I’m a new transfer student and I’m choosing between Mass Communications and Economics. I was a film studies major at my last school and I think I would enjoy masscom more, but I am worried about job prospects and think it would be easier to find a job with an economics degree. Thoughts?
I don’t think an undergrad econ degree is such a golden ticket for employment that you should give up a major you prefer for one that doesn’t so much interest you. Are there particular jobs that you think would be a good fit for you, that an econ degree would prepare you for?
What do you ultimately see yourself doing with a mass communications degree? (The department website gives a nice list of the kind of jobs people get with a BA in this field: Career Services | University of South Florida ) Have you already acquired some production/editing skills in your time as a film studies major, or was it more just analysis? Do you hope to still do something film/media-adjacent?
If you like both the content of the Mass Communications coursework and some of the types of jobs it could lead to, then stick with that. (If you just think it would be fun to study but think all the jobs sound awful, then perhaps rethink it!) Connect with Career Services early and think about what could be good co-op or internship placements to give you marketable experience. Think about whether there’s a particular area you’d like to work in that would call for an additional knowledge base, and maybe add a minor in that. Proficiency in a foreign language could be useful, for example. Econ might be a good minor if you want to work in an area where that is part of what you’re crafting communications about (but that could be equally true of a number of other fields too). Your old major might give you a head start toward a minor in Film & Media Studies. There are tons of options: Undergraduate Minors | Students | USF College of Arts and Sciences
But overall, there’s nothing wrong with a Mass Communications major; you just have to drill down on where you want it to take you, and build your resume in that direction. A plain-vanilla Econ BA is definitely not better than a Mass Communications BA with relevant internship/co-op experience and a coherent array of background knowledge and practical skills that are aligned with the kind of work you want to do.
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Mass communications is different than regular communication which you linked. Masscom focuses more on TV News and broadcast production.
Okay. I thought a link from Masscom took me to that fact sheet, but for anyone else reading, here you go: https://www.usf.edu/career-services/students/wcidwami-mass-communications.aspx
The same questions still apply. There are three majors in the Masscom school; what do you want to focus on, and what will help you get there? Do you have a real secondary interest in econ? Where do you want this degree to take you?
As a broadcast journalism major, but from a different era, I would tell you to do econ for better job prospects. Of course, it has to interest you. It’s a wonderful major but not if you’re not interested.
The field of journalism is so different today - with blogs and podcasts and the like. But I’ll say this, anyone can work at a college radio station or practice a newscast (you have a cell phone to practice on). Anyone can get an unpaid internship at a tv station, or write for the college newspaper. Maybe you can take a class or two.
But having a journalism degree won’t help you get into the mainstream job world.
Of course, maybe you’ll be more successful than I was at getting into the industry.
I went to, arguably the top school, Syracuse, and they actually required a second major knowing that a degree in mass communications really isn’t setting you up for life. I don’t know if it’s the same today.
Good luck.
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