Marketing is the science of getting a product to a target demographic. They are responsible for creating content to generate interest for a product and act as a communicator between the product and the public. Marketers will utilize sociologic, economic and psychological factors in order to convince a person why they should buy a product. In this program, students will study a variety of subjects such as economics, communications, finance and management. Many students have a passion for creativity and like working with others in a team.
Applied Career: Marketing Managers:
A marketing manager is an individual experienced with promoting interest in a product. They will usually decide the marketing plan for a product and make decisions regarding their resources. Depending on the product, they will utilize media sources such as television, radio, internet, billboards, and other strategies to spread the word about their product.
Median Salary: $85,606
Applied Career: Marketing Researcher
Marketing Researchers are responsible for providing statistical information about a product. They are interested in finding how much an individual spends on a certain product, which cultures buy the most, how many sales per month and many other statistics. This helps business run better promotional campaigns for their products.
A good public image, whether it be for a corporation or an individual, is one of the most important foundations for success. Imagine a company that has a bad public image, maybe because of bad rumors, lawsuits or many other reasons, its sales will be greatly negatively affected. Therefore, public relations is one of the most important departments for a company.
Majoring in Public Relations will give you necessary skills to communicate on behalf of an individual or a company to the press, the internet and other public outlets. A good clean image in any industry will skyrocket sales, publicity, and general popularity which will directly determine how successful a company will be.
As a student in Public Relations, be prepared to exercise your writing and communication skills. Be a master of language and syntax in order to craft the best public image.
Average Salary: $55,000
Journalism can be described simply as providing the public with interesting and up-to-date news and events. Mastering reading, writing, editing and reporting skills will be crucial to this major. However, the world of journalism is not just providing news. There are many legal and technical issues that surround journalists. Almost like a science, there are many levels of editing before a final product is released to the public. It will be important to know how to appeal to particular demographics and how to create concise, yet valuable and informative original content to the public. Although journalism commonly refers to print sources such as magazines and newspapers. A Journalism major can be relevant to many other sources of media such as internet and television/news.
Journalism majors often tend to be critical thinkers and very up-to-date. They are interested in various issues including politics, sports, and entertainment among others. They will also have great rhetorical skills and show good skills in persuading and simplifying concepts for other people.
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Possible Careers:
As stated above, a journalism major can be applied to many types of media. This includes television careers such as broadcasting/news, internet positions like blogging, writing internet articles and print sources like journals, magazines, newsprint and many others. Here are some of the possible careers and their descriptions.
Reporter – A reporter is a type of journalist that is commonly associated with different types of mass media. Daily and weekly newspapers, television networks or radio stations most commonly employ reporters. Their primary job is to gather information based on tips, press conferences, and interviewing. The most successful reporters offer the most cutting edge, recent and comprehensive stories.
Freelance Journalist – A Freelance Journalist is a individual that is self employed in the journalist profession but has no long term commitments to any employers. They tend to follow the same priorities as reporters but they will sell their works to other sources based on the works perceived value.
Broadcast Anchor – An anchor is a professional whose responsibility is to present the news through, most commonly, television networks. However, radio and, recently, Internet personalities can be considered anchors. Well known anchors usually have a particular or unique style of delivery. Although the news is usually reported and researched by other journalists, many anchors also take part in the writing and editing of the news.
Public Relations Specialist - Professionals in Public Relations are responsible for the exchange of information between a business and the public. They will need to be proficient in building interest and keeping the image of the company public. Therefore, an expertise in Journalism and English will benefit a professional in public relations. Since many businesses, especially big corporations, will have negative issues, damage control may be a big responsibility. In order to counter these issues, a public relations officer may need to utilize damage control techniques and tactfully inform the public about the good intentions and plans of their business.
Average Starting Salary: $41,003
Average 10-Year Salary: $78,946
Journalism Courses:
The majority of Journalism courses will be based in English reading and writing, and other communication courses. Here are some sample course lists that show the wide range of journalism.
Possible College Courses (Lower Division):
Contemporary Mass Media
Principles of Journalism
Radio and Television News
Electronic Media Management
Possible College Courses (Upper Division):
Global Media Empires
Mass Communication Law
Publication Design and Production
Media Ethics and Professional Practice
Press and the Constitution
Message Effectiveness
High School Path:
Some advice for high schoolers would be to definitely explore the wide range of English classes in your school. Taking courses like Speech and Debate, or Public Speaking can build a good foundation for a career in journalism. There will also be many opportunities to write for the school paper which can be fun and an early start to building your resume. Taking AP courses in Literature and Language can help attain credit for college.
Many students will seek internships with a variety of media and print companies. By completing internships at daily and weekly newspapers, television networks, and radio networks, you can be prepared and gain great experiences that will help you in the future.