I am currently an undergraduate student who will be a sophomore this year, Fall 2015. My freshman year, I was pretty sure that I would continue studying and major in the subject which I have enjoyed since middle school, and that is Biology. But I never wanted to be pre-med.
However, over this summer break, I’ve realized that I am not enjoying what I am studying, and I am just unhappy overall. I also do not see myself in a “directly” science related field (medicine, pharmacy, research, engineering, tech). But I still am not too sure what to major in, since I’m the kind of person who can do well in a biology class and also do well in a French class (I’m equally good in both sciences and humanities).
I have always been told that my writing and communication skills are quite good. I am extroverted and loving meeting new people and could talk all day about various topics. I also like to make presentations and present them in front of an audience. I like learning about different cultures and am very good at learning languages. I like to write articles, papers, and essays when they are subject-specific (unlike the writing of an author or poet).
For these reasons, I am thinking of doing a Media Studies major. I understand that there will be a good number of people here who will tell me that I am making a mistake in choosing such a major… I am open to all opinions, however I am certain that I will not be a STEM major. I am also aware that Media Studies by itself is not stable enough, so my question is, what sorts of subjects can I combine this major with? I was thinking of Creative Writing, Anthropology, Sociology, or Economics.
I would like to do something along the lines of communications in the future, something like public relations, or helping with advertising, be a technical writer… anything to do with creativity, writing, planning, advising, presenting, talking! If anybody has any other potential career knowledge, I’d be more than happy to hear of them. I need all the help I can get! Thank you all so much!
Have you considered possibly studying life sciences communications? I am not sure how prevalent of a major it is, but I know the University of Wisconsin offers this major. Maybe your school does too. It’d be a great way to combine an interest in science with an emphasis on writing.
if you look into education, you might find an outlet for all of these qualities. Teach biology or science in a public or private high school, or at a community college? You could branch out your studies now and still be competitive in that field. Something to consider.
As far as careers, sales, advertising/marketing, fundraising, public relations, law practice, religion and politics come to mind, in addition to education. These are the persuasion industries, they are very valuable, and they collectively offer a vast number of job opportunities. They indicate business or humanities for undergraduate majors.
I recommend choosing a major and specific courses largely on the basis of what will develop the skills needed for the job areas you like that also have good prospects for growth/number of openings. http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm shows all of the areas I’ve cited other than elected officials, high school teachers, some areas within sales and (somewhat to my surprise) “advertising and promotions managers” to be robust in job prospects. NOTE that it also shows SOME media fields to be extremely WEAK in prospects.
I mentioned the need to acquire applicable skills in the second paragraph of my post above, but (it has since struck my mind) there is also the need for you to become an expert in some in-demand area of knowledge - so as to write, advise, present and talk about it! Of Creative Writing, Anthropology, Sociology, or Economics, the only one striking me as being really in-demand is economics. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ stance on it, knowledge about health (how people can optimize their health) should be a hot area. It will take some research to determine whether these perceptions of mine are really true and to determine what other in-demand areas of knowledge there are.
Getting into Media Studies may help you get contacts in that field that you can use later to launch and develop your career. However, you have a natural knack for communication, so the actual harder learning area for you will be the field(s) you choose to develop expert knowledge in.
I don’t think you’re making a mistake. It’s become fashionable to believe/tell students that STEM majors are the only ones that lead to jobs, but that’s not true. Some social science majors have better prospects than some STEM majors, and either way, majors don’t get you jobs. Skills do. A media studies major who knows HTML5 and CSS can go into a job in the tech world or business world designing interactive media. A media studies major with excellent communication skills can go into a variety of positions. I personally just completed a job search in the media/entertainment sector and found plenty of well-paying positions - lots of media companies hire research analysts, program managers, median campaign managers, advertising associates, etc.
And FWIW, a lot of the jobs I was looking at in marketing and user research asked for a “marketing, psychology, anthropology. sociology or related major,” so sociology and anthropology are fine majors to take into the workplace.
Major in what you want. Take classes and develop skills. Do internships. Network; talk to people; develop an idea about what kinds of careers are out there. That’s what gets you a job, not a specific major.
I am currently an undergraduate student who will be a sophomore this year, Fall 2015. My freshman year, I was pretty sure that I would continue studying and major in the subject which I have enjoyed since middle school, and that is Biology. But I never wanted to be pre-med.
However, over this summer break, I’ve realized that I am not enjoying what I am studying, and I am just unhappy overall. I also do not see myself in a “directly” science related field (medicine, pharmacy, research, engineering, tech). But I still am not too sure what to major in, since I’m the kind of person who can do well in a biology class and also do well in a French class (I’m equally good in both sciences and humanities).
I have always been told that my writing and communication skills are quite good. I am extroverted and loving meeting new people and could talk all day about various topics. I also like to make presentations and present them in front of an audience. I like learning about different cultures and am very good at learning languages. I like to write articles, papers, and essays when they are subject-specific (unlike the writing of an author or poet).
For these reasons, I am thinking of doing a Media Studies major. I understand that there will be a good number of people here who will tell me that I am making a mistake in choosing such a major… I am open to all opinions, however I am certain that I will not be a STEM major. I am also aware that Media Studies by itself is not stable enough, so my question is, what sorts of subjects can I combine this major with? I was thinking of Creative Writing, Anthropology, Sociology, or Economics.
I would like to do something along the lines of communications in the future, something like public relations, or helping with advertising, be a technical writer… anything to do with creativity, writing, planning, advising, presenting, talking! If anybody has any other potential career knowledge, I’d be more than happy to hear of them. I need all the help I can get! Thank you all so much!
@juillet and @jjwinkle thank you both so much, your insights were very informative! I’m going into this next semester with the idea of trying out one or two media courses, and I’ll see where it goes from there. I’ll also be taking courses like calculus, just to build up necessary skills @juillet a few months ago I had posted queries about doing anthropology for public health (not sure if you recall)… Perhaps anthropology is the common ground for all my interests! May I please get some more information on what the media/entertainment sector encompasses? Some of the jobs you mentioned have really captured my interest
