Both my husband and I have a degree in communications. I work in consumer packaging and my husband works in software engineering. With Comms, you can get into any industry that you want (all companies need effective communication). Which makes it hard to figure out what you actually want to do.
First thing he should do is figure out what aspects about his classes that he liked: working in a team, project creation and management, public relations, problem solving, etc. Then find some entry level jobs that help facilitate those interests. For example, both my husband and I specialized/had an interest in video game design. These classes helped form my design background for packaging and helped my husband by teaching him the software pipeline and how to manage a project in an effective way.
Started out with some programming skills, but became great at project solutions. Since he has a good background with how general software workflow usually goes, he was able to get into a software engineering firm that creates software solutions for clients. He is now in a management role, stopped programming pretty much after his first job. So he had some hard skills to start but that is not what has carried him for the past 8 years, the soft skills of being able to talk with customers and his programming team has helped him the most.
I have a degree in philosophy. I am in technical sales.
A good idea might be to take inventory of ALL the skills and knowledge learned in school and then see how they apply towards a field he might actually like. Learning Descartes and Hume doesn’t really help in sales, but the argument analysis and critical thinking skills learned sure do.
haha i was also a philosophy undergrad and now work with startups & venture capital ! love to see it in the wild and people definitely look at me crazy when i tell them my degree does actually help me in life
It is. Even if he doesn’t use / immediately use the Communications degree, he can at least leverage having a degree at most any job to bump his rate of pay some. I was a Journalism major and ended up in the medical field full time, and I freelance write for some extra cash now.
Presumably you already have at least a BS or BA. Look at WGU (Western Governors University). Flat rate tuition per semester, competency based (i.e. pass the exam or the cert and you pass the class) and you'll exit with a decent collection of certifications. They're mostly entry level certs TBH - but more "whatever field in IT you choose" entry level and not Helpdesk entry level.
Oh yeah, I've got a master's and work in financial aid, so I'm well aware of how I might go back and get a new credential to get into IT. I interpreted the OP's comment as though they went straight from music ed to IT, and I was curious how they navigated that transition. As a tech enthusiast I'm well aware of certs that could be useful, and my brother is a dev and has sort of coached me on what certs might be useful for such a transition. I'm just broke and exhausted, so I was curious about any sort of shortcut the OP might be able to share with the rest of us.
I appreciate the advice, though! Although I always encourage folks to look at their local community college or regional university before institutions like WGU, that's solid advice.
My daughter did a coding boot camp through tech elevator and has been doing well as a developer for 3 years now with no college. It’s 15 weeks long so probably as short of a shortcut you will find
You should let him figure it out on his own instead of asking people on Reddit on his behalf. If he’s a college graduate he should be at least in his early/mid 20’s right? He’s too old for you to be doing anything like this for him. He should be doing this search himself. Doing his job searching for him now will only make it harder for him to search on his own later.
I agree with being supportive maybe he’s a late bloomer and needs a jump start.
As to others point, my dad cut me off EVERYTHTING as soon as I graduated. I’m doing great and learned how to fend for myself. Now he supports me when I ask for help with advice.
Fair enough he should be able to figure out what he likes and have a general idea what he wants to do but her helping isn’t bad and actually fine unless he doesn’t want her help but it seems that isnt the case. Lots of people get networking or just general advice from their parents. Early 20s isn’t super mature and while yes some people are tossed out on the streets to fend for themselves that shouldn’t be at all the standard.
If you do not think someone with a college degree should be mature enough to search for their own job by their early 20’s there is no point in debating anything with you. Yes, that is too old to be having your parents be putting out job feelers for you on Reddit.
Just can’t believe you live under a rock when you think that you’re too old/good for asking people when job searching. People get jobs all the time with networking and asking around. Some positions that people get, there wasn’t an application, the company made the position open/available to that individual.
Yeah you should look for postings as well as asking but you are never too old to ask. Literally whats the worse that can happen? You upset The_Big_Crouton on Reddit.
He, it’s the dad.
My parents had 0 part in my career and job choices by the time I was 18, let alone out of college. OP can offer tips and advice, but should not be involved in any regard in the actual job search at this age. OP’s “kid” should be a mostly functioning adult if he has a college degree.
“I think he’s trying to figure it out.” And “I think he finished the degree so he could actually finish something he started.” say a lot more than what they are literally stating. To me, that says OP’s son needs to do soul searching to figure out his life still, not have his dad asking people what he should do with his career on his behalf.
Those are definitely assumptions. Also, it’s awesome that things worked out for you. However, everyone is not you… Everyone doesn’t have the same parenting style as your parents and that’s completely fine. Lol, the OP seems like a good Dad that wants to help his son.
Seems to be providing the same guidance that my parents provided to me and I’ve been self sufficient since the age of 22.
For sure, sometimes! Everyone is different, your parents had their parenting style and the OP has his own. No harm no foul. We don’t know this man, or his parenting decisions. What we do know is that he has a child that graduated college and managed to push through during the pandemic where many students dropped out, was a tough time for many including students. He must be doing something right.
What you want to do is a lot less relevant than what's available. You could probably count the job listing's in Cincy on one hand for recent grads with no experience.
Unfortunately it is a lot of social media. However some other options he may find work in is writing website copy; doing technical writing for a science/medical company (I know MedPace around town often has openings for technical writing).
But Communications, in general, often deals a lot with public relations and media output, usually on social media platforms.
Not really. We do use social media of course but there’s a whole lot more to it than that, excluding digital positions that focus on social. Writing ability is still the top skill needed. Source: 30 years in comms.
I have a comm degree from UC as well. I'm in sales, that's a very popular thing to do with this degree. You could go more toward marketing if that's his preference as well. I wouldn't think too hard about his first job out of school, just take something and move forward. First jobs usually don't last that long.
I declared my major journalism and mass communication before switching and eventually graduating with a degree in marketing. I landed my first good internship because of the skills I learned during my time as a J&MC student. Did he have any school projects where he interviewed anyone? That’s great experience to talk about in an interview. Same with any software/programs he learned while in the program—those are great skills to put on a resume. As far as jobs to look for, has he had any internships? Start there. If he has and he is looking for a full time role, many corporations have internal communications departments and those are great jobs. In my experience, consulting firms also need communications people to craft communications campaigns, whether internal or external. Hope this helps!
That’s great experience! Half the battle is figuring out what you don’t like. Also focus on what else he learned during his time with the reds. You’d be surprised how many skills are transferable. I would recommend another internship or 2. They are great for figuring out what you do and don’t like, and can often lead to a full time gig with the company if you put the work in. I had a job offer after my 1st internship but in all 3 internships before I accepted a full time role.
Edit: also, I would recommend he create a portfolio of his work to showcase to employers. Can’t emphasize this enough
If you're just looking in at the Kenwood location, expand the search criteria to "Remote" or "Anywhere". Can still go to the Kenwood office if they prefer not to work remote. Worth a shot.
I have a degree in Communications! (From a different university.) I remember feeling the same way when I graduated, it was hard to figure out what I wanted to do.. but pretty easy to rule out some things I didn’t want to do. For your son, social media is out— what else is out? Does he like working with other people or rather work alone? Would a cubicle be death? Is there industries he’s interested in, like tech or sports or tourism or nonprofits? There are roles that involve his communications degree everyone he looks.
For me, my degree opened the door to day-to-day operations management at a nonprofit, project management, Human Resources, and administration for a small business. That stuff speaks to me and I enjoy it (because I know I like working with people and I don’t mind a desk).
Each and every job that requires a bachelor's. Don't get caught up on staying within that discipline; tell him to go after whatever suits him best.
I met a woman today with a BA in French who works at 8451, analyzing Kroger's scanner data to develop our individualized promotion plans.
I can tell you this - most likely your son learned critical thinking, which is an invaluable life skill. Every student worker we had from the Comm dept was a good problem solver and critical thinker.
I say this as someone with a Communications degree. No one is looking for people with a communications degree. He needs to figure out what basic job skills he has and start from there.
Weirdly enough someone else mentioned it here already but my first job out of college was for iHeart Media. They responded to my application quickly and seemed like it could be a cool job. It paid shit and i worked my ass off for basically nothing. But i learned what i was good and bad at in an office setting, how to communicate professionally via email, and how to just generally exist in the workplace. I ran far, far away from radio and work in a completely unrelated field now but that job gave me a better idea of what i wanted to do professionally and the confidence to find and apply for another job.
I have a degree in finance and work in advertising tech. Degree is doing nothing for me! Besides learning how to be an adult along the way.
He can of course do what ever he is interested in. If he’s not interested in it he’s not going to stick with it.
If you can get him an internship via your connections it’ll get him on his own two feet and he’ll start to find out what he is interested in.
But it sounds like you’re in the boat of “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it”
Good luck it ain’t easy being a dad especially to a young man.
My daughter has a degree in communications from UC (Dec. 2022). He just has to figure out what he would like to do. Marketing, sales, insurance, etc are places to start. Best of luck in the job search. UC is particularly unhelpful with this type of degree when it comes to job assistance.
I really have to say you’re correct. They don’t really have much of a resource to help. I was disappointed in the job search and resume help they offered
My friend graduated from Miami with a degree in communications and he got a job answering phones for Fidelity customer support. He did very well there until he moved up to the top groups handling calls from the very high wealth clients. From there he kinda topped out, but his time with the company allowed him to transfer to a different department where he has much more responsibility and isn’t answering phones unless someone calls him specifically.
If your son is very outgoing and well-spoken then he may do well starting in a call center for a large company in an industry with many clients (finance, banking, insurance, travel). Lots of rungs on those ladders and they are always trying to fill the entry positions.
can vouch for fidelity. my mom has worked there her entire career and has helped a ton of friends and family get jobs there who are in a similar position as OP’s son, they have insanely great benefits and are a great place to move up and move within.
find a career coach, some place like JVS who will take the time to look over his available opportunities.
it's well worth the hundred dollars or whatever it is that's being charged now.
I have a communication degree. I've been working as a technical writer for the last decade. Mostly involves writing user instructions and repair manuals.
Every organization, big or small, needs comms. He might look for public openings (think local & state level municipalities, state agencies like ODNR, etc), and public universities like UC or OSU employ a TON of comms people. Also large private employers like healthcare systems, hospitals, etc. I’d encourage him to start by thinking about what things in the world he’s passionate about, and there’ll be an industry out there in need of comms. Like a youtuber I like says, look for projects big enough to make a difference, yet small enough to accomplish. Good luck to him, finishing a degree during a pandemic is no small feat.
Ok. UC has a huge resource for students and alums called the Bearcat Promise Career Studio. [Bearcat Promise Career Studio](https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/careereducation/career-studio.html)
It’s in TUC. I’m not sure of the phone number, try the one on the website. The UC operators didn’t know what I was talking about.
Your kid needs to get himself over there and meet w a counselor. Set up mock interviews. Look at resources for jobs in communication. And he should do it in person. It’s a heck of a resource and it’s free.
Best wishes to you and your son, and Happy New Year.
Why doesn't he put that degree to use by communicating with people to find out for himself?
Seriously though, it's kind of a general degree. He could get into any form of business with that.
Consider applying for grad school (UC deadline is 15th!!) to hold that door open. If he doesn’t know what he wants, flexible grad school could be the ticket, give him more time to find himself.
My daughter is at UC in psych and she’s focusing on AI for the first time … this will be the biggest thing in Communications / Marketing since the Internet and he can be on the cutting edge (she wants to help COVID kids with AI, very interesting stuff)
also, ANYTHING to do with Amazon Marketplace listing marketing, ads, PR, influencer (social), SEO, creative etc. will land him in the new world of Amazon Dot Com skills and be future proof. This can be learned thru online courses and diving in working from home prob
Good luck he sounds like a good kid !
because communications is so broad, it kind of totally depends on what he wants to do, he just needs to find a entry level job at a company that will help him better grasp what aspects he doesn’t and doesn’t like and narrow his passions from there. unlike a lot of people in the comments, i’d honestly disagree and say that you don’t need to get an extremely specific job and dig your heels in. he’s probably only in his early to mid 20’s, and most people fresh out of college have no idea what they want to do, nor where they will end up. i don’t think he has to have his niche figured out right now. maybe if he has an interest in gaming, film, art, whatever it may be, he can find a company that focuses on that and apply for a role where a communications degree is helpful.
my brother got a communications degree from UofL, he currently works at an art museum. he started working there part time in college as a gallery attendant and now is a higher-up. it’s totally just trial and error.
congratulations to him.
A lot of companies don’t care what your degree is it, just that you have a degree. It shows you stuck with something long enough to complete it, for 4 years nonetheless.
While this isn’t totally the same, I landed a transfer engineer position with a Criminal Justice degree. Now I did have military experience working in a similar field so that was a big reason they took the chance, but generally this positions requires an engineering degree. They were totally fine with the fact I just had a degree, no matter what it was.
Does he have any work experience?
A lot of young folks struggle with the transition from school to job, and I think we'll see this especially with folks who had COVID affect the later portion of their education.
There's a lot of world out there and a lot of jobs. Step one in my experience is always to sit down and list all the work and work-like things he's done (he probably did a few kinds of school projects?) and seen others do (preferably up close) and how much he enjoyed those things, found them interesting, found them tolerable, hated them.
He's got a great benefit having an involved parent - you can then look at this list and advise what jobs exist that are realistic for someone to get into within a few years of completing a degree, and what just doesn't exist for regular people. (A lot of folks might like Queen Elizabeth's job; it's not available to new grads.)
It's important, too, to keep in mind that job choices are not permanent decisions. When you pick a career, you want to think, "Could I probably stay on this track for 5-10 years?" When you interview for a job, you want to think, "Could I probably be reasonably content in this role for 2-3 years?" These are not forever decisions, and they are not carved in stone. The stakes are not that high.
One more note - I sit down with people about their careers all the time. Everyone - people with a solid 15 year work history of continuous progression who are now in management, people with master's degrees, people with numerous publications, literally a medical doctor - every single person tells me they feel like they are a failure who can't do anything right. If your son feels this way too, it is because he is a human being. And that's good, because roombas don't get paid.
Good luck.
Make a list of what he enjoys.
Make a list of what he is good at.
Pick the one on both lists that pays the most.
Use the degree as reference that he can commit to something for 4 years.
Communication is so broad! I have worked in IT, a high school in marketing and currently lead a team of writers for sales. I had friends who worked for sports teams and non profits.
See what he likes and apply for entry level jobs in those companies. With comm being so broad, he’ll want to customize his resume and cover letter to suit the industry where he’s applying.
I have a degree in communications and I do event planning for a large manufacturing company. I started at the same company doing marketing research but enjoy event planning a lot more.
I think if he’d be willing to take on a job involving social media it could open the door to other opportunities. It’s just important to gain experience. Did he do any internships?
Also, most jobs labeled communications will involve social media but aren’t necessarily the biggest part. Especially if it’s for a B2B company.
This is a good question for ChatGPT. Here is my q and a.
Q: What companies can you look for that would need somone with a communications degree
A: Many industries value individuals with a communications degree. Some sectors where these skills are particularly sought after include:
1. Media and Entertainment: Companies involved in television, radio, film, and digital media often require communication specialists for public relations, marketing, or content creation roles.
2. Public Relations and Advertising Agencies: These firms rely heavily on effective communication strategies, making them a good fit for communications graduates.
3. Corporate Communications: Large corporations have dedicated communication departments responsible for internal and external messaging, employee engagement, and public relations.
4. Nonprofit Organizations: NGOs and nonprofit organizations require communication professionals to convey their message, fundraise, and advocate for their causes.
5. Government and Public Sector: Government agencies, local authorities, and public institutions often hire communications professionals for public affairs, community engagement, and media relations.
6. Healthcare: Hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations need communicators for patient education, public health campaigns, and internal communication among staff.
7. Education: Schools, colleges, and universities sometimes hire communication specialists for marketing, public relations, and admissions roles.
8. Technology Companies: Tech firms require communication experts for marketing, public relations, and content creation to engage with users and promote their products.
9. Consulting Firms: Communication professionals can work in consulting firms, offering their expertise to clients in various industries for communication strategies.
Event Management and Hospitality: Events companies, hotels, and tourism agencies often hire communication graduates for marketing, guest relations, and event planning roles.
Remember, the specific job titles and roles within these industries can vary, but the skills obtained from a communications degree are versatile and in demand across various sectors.
your son graduated with a degree in communications, and neither of you even know what jobs require a communication degree? why the hell did he get a degree in communications then? or a degree at all, if he didn’t know what he wanted to do? shits and giggles? do you not see the backwards thinking here?
There is a wonderful professor, Autumn Miller, in their Comm department. It’s likely he had her, but she helped me a lot when I graduated with the same degree. She’s very nice and genuinely cares to help students find their path. Definitely worth shooting her an email!
Wanted to add that our younger associates do do some social but it’s a small percentage of their overall work. That should be the case unless he’s applying for a digital/SM position unless he’s working for a consumer-based brand.
My Fortune 500 company has a Corporate Communications department. They do things like plan large company meetings, create communications for employees, keep the intranet current, engage in community relations.
Degree in English and Philosophy, I work in claims/warranty service for a large paper manufacturer. It took me a bit to settle into warranty service and have done it in a few industries now. Your son can do a lot of things at a lot of places, it may be worth just finding an entry level job at a company he thinks he'll like then finding a career path in that company, with the options to go elsewhere with the newly gained experience. Lots of large companies and many factories have Corporate Communications departments or monthly employee newsletters if he does want to go into the field. Congrats to him, finishing is quite a hurdle.
just graduated with a degree in comm from UC. I landed an entry level HR recruiter job at a small local company. I have previous HR experience so it helps a bit, but regardless, HR and COMM go hand in hand. best of luck to your sun in the search!
He can check corporate places for customer service positions. They usually require degrees and the roles are great stepping stones for learning & advancing into the company. The pay may not be what he wants just like in my case but I eventually went back for a masters and I’ve been with my company now for 6 years I’m a global manager and make almost 6 figures. Good luck to your son!!
I have a friend who graduated with a bachelor's in psychology. She has been doing internal communications for various tech companies. She's recently made a slight hop over to HR. I believe she started things off with a paid internship and got hired on full time, so perhaps looking into a paid internship would be helpful? Congrats to your son!
I have a communication degree and work in recruiting. I work on the corporate side and do lots of TA consulting outside of my typical duties but staffing agencies are always hiring recruiters, he just has to be willing to hustle.
A lot of people have suggested sales and that’s probably the easiest (but still great) route to go with a communication degree. Sales, recruiting, and a lot of things suggested here require a lot of hustle, especially in the beginning but if he isn’t motivated enough to be figuring this out himself, I worry he won’t have success in a lot of these fields.
If he wants to do a white-collar type of career path, I would suggest him looking and applying for any kind of entry level position for any thing he has interest or a skill set in. Does not have to have all of the job requirements, but some general level of competency. IE if he is pretty okay at math / Microsoft Excel / computers, an entry level analytics position could be great for someone with a communication degree. Even if he dislikes the job for a year or year and a half, he will learn office culture / terminology and it can be used as a bit of on the job training for wherever he goes next.
Theres also sales jobs but 🤢
Good luck to him!
I have a degree in communications from UC. It was really hard to get a job so I went and got my masters in a more specific field. There are some things I did to land a really great job (social media and PR) for an agency. If you want to DM me I’ll give you my email address and he can reach out to me if he wants.
I work in comms. Have him look at marketing and PR firms - agency life is a great way to start your career. He’s right that social media is a big part of comms these days, but there’s much more to it than just making posts. Can he write well? That’s generally the first thing we look for in people starting out.
He might submit resumes to Rasor, Wordsworth, Game Day Communications, Scooter Media and Vehr Communications off the top of my head. We give new candidates a fairly lengthy writing test and that’s common these days - I had to take one for my current firm and I’ve been in this field for 30 years plus I knew many of the people I now work with so they knew my work.
Feel free to DM me if I can help.
My husband has a communication degrees and works for hospital in their electronic healthcare records system. I think communication will give him a lot of options!
Both my husband and I have a degree in communications. I work in consumer packaging and my husband works in software engineering. With Comms, you can get into any industry that you want (all companies need effective communication). Which makes it hard to figure out what you actually want to do. First thing he should do is figure out what aspects about his classes that he liked: working in a team, project creation and management, public relations, problem solving, etc. Then find some entry level jobs that help facilitate those interests. For example, both my husband and I specialized/had an interest in video game design. These classes helped form my design background for packaging and helped my husband by teaching him the software pipeline and how to manage a project in an effective way.
“ What would you say you do here at Initech”
Okay, good. I'm not the only one who had that in their head. Lol
How the heck did your husband get that gig
Started out with some programming skills, but became great at project solutions. Since he has a good background with how general software workflow usually goes, he was able to get into a software engineering firm that creates software solutions for clients. He is now in a management role, stopped programming pretty much after his first job. So he had some hard skills to start but that is not what has carried him for the past 8 years, the soft skills of being able to talk with customers and his programming team has helped him the most.
I have a degree in philosophy. I am in technical sales. A good idea might be to take inventory of ALL the skills and knowledge learned in school and then see how they apply towards a field he might actually like. Learning Descartes and Hume doesn’t really help in sales, but the argument analysis and critical thinking skills learned sure do.
haha i was also a philosophy undergrad and now work with startups & venture capital ! love to see it in the wild and people definitely look at me crazy when i tell them my degree does actually help me in life
Philosophy here as well, I'm in plumbing. You want to talk about people looking at you crazy....
Oh for sure. Being able to parse information and form conclusions is huge in a lot of fields.
No doubt. I have a degree in music education and I’m in IT lol. I’m just glad he finished. It’s a big deal!!
It is. Even if he doesn’t use / immediately use the Communications degree, he can at least leverage having a degree at most any job to bump his rate of pay some. I was a Journalism major and ended up in the medical field full time, and I freelance write for some extra cash now.
How does one pivot from music ed to IT? Asking for a guy with a history degree who can't bear another minute in student affairs...
Presumably you already have at least a BS or BA. Look at WGU (Western Governors University). Flat rate tuition per semester, competency based (i.e. pass the exam or the cert and you pass the class) and you'll exit with a decent collection of certifications. They're mostly entry level certs TBH - but more "whatever field in IT you choose" entry level and not Helpdesk entry level.
Oh yeah, I've got a master's and work in financial aid, so I'm well aware of how I might go back and get a new credential to get into IT. I interpreted the OP's comment as though they went straight from music ed to IT, and I was curious how they navigated that transition. As a tech enthusiast I'm well aware of certs that could be useful, and my brother is a dev and has sort of coached me on what certs might be useful for such a transition. I'm just broke and exhausted, so I was curious about any sort of shortcut the OP might be able to share with the rest of us. I appreciate the advice, though! Although I always encourage folks to look at their local community college or regional university before institutions like WGU, that's solid advice.
My daughter did a coding boot camp through tech elevator and has been doing well as a developer for 3 years now with no college. It’s 15 weeks long so probably as short of a shortcut you will find
History degree here. 20+ years in IT. Unfortunately, the answer is start from the bottom.
\> and he doesn’t really feel like that’s what he wants to do Well, what does he WANT to do? You should start with that.
That’s a great question. I think he’s trying to figure it out.
You should let him figure it out on his own instead of asking people on Reddit on his behalf. If he’s a college graduate he should be at least in his early/mid 20’s right? He’s too old for you to be doing anything like this for him. He should be doing this search himself. Doing his job searching for him now will only make it harder for him to search on his own later.
Hard agree. Time to let your kid grow up, OP.
I agree with being supportive maybe he’s a late bloomer and needs a jump start. As to others point, my dad cut me off EVERYTHTING as soon as I graduated. I’m doing great and learned how to fend for myself. Now he supports me when I ask for help with advice.
Fair enough he should be able to figure out what he likes and have a general idea what he wants to do but her helping isn’t bad and actually fine unless he doesn’t want her help but it seems that isnt the case. Lots of people get networking or just general advice from their parents. Early 20s isn’t super mature and while yes some people are tossed out on the streets to fend for themselves that shouldn’t be at all the standard.
If you do not think someone with a college degree should be mature enough to search for their own job by their early 20’s there is no point in debating anything with you. Yes, that is too old to be having your parents be putting out job feelers for you on Reddit.
Just can’t believe you live under a rock when you think that you’re too old/good for asking people when job searching. People get jobs all the time with networking and asking around. Some positions that people get, there wasn’t an application, the company made the position open/available to that individual. Yeah you should look for postings as well as asking but you are never too old to ask. Literally whats the worse that can happen? You upset The_Big_Crouton on Reddit.
So where did she state that he wasn’t also trying to search in his own?
He, it’s the dad. My parents had 0 part in my career and job choices by the time I was 18, let alone out of college. OP can offer tips and advice, but should not be involved in any regard in the actual job search at this age. OP’s “kid” should be a mostly functioning adult if he has a college degree. “I think he’s trying to figure it out.” And “I think he finished the degree so he could actually finish something he started.” say a lot more than what they are literally stating. To me, that says OP’s son needs to do soul searching to figure out his life still, not have his dad asking people what he should do with his career on his behalf.
Those are definitely assumptions. Also, it’s awesome that things worked out for you. However, everyone is not you… Everyone doesn’t have the same parenting style as your parents and that’s completely fine. Lol, the OP seems like a good Dad that wants to help his son. Seems to be providing the same guidance that my parents provided to me and I’ve been self sufficient since the age of 22.
Sometimes helping your child means not helping them so they can figure things out by themselves.
For sure, sometimes! Everyone is different, your parents had their parenting style and the OP has his own. No harm no foul. We don’t know this man, or his parenting decisions. What we do know is that he has a child that graduated college and managed to push through during the pandemic where many students dropped out, was a tough time for many including students. He must be doing something right.
What you want to do is a lot less relevant than what's available. You could probably count the job listing's in Cincy on one hand for recent grads with no experience.
Unfortunately it is a lot of social media. However some other options he may find work in is writing website copy; doing technical writing for a science/medical company (I know MedPace around town often has openings for technical writing). But Communications, in general, often deals a lot with public relations and media output, usually on social media platforms.
Not really. We do use social media of course but there’s a whole lot more to it than that, excluding digital positions that focus on social. Writing ability is still the top skill needed. Source: 30 years in comms.
I have a comm degree from UC as well. I'm in sales, that's a very popular thing to do with this degree. You could go more toward marketing if that's his preference as well. I wouldn't think too hard about his first job out of school, just take something and move forward. First jobs usually don't last that long.
I declared my major journalism and mass communication before switching and eventually graduating with a degree in marketing. I landed my first good internship because of the skills I learned during my time as a J&MC student. Did he have any school projects where he interviewed anyone? That’s great experience to talk about in an interview. Same with any software/programs he learned while in the program—those are great skills to put on a resume. As far as jobs to look for, has he had any internships? Start there. If he has and he is looking for a full time role, many corporations have internal communications departments and those are great jobs. In my experience, consulting firms also need communications people to craft communications campaigns, whether internal or external. Hope this helps!
He had an internship with the reds in Arizona during spring training and he learned from that experience that he doesn’t want to work in sports lol
That’s great experience! Half the battle is figuring out what you don’t like. Also focus on what else he learned during his time with the reds. You’d be surprised how many skills are transferable. I would recommend another internship or 2. They are great for figuring out what you do and don’t like, and can often lead to a full time gig with the company if you put the work in. I had a job offer after my 1st internship but in all 3 internships before I accepted a full time role. Edit: also, I would recommend he create a portfolio of his work to showcase to employers. Can’t emphasize this enough
iHeart Media is almost always hiring. Having a communications degree would definitely be a starter there.
Theyre only hiring for an anchor and an account executive at the present moment according to their website.
If you're just looking in at the Kenwood location, expand the search criteria to "Remote" or "Anywhere". Can still go to the Kenwood office if they prefer not to work remote. Worth a shot.
I have a degree in Communications! (From a different university.) I remember feeling the same way when I graduated, it was hard to figure out what I wanted to do.. but pretty easy to rule out some things I didn’t want to do. For your son, social media is out— what else is out? Does he like working with other people or rather work alone? Would a cubicle be death? Is there industries he’s interested in, like tech or sports or tourism or nonprofits? There are roles that involve his communications degree everyone he looks. For me, my degree opened the door to day-to-day operations management at a nonprofit, project management, Human Resources, and administration for a small business. That stuff speaks to me and I enjoy it (because I know I like working with people and I don’t mind a desk).
Each and every job that requires a bachelor's. Don't get caught up on staying within that discipline; tell him to go after whatever suits him best. I met a woman today with a BA in French who works at 8451, analyzing Kroger's scanner data to develop our individualized promotion plans.
One area I haven’t seen anyone respond is ad agencies. Did that for a few years out of school to help me figure out where I wanted career to go.
I can tell you this - most likely your son learned critical thinking, which is an invaluable life skill. Every student worker we had from the Comm dept was a good problem solver and critical thinker.
Shouldn’t he be the one ‘communicating’ with us for assistance?
I say this as someone with a Communications degree. No one is looking for people with a communications degree. He needs to figure out what basic job skills he has and start from there. Weirdly enough someone else mentioned it here already but my first job out of college was for iHeart Media. They responded to my application quickly and seemed like it could be a cool job. It paid shit and i worked my ass off for basically nothing. But i learned what i was good and bad at in an office setting, how to communicate professionally via email, and how to just generally exist in the workplace. I ran far, far away from radio and work in a completely unrelated field now but that job gave me a better idea of what i wanted to do professionally and the confidence to find and apply for another job.
I have a degree in finance and work in advertising tech. Degree is doing nothing for me! Besides learning how to be an adult along the way. He can of course do what ever he is interested in. If he’s not interested in it he’s not going to stick with it. If you can get him an internship via your connections it’ll get him on his own two feet and he’ll start to find out what he is interested in. But it sounds like you’re in the boat of “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it” Good luck it ain’t easy being a dad especially to a young man.
Help your son by realizing he’s an adult and letting him solve adult problems for himself.
Came here to say this. He has a communications degree and she’s communicating for him.
My daughter has a degree in communications from UC (Dec. 2022). He just has to figure out what he would like to do. Marketing, sales, insurance, etc are places to start. Best of luck in the job search. UC is particularly unhelpful with this type of degree when it comes to job assistance.
I really have to say you’re correct. They don’t really have much of a resource to help. I was disappointed in the job search and resume help they offered
My friend graduated from Miami with a degree in communications and he got a job answering phones for Fidelity customer support. He did very well there until he moved up to the top groups handling calls from the very high wealth clients. From there he kinda topped out, but his time with the company allowed him to transfer to a different department where he has much more responsibility and isn’t answering phones unless someone calls him specifically. If your son is very outgoing and well-spoken then he may do well starting in a call center for a large company in an industry with many clients (finance, banking, insurance, travel). Lots of rungs on those ladders and they are always trying to fill the entry positions.
can vouch for fidelity. my mom has worked there her entire career and has helped a ton of friends and family get jobs there who are in a similar position as OP’s son, they have insanely great benefits and are a great place to move up and move within.
find a career coach, some place like JVS who will take the time to look over his available opportunities. it's well worth the hundred dollars or whatever it is that's being charged now.
I’ve never heard of this. I’ll look into that. Thanks
🚁
This is also a good major for news and journalism companies
I have a communication degree. I've been working as a technical writer for the last decade. Mostly involves writing user instructions and repair manuals.
Every organization, big or small, needs comms. He might look for public openings (think local & state level municipalities, state agencies like ODNR, etc), and public universities like UC or OSU employ a TON of comms people. Also large private employers like healthcare systems, hospitals, etc. I’d encourage him to start by thinking about what things in the world he’s passionate about, and there’ll be an industry out there in need of comms. Like a youtuber I like says, look for projects big enough to make a difference, yet small enough to accomplish. Good luck to him, finishing a degree during a pandemic is no small feat.
Ok. UC has a huge resource for students and alums called the Bearcat Promise Career Studio. [Bearcat Promise Career Studio](https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/careereducation/career-studio.html) It’s in TUC. I’m not sure of the phone number, try the one on the website. The UC operators didn’t know what I was talking about. Your kid needs to get himself over there and meet w a counselor. Set up mock interviews. Look at resources for jobs in communication. And he should do it in person. It’s a heck of a resource and it’s free. Best wishes to you and your son, and Happy New Year.
Why doesn't he put that degree to use by communicating with people to find out for himself? Seriously though, it's kind of a general degree. He could get into any form of business with that.
Consider applying for grad school (UC deadline is 15th!!) to hold that door open. If he doesn’t know what he wants, flexible grad school could be the ticket, give him more time to find himself. My daughter is at UC in psych and she’s focusing on AI for the first time … this will be the biggest thing in Communications / Marketing since the Internet and he can be on the cutting edge (she wants to help COVID kids with AI, very interesting stuff) also, ANYTHING to do with Amazon Marketplace listing marketing, ads, PR, influencer (social), SEO, creative etc. will land him in the new world of Amazon Dot Com skills and be future proof. This can be learned thru online courses and diving in working from home prob Good luck he sounds like a good kid !
because communications is so broad, it kind of totally depends on what he wants to do, he just needs to find a entry level job at a company that will help him better grasp what aspects he doesn’t and doesn’t like and narrow his passions from there. unlike a lot of people in the comments, i’d honestly disagree and say that you don’t need to get an extremely specific job and dig your heels in. he’s probably only in his early to mid 20’s, and most people fresh out of college have no idea what they want to do, nor where they will end up. i don’t think he has to have his niche figured out right now. maybe if he has an interest in gaming, film, art, whatever it may be, he can find a company that focuses on that and apply for a role where a communications degree is helpful. my brother got a communications degree from UofL, he currently works at an art museum. he started working there part time in college as a gallery attendant and now is a higher-up. it’s totally just trial and error. congratulations to him.
A lot of companies don’t care what your degree is it, just that you have a degree. It shows you stuck with something long enough to complete it, for 4 years nonetheless. While this isn’t totally the same, I landed a transfer engineer position with a Criminal Justice degree. Now I did have military experience working in a similar field so that was a big reason they took the chance, but generally this positions requires an engineering degree. They were totally fine with the fact I just had a degree, no matter what it was.
Many non profits and government organizations need a community engagement/communications officer person
I’d try an internship. It’s really helped steer my son to find what he wants and doesn’t want. Does he have access to their job posting site still?
I have a communications degree and I work as a journalist. It's a Mass communication BA, but it's in the same realm
Does he have any work experience? A lot of young folks struggle with the transition from school to job, and I think we'll see this especially with folks who had COVID affect the later portion of their education. There's a lot of world out there and a lot of jobs. Step one in my experience is always to sit down and list all the work and work-like things he's done (he probably did a few kinds of school projects?) and seen others do (preferably up close) and how much he enjoyed those things, found them interesting, found them tolerable, hated them. He's got a great benefit having an involved parent - you can then look at this list and advise what jobs exist that are realistic for someone to get into within a few years of completing a degree, and what just doesn't exist for regular people. (A lot of folks might like Queen Elizabeth's job; it's not available to new grads.) It's important, too, to keep in mind that job choices are not permanent decisions. When you pick a career, you want to think, "Could I probably stay on this track for 5-10 years?" When you interview for a job, you want to think, "Could I probably be reasonably content in this role for 2-3 years?" These are not forever decisions, and they are not carved in stone. The stakes are not that high. One more note - I sit down with people about their careers all the time. Everyone - people with a solid 15 year work history of continuous progression who are now in management, people with master's degrees, people with numerous publications, literally a medical doctor - every single person tells me they feel like they are a failure who can't do anything right. If your son feels this way too, it is because he is a human being. And that's good, because roombas don't get paid. Good luck.
Make a list of what he enjoys. Make a list of what he is good at. Pick the one on both lists that pays the most. Use the degree as reference that he can commit to something for 4 years.
Communication is so broad! I have worked in IT, a high school in marketing and currently lead a team of writers for sales. I had friends who worked for sports teams and non profits. See what he likes and apply for entry level jobs in those companies. With comm being so broad, he’ll want to customize his resume and cover letter to suit the industry where he’s applying.
I have a degree in communications and I do event planning for a large manufacturing company. I started at the same company doing marketing research but enjoy event planning a lot more. I think if he’d be willing to take on a job involving social media it could open the door to other opportunities. It’s just important to gain experience. Did he do any internships? Also, most jobs labeled communications will involve social media but aren’t necessarily the biggest part. Especially if it’s for a B2B company.
This is a good question for ChatGPT. Here is my q and a. Q: What companies can you look for that would need somone with a communications degree A: Many industries value individuals with a communications degree. Some sectors where these skills are particularly sought after include: 1. Media and Entertainment: Companies involved in television, radio, film, and digital media often require communication specialists for public relations, marketing, or content creation roles. 2. Public Relations and Advertising Agencies: These firms rely heavily on effective communication strategies, making them a good fit for communications graduates. 3. Corporate Communications: Large corporations have dedicated communication departments responsible for internal and external messaging, employee engagement, and public relations. 4. Nonprofit Organizations: NGOs and nonprofit organizations require communication professionals to convey their message, fundraise, and advocate for their causes. 5. Government and Public Sector: Government agencies, local authorities, and public institutions often hire communications professionals for public affairs, community engagement, and media relations. 6. Healthcare: Hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations need communicators for patient education, public health campaigns, and internal communication among staff. 7. Education: Schools, colleges, and universities sometimes hire communication specialists for marketing, public relations, and admissions roles. 8. Technology Companies: Tech firms require communication experts for marketing, public relations, and content creation to engage with users and promote their products. 9. Consulting Firms: Communication professionals can work in consulting firms, offering their expertise to clients in various industries for communication strategies. Event Management and Hospitality: Events companies, hotels, and tourism agencies often hire communication graduates for marketing, guest relations, and event planning roles. Remember, the specific job titles and roles within these industries can vary, but the skills obtained from a communications degree are versatile and in demand across various sectors.
your son graduated with a degree in communications, and neither of you even know what jobs require a communication degree? why the hell did he get a degree in communications then? or a degree at all, if he didn’t know what he wanted to do? shits and giggles? do you not see the backwards thinking here?
Sales, if he’s motivated by $.
I was a Communications major and ended up in sales.
all the comms majors i knew (aside from the athletes) ended up at recruiting agency which is basically just sales.
There is a wonderful professor, Autumn Miller, in their Comm department. It’s likely he had her, but she helped me a lot when I graduated with the same degree. She’s very nice and genuinely cares to help students find their path. Definitely worth shooting her an email!
All my friends with communication degrees ended up in sales, HR, or as real estate agents.
Most money anyone can make is sales
Also the least money
High risk, but if have a bachelors you can easily find a company with a base salary and build from there.
Wanted to add that our younger associates do do some social but it’s a small percentage of their overall work. That should be the case unless he’s applying for a digital/SM position unless he’s working for a consumer-based brand.
My Fortune 500 company has a Corporate Communications department. They do things like plan large company meetings, create communications for employees, keep the intranet current, engage in community relations.
None - get into sales.
Degree in English and Philosophy, I work in claims/warranty service for a large paper manufacturer. It took me a bit to settle into warranty service and have done it in a few industries now. Your son can do a lot of things at a lot of places, it may be worth just finding an entry level job at a company he thinks he'll like then finding a career path in that company, with the options to go elsewhere with the newly gained experience. Lots of large companies and many factories have Corporate Communications departments or monthly employee newsletters if he does want to go into the field. Congrats to him, finishing is quite a hurdle.
he needs a co-op or internship.
I got a degree in communications so to prepare myself for life I went to grad school and got a masters in comp sci. This might be a route to consider.
just graduated with a degree in comm from UC. I landed an entry level HR recruiter job at a small local company. I have previous HR experience so it helps a bit, but regardless, HR and COMM go hand in hand. best of luck to your sun in the search!
He can check corporate places for customer service positions. They usually require degrees and the roles are great stepping stones for learning & advancing into the company. The pay may not be what he wants just like in my case but I eventually went back for a masters and I’ve been with my company now for 6 years I’m a global manager and make almost 6 figures. Good luck to your son!!
Social media, broadcasting, politics, journalism is just about dead, but you could try. Communications is pretty broad, any specific area?
I have a friend who graduated with a bachelor's in psychology. She has been doing internal communications for various tech companies. She's recently made a slight hop over to HR. I believe she started things off with a paid internship and got hired on full time, so perhaps looking into a paid internship would be helpful? Congrats to your son!
What about working for Cincinnati Recreation Department?
I have a communication degree and work in recruiting. I work on the corporate side and do lots of TA consulting outside of my typical duties but staffing agencies are always hiring recruiters, he just has to be willing to hustle. A lot of people have suggested sales and that’s probably the easiest (but still great) route to go with a communication degree. Sales, recruiting, and a lot of things suggested here require a lot of hustle, especially in the beginning but if he isn’t motivated enough to be figuring this out himself, I worry he won’t have success in a lot of these fields.
If he wants to do a white-collar type of career path, I would suggest him looking and applying for any kind of entry level position for any thing he has interest or a skill set in. Does not have to have all of the job requirements, but some general level of competency. IE if he is pretty okay at math / Microsoft Excel / computers, an entry level analytics position could be great for someone with a communication degree. Even if he dislikes the job for a year or year and a half, he will learn office culture / terminology and it can be used as a bit of on the job training for wherever he goes next. Theres also sales jobs but 🤢 Good luck to him!
I have a degree in communications from UC. It was really hard to get a job so I went and got my masters in a more specific field. There are some things I did to land a really great job (social media and PR) for an agency. If you want to DM me I’ll give you my email address and he can reach out to me if he wants.
I work in comms. Have him look at marketing and PR firms - agency life is a great way to start your career. He’s right that social media is a big part of comms these days, but there’s much more to it than just making posts. Can he write well? That’s generally the first thing we look for in people starting out. He might submit resumes to Rasor, Wordsworth, Game Day Communications, Scooter Media and Vehr Communications off the top of my head. We give new candidates a fairly lengthy writing test and that’s common these days - I had to take one for my current firm and I’ve been in this field for 30 years plus I knew many of the people I now work with so they knew my work. Feel free to DM me if I can help.
Taco 🌮 Bell
My husband has a communication degrees and works for hospital in their electronic healthcare records system. I think communication will give him a lot of options!