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Introduction

Communications is one of the majors that are misunderstood and underrated. The reason

for the existing stereotypical treatment might be caused by how the course does not embody the

typical features of skill-based degrees like engineering and business administration. Due to such,

a lot of people find the major as pointless and a waste of time. However, that is not entirely true.

The uncertainty of landing a good job after graduation applies to every other course taker.

Communications and the people who took it do not deserve baseless discrimination. The major is

as practical and functional as the others. Communications is a "real" major and it is worthy of

everybody else's focus.

In order to fully analyze the worth of Communications as a major, both the pros and cons

of the subject matter shall be analyzed.

Section 1: Cons

Before presenting the justifications of why Communications is a proper course, it is only

logical to investigate the factors that made other people think that the major is not worthy of

time, money and emotional investment.

Communications is a stand-alone course

Many argue that Communications is too specific and the sets of skills one can acquire are

too limited. Communications graduates will have very high proficiency in verbal communication

but pretty low in everything else. They will have no practical abilities that would eventually

employ them in works outside the media industry. All they can do is write and talk.
Specialization can lead to complacency and unproductivity (Karam, Haidar, Khawaja and

Allaziki, 2018). This is particularly true if an individual work on the same field over a long

period of time. This may suggest that a career shift might be inevitable in the future.

Communications is impractical

Being able to pursue a job based on one's passion can be rewarding. However, passion

alone does not translate dreams and talents into cash. Majoring in Communications is not ideal

because the return of monetary investment spent during the academic years does not occur fast

enough. Also in practice, it is necessary to spend a significant amount of money just to establish

one's career.

For starting journalists and writers, the pay is estimated to be at the minimum wage level

(or even lower). In order to be at a satisfactory position, a Communications graduate might spend

years of post-graduation internship and the like.

Communications graduates will have a hard time finding jobs

Landing a job as a Communications graduate will be a challenge. Aside from the fact that

employers prefer employees that are equipped with practical skills, the jobs specifically needing

Communications graduates are quite rare. Though TV and radio stations are everywhere, they do

not have job openings all the time. And if one would resort in putting up a career online, the

stakes are much higher. Hegemonic broadcasting companies had long dominated the World

Wide Web and they are very wary with independent media personalities (Briziarelli and

Hoffmann, 2018).
The people believing that Communications is unworthy as a major are mostly uniformed

and close-minded. This lack of guided knowledge can create shallow biases and prejudgments.

Section 2: Pros

Contrary to the arguments presented above, Communications must be treated as a "real"

major. The major may not be formatted the same way as the others, it remains valid and doable.

Listed below are supporting bases of such claim.

The degree produces both specialists and generalists

Saying that Communications is a highly specialized course is correct. However, saying

that it is also a widely generalized major is not wrong as well. What is actually being trained is

not the verbal and non-verbal skills but rather the individuals' ability to interact, counteract and

analyze certain situations. While Communications students become fluent and impactful, they

are also taught to apply such in real-life scenarios.

Communications is timely

The Information Age has come. In today's world, people have high demands for

accessibility, connectivity and knowledge (Schement and Curtis, 2018). And since then, new

problems had surfaced. One of which is the lack of mediators to facilitate the surge of

information from one medium to another. Here is where Communications majors come in.

Humans no longer need blades and shield as weapons. In this day and age, people can

acquire power and exude dominance through expert-level communication and sharp intellect.

Communications graduates (and even students) will become key societal players.
The course inculcates versatility

One of the biggest misconception about Communications as a degree is that the graduates

can only work in the media industry. This is completely wrong. The pursuers of this course can

be placed in any fields and thrive there. Communications majors can become public relations

specialists, educators, human resource administrators and development planners.

A Ted talk video emphasized that good communication is essential to deliver topnotch

customer service (Smith, 2018). Employees must know how to talk and what to talk about during

challenging situations. Clearly, the skills developed by Communications majors will come in

handy.

The way to end the stigma against individuals majoring in Communication is through

setting examples. By showing how success is being achieved by the involved individuals, the

perception of the skeptics could potentially change.

Section 3: Synthesis

The discriminations against the Communications course should end. It is wrong to

question the validity of a course through misconceptions and irrational worries. This degree,

while hinged on creativity and passion, is progressive and practical. The skills developed by the

students are not inferior to those trained by others, they are just different. Through social

analysis, communication can become a bridge that connects one field to another (Duncan, 2017).

Conclusion
The removal of prejudice against Communications majors will help the students and

aspirants feel comfortable on their own skin. They will be able to focus on their craft and pursue

greater heights. Everything boils down with being sufficiently informed and rightfully unbiased.

In exercising critical analysis and in-depth investigation, societal issues, including the one

discussed in this work, shall be eradicated.

Works Cited

Briziarelli, M. and Hoffmann, J. (2018). Hegemony and the media: A culturally materialist

narrative of digital labor in contemporary capitalism. In S. Çoban (editor), Media,

Ideology and Hegemony (107 - 124). Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

Duncan, H.D. (2017). Communication and Social Order. Abingdon: Routledge.

Karam, R., Haidar, M.A., Khawaja, A. and Allaziki, G. (2018). A preliminary exploratory study

on the implications of specialization of labor at the workplace: The views of production

managers in Lebanon. Lebanese Science Journal, 19(2), 297 - 304.

Schement, J.R. and Curtis, T. (2018). Tendencies and tensions of the information age:

Production and distribution of information in the United States. Abingdon: Routledge.

Smith, T.M. (2018). How to train employees to have difficult conversations [video file].

Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/tamekia_mizladi_smith_how_to_train_employees_to_have_di

fficult_conversations#t-112474

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