Anyone have a degree in Communication Studies?

I have a student in high school who asked about University and writing careers/programs. My gut response was start with a degree in English and then move onto a post-grad program after (editing, copywriting, technical writing, what have you), but then I wondered if there was maybe a better route, did some digging, and came across Communication Studies.

On appearance (since I don't have a degree in Com Studies), it seems like a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies might actually be more useful than an English degree if someone wanted to pursue a career in writing. I'm not sure, though.

This student doesn't exactly know what job she wants in writing, which is understandable considering she's 16, so off the top of my head, I'm thinking of Journalism, Editing, Copywriting, and Technical Writing. I'm not sure how many other "writing careers" there are that aren't in some way tied to those four, but if anyone has any input on any other careers and the path she should take to get there, I would very much appreciate it.

[–]bianac 2 points 1 hour ago

I finish my bachelor of communications in about a month. All of the things I learnt are useful, but even my lecturers agree that the degree is useless. It's all about networking. Do internships, write for the school paper, publish a book with other students, make friends with your teachers. That's what will help. Me putting "bachelor of communications" on my résumé is nothing compared to those things.

   

[–]wristworks[S] 1 point 33 minutes ago

Thanks for the input. And yeah, the idea isn't so much whether or not a degree in Communications or English is useful in the sense of how good it looks on a resume. I'm thinking more of practical, "learning" sense. Will it give her a better idea of what she has to do to be successful? Will it give her an idea of the landscape so she knows what kinds of internships she might want to apply for, or the people she would need to network with, that sort of thing.

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[–]inkedexistence 1 point 2 hours ago

Short answer: Don't.

She wants a career in writing? Fantastic. Here is what she should do.

She should get a degree in computer science, engineering, business, or etc.

If she can double major, cool, go for English/Journalism/Com

If she can't double major, minor. If she can't do that, don't worry about it. For her elective classes, she can take the handful of English/Writing classes that interest her.

In any case, what she should do is get a job at the school paper, and take it seriously. That will help her more than any degree in terms of learning how to write.

The easiest way to get a career in writing is to have a marketable degree, and a well paying job which gives her the opportunity for career mobility and etc.

There is a desperate need for skilled writers, but that doesn't mean that English majors (much less Com majors) are getting hired.

If she is an engineer who can write, in no time at all she'll have a job which gives her the opportunity to exercise her skill and even move into an entirely different career.

If she is a girl with an English/Journalism/Coms degree who can write, in no time at all she'll be working at Starbucks.

For example, lets say she wanted to become a journalist. I'd tell her to get a degree and job in Computer Science (or something like that), get a job that lets her write a fair amount, in her free time she can contribute to magazines and other publications, and work her way over to becoming a full time journalist.

And/or: she should work at the school paper as much as possible, work her way up to an editors position, still get a degree in Business/Computers/Engineering/Science, and then try to get a job as an editor/writer/etc, using her portfolio and editorial experience. That way, she still has a highly marketable degree to fall back upon.

If she really wants to become a journalist, she might consider a poli sci degree, but only if she is also ready to learn (and I mean really learn) another language. And it has to be a real language: Russian, Mandarin, etc. Ultimately, the language will be more useful than the poli sci degree.

In any case: School newspaper, internships with editors/papers/whatever, marketable degree

Unless she is absolutely single-minded in her dedication, which she isn't as she "doesn't know exactly what job she wants in writing," she should stay the hell away from English and related degrees.

Often times, they aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

Obligatory Qualification: If she comes from a rich family, she can do whatever she wants.

Edit: Qualification 2: If she is going to Harvard, she can do whatever she wants.