Communications field.

[Staple]

Listen to your parents. You will make no money with that kind of degree unless you're lucky like the above poster's friend.

[TessaB]

I would say it's what you make it, plus a little bit of luck. I have a communications degree and got a job at a radio station right out of college, and got a promotion about a year later. Thinking outside the box is good too, there is so much going with social media and online things...you could expand from what you think are just the typical communication jobs. Experience, networking, being part of your college's radio/tv/newspaper...whatever. I think there's money to be made...

[Alpine]

I was a communications major - I finished my degree in 2008. I have had a plethora of fulfilling and rewarding jobs, and have gained so many amazing life experiences because of my major. I wrote for a local newspaper. I wrote for an online e-zine. I worked at a local radio station as a presenter. I worked at more well-known radio station as a producer. I got to travel overseas for a band that I was doing press for. All of these jobs made me enough money to live financially independently. Money was never an issue for me.

 

In the end however, I went back to university to study Education and I am now a primary school teacher. The reason I left the communications field was NOT because of money. (In fact, I probably made more money then than I do now The reason I changed careers was because my partner and I were applying for a home loan and I wanted a more stable career. Being the communications field was great but it was often unexpected jobs/hours/controlled chaos! But like I said, money was NEVER an issue for me after finishing my communications degree. If you are passionate, and if you work hard to get your foot into the door, then chances are you will succeed. And even though I changed careers I do not regret initially being a communications major because it was something I was passionate about, I had so many fantastic opportunities (travel, meeting new people) and it shaped who I am today.

 

Do what you think is right for you.

[Natasha24]

Like Alezia said, you can make good money from a communications degree. It's not like you will be working for minimum wage for the rest of your life.

 

Do your parent's pay for your education? If so, I'd say you have two choices:

1. Tell them to suck it up, this is what you're doing because it makes you happy

or

2. Do what THEY want you to do, graduate, then pay for the education you want with your money

 

My parents paid for my first degree and didn't dictate what I did - as long as I graduated and didn't waste the money. I know it's disappointing that they aren't supporting you, but you can't base your life around their expectations. Do what you want to do and what makes you happy.

[pl3asehelp]

You need to get yourself to a point where you don't need your parents approval to feel good about your choices. A business degree in marketing would be more useful if you want to get into PR or advertising. You're saying you think a broad set of choices keeps you from one career path without a backup but I think it actually does the opposite - gives you little or no career path because no one discipline was committed to enough to dive in deep enough to make a career out of it. I really think people should start with the job they want to have and then take classes from there. If you're not sure about the job, stop taking classes and focus on identifying the career before spending more money on classes.

[lifeisaparadox]

You have given me hope in life. Haha, this is inspiring to hear!