Throughout high school, I planned on attending my four years in college to pursue a degree in social work. I knew what I wanted to do and thought I had my whole future planned out. I took classes towards a social work degree my freshman year of college. Next thing I knew, I was a sophomore and was miserable in my classes and decided that social work was not the path for me. I didn't know what to do, I was clueless. I thought that it was too late for me to change my major and that I was stuck doing something I was starting to hate.
I researched for a few weeks before I met with my adviser about switching and if I would graduate on time. Turns out, I could possibly graduate early if I wanted to. I finally came to the decision that a degree in mass communications is where I should of been all along. I knew I had semi-strong professional writing skills and didn't get too nervous when presenting to an audience and could see it my future. My mom earned a degree in communications so I talked to her before I made any final decisions. After getting off the phone with her, I knew it would be okay.
I never would of seen myself pursuing a degree in communications. I thought that it would be giving speeches every week. I soon learned that communications is so much more than that. There are three specializations within communications at my university: electronic media, sports information, and public relations. I looked into each and decided public relations would be the best for me.
Although I am specializing in a particular field, having a degree in communications gives graduates a number of employment opportunities in and outside of college. I could be a social media specialist, PR specialist, journalist, broadcaster, radio host, you name it. Another plus side is that my professors are all so open and generally care about your schoolwork and want to help you throughout the program.
When people ask what degree I am aiming for, some people give the cold shoulder because communications is "easy". All I can do is laugh. It is not as easy as you think. There are some tough classes that I have taken and have yet to still take. Learning how to persuade, perfect a campaign, have zero grammar and writing errors, and effectively complete a presentation isn't as easy as it sounds. It is time consuming work, but that is why I enjoy it so much.
Communications excites me and is something I have come to love since switching my major a year ago. To those who perspective students applying to colleges or those who want to change majors, look into the field of mass communication. I did and is something I will not regret.
