<p>Here is my plan and please tell me if it is a good plan for college. I want to major in strategic communications at university of Missouri in the top journalism school in the country. I will then do a five year BJ/MA degree where I get my masters. I would want to be something like an account manager out of college. I hate math so I don't want to do undergrad business or engineering. Would it be a good idea to do this? I may also major in emerging media convergence journalism, or possible a minor in some form of liberal arts. how is this plan parents? Good?</p>
<p>Journalism has been a struggling field of late. Newspapers are cutting back for sure. But there will be journalists in the future, so it might as well be you. </p>
<p>Why would you want to be a journalism major if you want to be an account manager? Why would you want to manage accounts if you hate math?</p>
<p>So your plan has weakness built into it. If your heart’s desire is to manage accounts, then it sounds like any business major would beat you in a job interview. If it is your heart’s desire to cover breaking news, then why clutter your day with account managing?</p>
<p>Many students double major and these days some even triple major. I think that is nuts. You can only ride one pony out of the barn. Pick one and be the best equestrian for that style pony that you can be. One of the problems with double majoring or minoring is that you have to cram in required courses – and that eats up your available time to experiment with some other areas of interest.</p>
<p>Strategic communications sounds like an awesome place to start. Don’t commit to a master’s program just yet. Get a semester or two under your belt and see if you can get an internship in the field for the summer --actual work in the arena will separate your fantasies about the field and the realities of the field. </p>
<p>You don’t have to see your path for the next twenty years right now. Sometimes the path is foggy for awhile. Start with a major that speaks to your heart and make decisions for the first semester and see what you learn and go from there. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand. An account manager differs from an accountant. an account manager works with advertising which is what strat comm is.</p>
<p>so its similar to a comm major then?</p>
<p>Go for it. If that is what you wish to do, then do it.</p>
<p>i like it and want to do it, but is it practical?</p>
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<p>In the world of advertising, the account manager would be the key liaison between the advertising agency and the client. The account manager would “manage” the media planning / buying, creative, planning departments on the account. It has nothing to do with accounting. For example, the account manager would work with the client on strategy, and then telegraph back to the agency creatives what the strategy, positioning, communication objectives were, review the creatives’ work to make sure it was on strategy, and basically serve as the contact point.</p>
<p>I think it is a sales job, does not pay well. If you like sales, go ahead, you maybe able to sale other stuff afterwards.</p>
<p>It could be very wise, esp if you also learn about digital media- the idea of experience with emerging media makes this a great hybrid. You rep and sell- but also understand the use of the latest and hottest technologies for attracting attention, maybe do the initial design concepts. Seems journalism is just the platform. You wouldn’t be selling ad space as much as innovative approaches, eg web. Study a little sales strategy, too. Sounds neat.</p>
<p>^ emerging tech sales jobs of this nature- esp if the person really knows his/her stuff- can be fascinating and lucrative.</p>
<p>Some of your job competition may be kids from the top art schools or art programs at better U’s.</p>
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<p>You think, but you don’t know. It’s not a sales job. I’ve worked in marketing and advertising and dealt with account managers for 20+ years, so it’s possible that I know just a tidge more about what an account manager does than you do. Sheesh.</p>
<p>So do account managers work in house or are they part of an ad agency or are they a consultant that interfaces between the company and the ad agency?</p>
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<p>I say…do it. I personally do not think students should pick a major completely because it’s “practical” (implying that you will make significant money doing the job). Journalism is a very evolving field right now with printed newspapers struggling all over the world. But folks still want to hear the news…just make sure your program provides you with a diverse enough education to provide this in this day and age…the Missouri program likely does it.</p>
<p>In this respect, I don’t think we’re talking journalism as in writing articles or selling ad space for the print media. Or creating campaigns limited to print. It’s advertising, marketing and some PR and communications strategy. If OP acquires skills in “emerging technologies,” it’s evolved. My perspective is from internet and the way many art students go on to use their skills. Maybe both OP and PGirl can add.</p>
<p>I am going to do strategic communications which is advertising and a little PR. I would do emerging media studies in convergence journalism which would be learning how to use multi media storytelling. wouldn’t that be easy to get a job in?</p>
<p>Speaking as a strategic communications professional, if you plan to manage accounts for corporate clients, an MBA may be more useful than an MA. It gives you a better understanding of your clients and the competitive market environment.</p>
<p>MM story telling- digital journalism. Best opps when you are competent in the emerging media. You probably know all this but [What</a> is a Multimedia Story? | Multimedia Storytelling | Knight Digital Media Center](<a href=“http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/choose/]What”>http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/starttofinish/choose/) And look at other bits from Kdmc.</p>
<p>You can be the account manager- the link between the client and the creators. But it helps to know how new media is- and can be- used.</p>
<p>Account managers for print media can be consummate sales professionals who often reflected the image of the magazine. The sports magazine ad sales is different from the fashion mag, from the news/ entertainment and from the house and garden types. You can almost guess which magazine they work for in the elevator. They are well paid.
If you are talking about on the pr or advertising side, yes more tech knowledge necessary but soft skills are equally important as the chief contact with the client as reporting outcomes is key and client satisfaction is paramount.</p>
<p>uniman123^^^ PR is a recession-proof position, advertising is the first to go in recessionary times. When budgets are cut, PR budgets stay intact or rise. It also pays well…an experienced/ really good freelancer makes $75/100 per hour so after you get 8-10 years under your belt, you can freelance or start your own business and work flexible hours.</p>
<p>MOFB, my contemporaries in PR are having a hard time financially and are trying hard to reinvent themselves and find new markets. Seems like newly minted college grads provide social media,website expertise and organize a launch event at super low rates and are driving down fees. Clients change agencies at the drop of a hat. Niche expertise, like crisis management or political messaging still pays but they leave or cut back after the crisis or campaign ends. Many now hire a new grad for in house social media work, or better yet, interns will facebook, twitter, blog, post and create online videos for pretty much free and can write amazingly snappy copy.
Now a good speech writer or someone with an amazing network to get celebs to show up or use your product is another story.</p>
<p>the thing is i dont wanna go o pr. i wanna do advertising and communications. How is advertising doing?Is it hard to get a job in advertising now adays?</p>
<p>I am a graduate of Mizzou’s J-School. Strategic Communications is the sequence that used to be called Advertising. It is now much more than that and no J-School is working harder than Mizzou’s to address the changing environment of media marketing. All you need to do is visit the J-School website to see the opportunties that every sequence has right now despite the concerns that advertising and traditional news outlets are dying.</p>
<p>One piece of advice: you do not need to pursue a master’s in journalism if you are going to get your bachelor of journalism from Mizzou. For the most part, the master’s program students have a bachelor’s degree from another school and they want the Mizzou J-School training and degree.</p>