SecretMethod70

Alright, so I'm looking at various other majors to try and decide if I want to switch and what to, but really I don't know what any of them necessarily DO, beyond the one stereotypical job I suppose.

For example, my school has a BA in Communications, and one of the areas of study are "Radio, Television and Film," but what would someone with that kind of education DO? I really have no idea. The other options in Communication are Communication and Culture, Journalism, Public Communication, and Relational, Group, and Organizational Communication. Out of those, the only ones I think I may be interested in are the Radio, Television, and Film one and possibly Public Communication. Aside for being a PR representative and a radio personality though, I can't think of what work those fields of study would entail. I would think Journalism is the one that would lead to television hosting of any sort, not Radio, Television, and Film.

I figure this is the one most people may be able to help me figure out what kind of actual JOBS there are for it.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

maleficent

Carreer Fields
DESCRIPTION OF RADIO‑TELEVISION‑FILM CAREER FIELDS
The RTVF major is a broadly‑based program which qualifies the student for a wide variety of career choices.

Multimedia Specialists are involved in the research, production, design, operation, teaching or selling of the various types of multimedia used in training, teaching or the professional world. They may work for: public schools, publishing companies, health institutions, government agencies, businesses and the entertainment industries.

Media Management personnel are involved with all aspects of business management, sales and administration of broadcast stations. They determine and implement the general policies of the station. Positions at the top of the "management ladder" include General Manager, Station Manager, and Business Manager.

Radio Television Film Production ‑ People employed in production are involved in creating, supervising or assisting in the entire range of activities in the development of a project, from the conceptional stage to on‑the‑air presentation. The positions are both creative and administrative. The jobs may include selecting talent, stories, materials, lights, sets and directing the talent, technicians and camera persons. The creative positions are the most competitive in the industry.

Positions are available in radio, television and film studios, as well as in hospitals, corporate organizations, government agency studios, commercial film production houses, educational institutions and numerous other places where audiovisual systems and multimedia facilities are used.

Announcers for radio and television report the news, deliver live or recorded commercials, host talk shows or interviews, serve as disc jockeys or work in special situations, such as drama critic, weather person, etc. They work for or serve as talent in commercial and noncommercial radio and television stations, advertising agency productions, government films, or educational and business films.

Writers for Television and Film are involved in researching and writing material for performance or broadcast. The writer may be a newswriter or a dramatic scriptwriter.

Screenwriters write scripts for motion pictures or television. They may be directly employed by a station or a network, work on a freelance basis or be under contract to independent production companies.

Copywriters in advertising agencies and at broadcast stations in some markets write scripts used in commercials, promotional and public service announcements.

Newswriters select and write copy for radio and TV newscasters to read.

Continuity Writers originate and prepare material read by the announcer to introduce and connect various parts of musical, news and sports programs.

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK IN FIELDS RELATED TO RTVF MAJOR
Each year several thousand people graduate from departments of Radio, Television and Film, but there are substantially fewer positions available than people seeking them. Willingness to compete for and to accept entry level positions is essential in obtaining employment in this field. Relocation is often an important factor, since jobs in smaller markets are easier for recent graduates to obtain.

Jobs in radio and television production‑‑as producers, writers and on‑air talent‑‑are often available in small, local stations. Television has increasing employment opportunities for production graduates in cable, multimedia, industrial, medical and instructional video.

The film production person can find employment opportunities in film production units in industry and with small production companies.

Graduates skilled in research theory and practice can find positions as researchers, in ratings usage, marketing information, media buying and audience analysis in both the broadcasting and film fields, as well as in media departments of various organizations. Cable systems have extensive needs for research‑oriented people who can suggest programming strategies, audience needs and expansion plans. Many hospitals and health organizations, as well as major corporations, use some form of communication research.

Scriptwriting is a specialized and competitive field, and employment opportunities in broadcasting and film production may be limited. However, writing opportunities exist within major corporations, hospitals, cable systems and similar organizations which have their own film and video units.

Projections indicate continued growth in all aspects of communication, with concomitant career opportunities in broadcasting, film and the corporate world. The new emerging technologies make the emphasis on these skills and in multimedia production and design especially in demand. However, keen competition for positions is expected to continue.

Employment prospects for Radio‑Television‑Film graduates are best for those who are flexible in considering job opportunities in fields allied to broadcasting and who have obtained significant work experience while still in school. The position of the University in the media capital of the world offers unique opportunities for networking.

Recent CSUN graduates list relevant work experience such as: volunteer work, summer or part time jobs and student intern programs as the most important factors in obtaining employment.

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maleficent

Not as detailed as RTF

Organizational Communication Positions
Organizational Communication Major

Views the primary role of manager to be strategic organizational communicators
Emphasizes “managerial communication;” that is, the role of leadership, how to function in small groups, how to train employees, and good interviewing techniques
Closest program to a “business” degree in the department

Jobs in Organizational Communication
Communication industry:
Human resource manager
Corporate trainer
Advertising/public relations account executive
Interviewer; recruiter
Business and industry:
Management trainee
Development officer
Sales representative
Labor relations representative
Customer service representative

Governmental/political:
Speech writer
Public information officer
Legislative assistant
Campaign director
Press secretary
Elected official

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maleficent

Communication and Culture Positions
Description of Major
The major in Communications & Culture (CMCL) provides students with a strong liberal arts education that emphasizes strategic, critical, and flexible modes of thought, as well as an understanding of the theoretical, historical, and practical applications of media technologies. The department is interdisciplinary, offering a wide variety of courses and flexible curriculum desgined to give students many opportunities according to their interests and needs. Some courses approach public culture from a rhetorical perspective to examine how language and images form attitudes and guide human conduct in social, political, and professional settings. Other courses adopt the perspective of performance and ethnography, investigating how communicative practices display cultural meaning and craft modes of social action. Still others emphasize the history, theory, and criticism of film, television, and new media. Courses are available for advanced students to gain production experience in both film and video

Career Options
Careers Specific to the Bachelor's Degree
Marketing, sales, advertising, public relations, corporate and public sector consulting, media and film production, editing, writing (e.g. speech writing, editorial writing)and human resource management and training, secondary teaching (with teaching license)

Other Career Possibilities with a Bachelor's Degree
Many corporations prefer their prospective managers and other professional staff to have a liberal arts background which includes a breadth of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the ability to write clearly and speak persuasively. CMCL offers a liberal arts education, and provides skills with an emphasis on strategic, critical, and flexible thinking, as well as on excellent communication skills. The CMCL majors graduate with a strong foundation upon which to rely in the changing world and work environment of the 21st century. The CMCL major is intended to help you develop ways of thinking, learning, and communicating that will open doors to a wide variety of careers in business, professional, and public spheres.

Careers that Normally Require a Graduate Degree
Teaching and research at the university level; higher education administration; law.
Employment Opportunities
Job Outlook
The major in Communications & Culture provides students with a strong liberal arts education that emphasizes strategic, critical, and flexible modes of thought. In the changing work environment of the 21st century, this opens doors to a wide variety of careers in the business, professional, and public spheres.
Salary Information
The average starting salary with a Bachelor's degree in communications (encompassing advertising, broadcast journalism, communications, journalism, public relations, and organizational communication) is $27,874, according to the Winter 2004 Salary Survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Potential Career Growth
Graduates with liberal arts degrees and excellent communications skills are often well-positioned to move into management positions.

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Stare At The Sun

Don't forget that simply having a degree means a lot, both my sister and her husband have jobs TOTALLY unrelated to their fields, but are making pretty good money.

My sister has a degree in theater, her husband, Political Science.

Both work for Walgreens as Assistant Managers, and make about 33k a year each. Not to bad of cash for people under 25.

Just something to keep in mind.

Rodney

Woiw, the field has got a little more hoity-toity since I got my degree in Journalism 25 years ago. At my school, the three areas of study under the Journalism program were PR, reporting and editing, and radio/TV production news.

I can tell you that a good journalism/reporting and editing program is all about gathering and evaluating information until you get a complete picture of a subject, then spitting it back out in an appropriate, unambiguous, easy-to-read form. Under pressure. After college, I never went into newspaper work, but I found a lot of use for those skills over the years. I did public information for government job training programs. I worked in the advertising department of an insurance company worked on their weekly employee newspaper and other company-to-employee communications. I went into high tech and spent 20 years writing and researching technical manuals, white papers, online help, corporate policies and procedures, and so on. All on a journalism degree. Of my fellow grads who did go to work for newspapers, many have moved on to PR by now, and a lot of those are working for themselves. So it's a pretty flexible degree/skill set.

As for working on TV, frankly a combination of basic journalism skills with radio or TV hosting/production experience would be best. In my mind, unless your school's communcation program combines radio/TV production with journalism skills, it's suspect. The best programs involve working on campus-based radio- or TV- programs on a daily basis for at least a couple of semesters, plus summer internships. A lot of my old department's radio/TV journalism grads went on to long careers in the business. I hear a couple of them every day on the radio.

You need to look into more what these areas of study at your university actually teach. The advantage of a journalism-related degree (as opposed to, say, anthropology or political science) is that it teaches actual, marketable skill sets. It's not just about learning what's in the books, it's about demonstrating abilities. The more practice that is required as part of the program -- through projects, internships, or work in student media -- the better.

Rodney

Just another thought: you should probably drop a PM to Shakran; he's a broadcast journalist, I believe.

SecretMethod70

Thanks a lot for the input guys, it helped out quite a bit.

Got another one for you..... looking at the classes offered I may be interested in a major in sociology with a concentration in cultural studies..... any idea what that would entail? I see some interesting classes - "mass media," "popular culture," and "popular culture and the arts" to name a few, but I can't for the life of me think what someone who knows all about media and culture would do.

__________________
Le temps détruit tout

"Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

Rodney

Neither can I, unfortunately. There may be work for sociologists in academia and in think tanks, teaching, doing research, and predicting trends, but you aren't getting one of those jobs with a bachelor's degree -- MA at minimum. I'll be the first one to say, major in what you're interested in. But if one of your major criteria is putting your degree to work after your graduate, you'll have a hard time with most of the social sciences -- political science, anthro, social science, and so on.

I have to admit, some of those classes sound interesting; maybe you could do a sociology minor in combination with a related, more job-friendly major like one of the communciations majors. Could be some synergy there.

Clark

Take a lot of stats as well and you woulg be in good shape for a marketing research job. As stated befor what your BA is in is not that importent it is that you have a BA that is. One thing good jobs always look for quantitave skills so that meens math. Calc and stats never hurt.