By Chelsey Jonson, Career and Industry Specialist, ASU's Career and Professional Development Services
Unique Opportunities in Communications and Media
If you’ve ever done research on communications and media, you know that it is a highly versatile career interest community offering a wide range of career paths. Many of these career paths are well known and clearly correlated. However, if you’re curious about some lesser-known options related to communications and media, keep reading.
Government
Professionals educated in communications work behind the scenes at all levels of government. Examples of these roles are speechwriters, press secretaries and communications assistants. Some of them act as liaisons between elected officials and their constituents. These careers are essential because they communicate what is going on within the government by creating messages for the public.
Interpreter/Translations
A career path in translation and interpreting is highly relevant to communication and media and can be very rewarding. In one day, you might help a mother speak to her doctor about her infant and also help someone speak with an operator during an emergency. If you speak multiple languages and have a passion for communication, this is a career path worth exploring!
Law
You don’t need to have a law degree to work within the law industry. Many people with communications degrees work in administrative or organizational roles within law. Some specific roles to explore further are legal secretary roles and paralegal roles. These can be found within national and local courts as well as independent law firms. A communication degree can also be a good foundation for those interested in advancing in law and considering pursuing a law degree.
Freelance Writing
What makes freelance writing so unique is that it allows you to explore a large variety of topics and industries. As a freelance writer, you can be writing articles for a company that sells mattresses while at the same time be writing blogs for an online dating website. There is much variety in this type of work. What is consistently needed for this profession is, of course, written communication skills, as well as perseverance and an entrepreneurial spirit.
Public Safety Telecommunications
This may not be what initially comes to mind when thinking of communications and media. That being said, public safety telecommunicators (or dispatchers) must have superior communication skills, as a large part of what they do is communicating the nature of an emergency effectively and determining appropriate responses.
With the versatility of communications and media, there could be many more opportunities listed. Explore Handshake to see currently open positions related to this career interest community. If you have questions about your career path, feel free to schedule an appointment with us through Handshake.