Currently, my dream job is to be an Advertising Copywriter and eventually work up to a creative director.
At the school I’m looking at (University of Illinois) they don’t have many good minors for graduate, but have some really good ones for undergraduate. So here’s my question:
If I were to get an undergraduate degree in Marketing, with 2 minors of Computer Science and English, then get a graduate (masters) degree in Advertising, would that be good? Or is this too specific/give me too little benefits.
Why do you need two minors? If you want to be a copywriter, there are many majors that can satisfy that but any major that entails a lot of writing (English is a no-brainer, but lots of social science and humanities majors would fit) is a good one. A marketing degree with lots of English/writing classes, perhaps a minor, is a good bet. If you want to learn programming, just take some programming classes; no need to double minor.
You’d probably get the graduate degree in marketing, either an MS or an MBA.
I am an advertising professional with 10 years of experience working in big and small agencies in New York. The truth is that you don’t need a master degree to work in advertising. This industry has low entry barrier. Everyone can get in. The trick is that not every one can survive. The key success factor to survive is to do what you are good at and practice. The more projects you can work on, the more experiences you will have. That will translate into value. With that said, my suggestions to you are:
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Get a job in the advertising field as soon as possible so you can practice. Internship or part-time writer will do if you have not graduated yet. Even a job not related to copywriting can help you get a feel of working in the agency, such as a project coordinator, a new business coordinator.
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Network with the people who are in the advertising creative field. Advice and experience from real world creative folks will have you tremendously. It can potentially get your first full-time job too. Oh, consider recruiters too. Many of them do not hire entry-level positions, but they can give you advice.
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Consider relocation. The most advertising opportunities are located in big cities - New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston…There are ample entry-level advertising creative jobs in those big cities. If you are not ready to move, consider a summer internship in one of those cities.
Good luck!
P.S. I just started a new discussion in this forum about advertising career for new grads. Check it out and see if you are interested in participating in discussions.