Oh, The Possibilities?
February 20, 2012 12:45 PM Subscribe
What kinds of jobs can I get based on my degree and current work experience?
I am very close to finishing my degree from a university in Canada. I am getting a Speech Communication degree with two specializations in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication and Public and Digital Communication. I am also getting a minor in English-Language and Literature.
I know that university is not vocational and I am open to the possibility of landing a job that's different from what I studied in school.
With that being said, I thought I'd still say that my favourite course was a Crisis Communications course. I really like the idea of helping to create a positive image of people or brands which is why PR might be something that I am interested in.
During the first two years of university, I was struggling to find out what 'worked' for me, but somehow I managed to find a major (Speech Communication) which for the most part I have enjoyed. My marks weren't that great because of personal factors and I am ending up with a General degree (70% average for my major) rather than an Honours degree. But I guess that doesn't matter since I have been told that most workplaces don't care about someone's marks.
But, the not so great thing is that I feel very unprepared when it comes to getting a different job. I feel like I didn't learn anything in university and basically scrambled to make it through despite personal factors.
On the plus side: I have close to two years worth of work experience. I work as a Claims Representative for an insurance claims manager company. This basically involves me talking on the phone to a variety of people, trying to provide great customer service (my favourite part),taking claim details, and helping the insured/policyholder get the help that they need.
I really enjoy this job, but it's not something that I see myself doing for several years. I really don't know what I see myself doing after university since I feel extremely unprepared. I also have anxiety-issues when it comes to presentations. Although I can move up in the insurance field because the company that I work for has many offices world-wide, I am just not interested in insurance, law or anything like that.
I know that I don't like insurance or law because I personally find insurance information very dry and 'systematic' (for a lack of a better word). I also have experience interning at a law firm, but this was something that I strongly disliked because it lacked excitement and had a very quiet office environment.
I have interned at a music distribution company and found that experience much more enjoyable. My work was boring since I mainly dealt with inventory and creating CD packages, but the work that employees did seemed interesting. A lot of employees were client representatives which seems like a great job.
When it comes to people, I enjoy working with a variety of individuals and having a close environment, but not in a team-intensive environment where you have to rely on other people to complete their work in order to complete your own work. I would rather work with a lot of people in an office, get to communicate with each other a lot, while still working independently on my own projects.
I want to live in a city like Halifax, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Boston, or any other city that seems interesting and is relatively large or has a lot of character.
So, with that being said: what kinds of jobs can someone like myself get?
I am very close to finishing my degree from a university in Canada. I am getting a Speech Communication degree with two specializations in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication and Public and Digital Communication. I am also getting a minor in English-Language and Literature.
I know that university is not vocational and I am open to the possibility of landing a job that's different from what I studied in school.
With that being said, I thought I'd still say that my favourite course was a Crisis Communications course. I really like the idea of helping to create a positive image of people or brands which is why PR might be something that I am interested in.
During the first two years of university, I was struggling to find out what 'worked' for me, but somehow I managed to find a major (Speech Communication) which for the most part I have enjoyed. My marks weren't that great because of personal factors and I am ending up with a General degree (70% average for my major) rather than an Honours degree. But I guess that doesn't matter since I have been told that most workplaces don't care about someone's marks.
But, the not so great thing is that I feel very unprepared when it comes to getting a different job. I feel like I didn't learn anything in university and basically scrambled to make it through despite personal factors.
On the plus side: I have close to two years worth of work experience. I work as a Claims Representative for an insurance claims manager company. This basically involves me talking on the phone to a variety of people, trying to provide great customer service (my favourite part),taking claim details, and helping the insured/policyholder get the help that they need.
I really enjoy this job, but it's not something that I see myself doing for several years. I really don't know what I see myself doing after university since I feel extremely unprepared. I also have anxiety-issues when it comes to presentations. Although I can move up in the insurance field because the company that I work for has many offices world-wide, I am just not interested in insurance, law or anything like that.
I know that I don't like insurance or law because I personally find insurance information very dry and 'systematic' (for a lack of a better word). I also have experience interning at a law firm, but this was something that I strongly disliked because it lacked excitement and had a very quiet office environment.
I have interned at a music distribution company and found that experience much more enjoyable. My work was boring since I mainly dealt with inventory and creating CD packages, but the work that employees did seemed interesting. A lot of employees were client representatives which seems like a great job.
When it comes to people, I enjoy working with a variety of individuals and having a close environment, but not in a team-intensive environment where you have to rely on other people to complete their work in order to complete your own work. I would rather work with a lot of people in an office, get to communicate with each other a lot, while still working independently on my own projects.
I want to live in a city like Halifax, Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, Boston, or any other city that seems interesting and is relatively large or has a lot of character.
So, with that being said: what kinds of jobs can someone like myself get?
I have a PhD in Communication (thus I know lots of undergrads like you.)
INTERN! Intern now to grow your experience, references, and learn more about what you like and don't like about work.
And talk to your campus career office.
posted by k8t at 2:38 PM on February 20, 2012
INTERN! Intern now to grow your experience, references, and learn more about what you like and don't like about work.
And talk to your campus career office.
posted by k8t at 2:38 PM on February 20, 2012
I agree with the intern idea. I didn't know exactly what part of programming I wanted to do, so I gave the internships a try. My first internship was programming for green screen applications and didn't like it. It didn't click for me. I'm now doing an internship programming on the web development side and absolutely love it.
posted by jwmollman at 3:49 PM on February 20, 2012
posted by jwmollman at 3:49 PM on February 20, 2012
Does your department have a student PR association or group? Many do. You may want to see if you can get in touch with them, to get resources, participate, or find out about internship opportunities.
You may have luck as a marketing assistant (which, depending on the firm, can range from a very interesting to not-so-interesting, but foot-in-the-door, secretarial gig) or, if you are a strong writer, an entry level copywriting gig (or an admin assistant/web assistant at a firm where copywriting could be a job where you could be promoted into after gaining some experience).
You also may want to look at smaller, technical firms (such as general contractors, architects, landscapers, etcetera). Often times, they like to higher one or two individuals with your background to help with their marketing and relations efforts; your degree seems to include a decent variety of concentrations, which will make you appealing, as they can only higher one person to fulfill multiple marketing/admin needs.
posted by vivid postcard at 7:13 PM on February 20, 2012
You may have luck as a marketing assistant (which, depending on the firm, can range from a very interesting to not-so-interesting, but foot-in-the-door, secretarial gig) or, if you are a strong writer, an entry level copywriting gig (or an admin assistant/web assistant at a firm where copywriting could be a job where you could be promoted into after gaining some experience).
You also may want to look at smaller, technical firms (such as general contractors, architects, landscapers, etcetera). Often times, they like to higher one or two individuals with your background to help with their marketing and relations efforts; your degree seems to include a decent variety of concentrations, which will make you appealing, as they can only higher one person to fulfill multiple marketing/admin needs.
posted by vivid postcard at 7:13 PM on February 20, 2012
Um...they hire individuals. Not "higher" them...obviously.
posted by vivid postcard at 7:15 PM on February 20, 2012
posted by vivid postcard at 7:15 PM on February 20, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Chaussette and the Pussy Cats at 12:50 PM on February 20, 2012