6 Things University Of Tampa Communication Majors Are Tired Of Hearing

Choosing something to do for the rest of your life is pretty intimidating, especially with the pressures we face from society.

From high school on we are encouraged to start thinking about what to do with the rest of our lives: who to be, where to go, what to do. And on top of that, many face ridicule for choosing a certain path. I switched from studying music, to Criminology and Psychology, and finally, I chose to be a Communication major.

When I tell people that I'm a communication major, I often feel a sense of disappointment or confusion in their response. There is a huge misconception about what a Communication degree means and what you can do with it; it's a major that is often seen as easy and not challenging. The Communication department at the University of Tampa changed how I think about everything and opened up a whole knew world of knowledge I never knew existed. I have them to thank for helping me figure out what I really want to do in life.

So take that in consideration before saying these things to anyone who is a Com major:

1. "Oh."

Yeah, that's exactly what I want you to tell me when I say I'm a Com major.

2. "Aren't you a communications major?"

Communication. It's communication, not communications. If I were studying communications, I would be studying radio transmissions and telephone wires.

3. "So what can you even do with a communication degree?"

Like any degree, its what you make of it. Many schools require Com majors to pick a certain concentration so they graduate with a strong, specific set of skills that will help narrow their career focus. Com majors can work in fields such as AD/PR, journalism, academic writing, filming etc.

4. "Oh so that must be pretty easy."

Wrong. UT com students know best that a Communication department drives to challenge the way people think in order to see the bigger picture; it is a study of how humans form relationships and behaviors through communication, and studying the evolution of how we communicate and how our communication is shaped by society. Read and write some of the stuff Communication majors face, then say it's easy.

5. "Don't you think it will be difficult to find a job with that degree?"

Everyone knows that problems are best solved through communication, and good communication is an asset every business or company needs to have. Combine those skills with whatever specific skills you acquired through your Com program and it can be very easy to find a job after school. Not everything is about business and science.

6. "You can do better than that."

Insulting a person's decision on what to study in college is mean, but studying human interaction and applying it to everyday life sounds pretty important to me.

If you're a Com major, props to you for studying the way humans interact with each other, and don't ever let anyone tell you it's not important.