Sunday, May 22, 2011

Making Your Degree Count

Graduation season is upon us again, and many future PR professionals are celebrating earning a degree in public relations or a communications-related subject. After spending four or more years working toward their degree they hope they’ve gotten their monies worth.


Recently The Daily Beast released a list of the 20 most useless college degrees.

The ranking was based on the average starting and mid-career annual salaries typically associated with the degree, and the expected growth in jobs for the industry between 2008-2018.


Although the ranking listed journalism, English and literature on its list, coursework in these areas provides a strong foundation for public relations work.


Journalism, ranked as the most useless college degree, is likely the most useful for anyone looking to work in PR. Coursework in journalism provides a great foundation to work in media relations. You learn firsthand what makes a good story. Plus, many of today’s journalism schools include technical training in video editing and web design, valuable skills for any future PR pro.


Like journalism, a degree in English (ranked 19th) or literature (ranked 15th) provides you with the writing skills vital for anyone wanting to work in PR. Studying English and literature also provides students with strong analytical skills, useful in crisis communications and developing PR plans.


Although these degrees may seem useless to some, they’re perhaps some of the most useful degrees (aside from public relations) for anyone looking to enter the rapidly changing PR industry.


To see if your major made the list, click here.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta

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