Communication majors have a bad reputation. We’re on the opposite end of the spectrum from the engineers and pre-med students. We get made fun of for having mediocre math skills, “easy” course work, no homework and quite possibly no brains.
But we continue to fight back—and will continue to do so—by going on to become public relations professionals, marketing communication specialists and, quite honestly, anything else that we dream of becoming. But in the mean time, here are a few things we’d like to stop hearing from our fellow peers.
Laughter
I’m not sure how many times I’ve encountered laughter as a response to “What’s
your major?” but it’s typically preceded or followed by a concerned “Oh.” I apologize
for preferring to read and write rather than conduct experiments in labs or do
math for four-plus years. That’s one of our worst nightmares.
“What do you even do?”
I do a lot of things. I go to class. I take notes. I have exams. I create media kits. I pitch to media outlets. I learn all about branding and how to develop one for not only myself, but also for companies. Oh, and I wrote that tweet that you retweeted.
“You probably never have to study because it’s so easy.”
It’s as if communication requires zero cognitive processes and zero effort. We may not be memorizing formulas for physics or biochemistry, but we’re memorizing the hundreds of rules for writing in AP style. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t go out every night of the week, nor can we afford to. We have too many theories and principles of communication to learn. And, unsurprisingly, we have to know those for our exams. Yes, we have exams.
“What are you going to do with that degree?”
Whatever I want. That’s the whole reason I chose this major. With this degree, I could end up in Orlando working for Disney World as a PR rep. Or I could make my way to Chicago or New York as an account executive for a public relations agency. I could be live-tweeting your favorite team’s football games as ESPN’s social media manager. I could be in Washington, D.C. as the next Olivia Pope - but probably not, because that show’s really sensationalized.
The point is, every business and brand needs someone with a communications degree. What if they experience some kind of external crisis like a product recall? It's a good thing we communications majors study crisis communication. And not everyone knows how to utilize social media in the most effective ways. That’s what we’re here for. We might not be able to build the next best engine or perform open-heart surgery, but we’re the ones making sure consumers either remain loyal to their favorite brands or fall in love with new ones. It’s enough work for us to try to rescue people and companies from lifetimes of bad reputations.
So on behalf of communication majors everywhere, I ask that you cut us some slack and let us preserve our own. It's not rocket science. And even if it was, we probably wouldn't know anything about that, now would we?
