Despite a precarious economy and shrinking job market, communication arts student and soon-to-be graduate Robert Small says he has "got a pretty good idea" of what he's going to do with his life after graduation.
"I don't know, maybe I'll be a sports broadcaster, or something," senior Small said, as he prepared his graduation application for the upcoming ceremony. "I think that'd be pretty cool."
But Robert Small is just one of the many students who pursue a communication arts degree without a solid career plan. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Communication Arts & Media Studies determined that at least 84 percent of all Communication Arts students haven't given a single thought as to where they'd like to end up after graduation.
"It's really a shame, these kids have absolutely no sense of direction and no idea what's coming after graduation," USCAMS Director Sandra Reyes commented. Reyes, a communications major herself, admits she ended up in her position through "sheer, dumb luck."
"I learned about keys and pots and that three-point lighting crap, but I never thought, for even a second, that I'd ever have to look for a job after school. It just never came up. Honestly, I just sorta fell into this stuff," she said. "But these kids? The job prospects don't look too good."
Still, students at Caldwell University are hopeful.
"I think I really have a chance. I like talking, and I like sports. So I don't see why I couldn't be a sports announcer, you know?" Small said. "Or maybe a DJ? That'd be sweet."
Despite the aimless wandering that seems to befall communications majors, the major remains one of the most popular nationwide.
"Communication arts gets a bad wrap. A lot of people think that you can't do anything with it, and that it's a waste of a degree," cafeteria employee and communications graduate Marley Addams said, "but honestly, I think that it's a very marketable degree, with a lot of opportunities."
If Small is any indication, comm. students don't seem to be worried about their impending unemployment. Small says he plans to work on his portfolio and has already applied to several internships. "I mean, at least I'm not a film major. I have a decent resume and got good grades. I was thinking, you start off at the bottom, and work your way to the top, you know? Put in some hard work and you get rewarded. That's how it's supposed to go, right?"
At press time, Small was considering taking up his mother's offer of a job at McDonald's through his younger brother's "business connection."