Stressed Out About Career and Degree Field

Please repeat this mantra: “I control my fate. The degree is the most important thing, not the major. Experience is critical. I control my fate.”

Employers of college graduates want two things: the degree (sometimes with GPA minimum) and work experience (ideally in your chosen field). And it sounds as though a year from now you will have both.

You are leaning toward some element of marketing communications — and you say you plan on doing a public relations internship this year. Good… but you can do more. Are you interning next summer? If not, find another one. The more internships the better. If you are doing the PR one next year, consider one that involves advertising to get a taste for that. Even though it is late to be looking for a there are still plenty that can be found. I just had a student land a fantastic marketing internship with a science center, where he will work with the marketing director to help with advertising, PR, and marketing strategy.

But, let’s also not totally trash a sociology degree. There are lots of job opportunities for sociology majors (especially ones with work experience), such as and many others. The skills you gain from this degree can certainly also help you in marketing jobs, such as public relations, sales, advertising, and marketing analyst.

I recommend you meet with a career professional from your school’s career office and set some career goals and strategies. Talk with some of your sociology professors — and perhaps with a communications or marketing professor. Conduct research online. Talk with your network of contacts. You have a year to make a plan for exactly what you want to do when you graduate, which is plenty of time to succeed.

Use the Career Exploration Tools and Resources section of Quintessential Careers to learn more about various career paths.