What was once a highly respected field of study is now subject to mockery and disrespect. Whether you study strategic communication, sport communication, or a track internal to communication such as journalism or media and pop culture, please know that your skill set is relevant and necessary.
In 2013, I took my first steps on a college campus as an undeclared, freshman student. Like many other college freshmen who didn't have a structured four year plan, I felt incredibly overwhelmed. How is someone supposed to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives at such a young age?
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In my case, I had just turned 18. The responsibilities and decision making of adulthood were crashing down on me. I did mediocre my first two years of college, mainly pulling A's and B's with an occasional C. It wasn't until I met with my adviser toward the end of my fall semester of sophomore year that I made the decision to declare my major as strategic communication (a program geared towards advertising, marketing, public relations). It was the best decision I've made in college to date.
I have always been a "people person" and an avid communicator, though I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do at the time—I was intrigued by the curriculum and course descriptions. After taking the prerequisite courses, Human Communication and Mediated Communication, it clicked. It was the first time (ever) that I had genuinely looked forward to attending class in my 15 years of schooling; I was so excited to be learning. I couldn't help but to draw parallels between everything going on around me and the concepts I learned in class.
When junior year came along, I took two more major courses: Foundations of Strategic Communication as well as Media and Popular Culture Studies. It was during this time, that my passion only grew stronger. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had class and there was no chance I was missing it! I loved going. Not only was participating in class discussions and debates feeding my intellect, it was enjoyable. I found myself excited to complete a project, study for a test, or pitch a proposal. In the midst of my excitement to have found a career track that I was so passionate about, came the negativity.
There is a preconceived notion among some people that majoring in communication is not substantial enough, some even deem it "common sense." My brother, who is on track to become a physicians assistant, often rants about how "communication is a joke. How are you gonna tell me that's harder than becoming a doctor?" First of all, we're talking about right brain people versus left brain people. There is very little correlation between the two. Regarding the programs themselves, both are very different and require different skills. I do not view careers based on level of difficulty, but rather level of passion. If you're good at it, good for you. If it makes you happy, even better.
Another group of people I've been belittled by are business majors. Almost always, I would be referred to as a "communication major" in a condescending tone of voice. Business, just like communication, is a fairly large umbrella. Sure, some of these skills are implemented into your daily life without much thought, but college is designed to thrust you past surface level. For example, on the surface, you see an advertisement. What you fail to recognize, is the creative development that went on behind the scenes. The encoded message perfected to break through the audiences physiological screen, the repetitiveness of the ad in hopes of making it into your evoked set, and the carefully crafted underlying message designed to target a specific market.
If you type "communication major" into Google's search engine, you will find lists of potential jobs, articles, blogs, and other various links that support the field. If you type "communication major" into Google images, you will find a plethora of impertinent, patronizing pictures. So, what's the main difference here? People spend time crafting simplistic cartoons and captions dissing the major, but have failed in producing one well constructed article stating why they feel so strongly. A little food for thought.
