If you’re an incoming freshman or looking to switch your major, consider what I’m about to say. You’re going to be doing whatever you choose for the rest of your life, so you should study something you’re interested in and absolutely love. Let me try and convince you to study public relations.
Not many people are familiar with PR. I’m constantly getting asked what it exactly is, and sometimes find myself at a loss for words because it’s so in depth. According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), “public relations is a strategic communications process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
Doesn’t sound too bad, right? It’s not!
Today, public relations is one of the fastest-growing industries out there. It’s everywhere- in politics, entertainment, and even non-profit organizations. There are so many different career paths you can go down with it. The possibilities are endless!
If you want to become a PR professional, you need to know how to write. Writing is the most crucial part of public relations and having writing skills can make or break you. If you love to write but don’t want to major in journalism, something that is solely writing, then public relations is for you.
Just to name a few, some of the job titles held by people in the PR industry include content manager, brand ambassador, social media analyst, and public-affairs specialist. It's a career that's never 9-5 and has you doing something different every day.
At my university, some of the core-curriculum classes for the Communications department, which PR falls under, including writing for the media, fundamentals of video production, and publication design. Believe it or not, all of these are aspects of PR and important to know in case you need to refer back to them.
Don't get me wrong- there've been times where I've been drowning in homework. Papers, papers, and more papers. Editing short films and creating a few graphic designs here and there. But in the end, they're all worth the hard work.
My goal is to one day work in the entertainment industry and have a career that specifically involves music. I’m a Public Relations major and I wouldn’t have it any other way.