List of Careers

Advertising is a process and not at all a medium, and it uses different media forms to communicate. Advertising, in its very simple form, is the way in which the vendor or the manufacturer of a product communicates with the consumers or potential consumers via a medium or many different media. This means that media actually becomes an interface between the advertisers and the consumers.

If we see carefully, we would realize that advertising today is all about communicating the complex range of messages about a product and this process is further classified as branding or brand advertisement. In order to create a brand identity and get recognition by the consumers, they require a symbol that is specific to that brand. This symbol helps in associating the symbol to the brand.

Advertising has also become a media institution by itself. This means that it has become an industry of its own kind having its own rules and own way of doing things. This industry has grown to such a large extent that there are award giving bodies existing for advertisers and advertisements. The advertising companies are known as agencies.

If we look around us, we would find that our world is filled with advertisements. They extend their reach in almost all the things we see and imagine. Billboards, newspapers, magazines, books, tracks, radio, television and pamphlets are just a few mediums that are used for advertising. This industry has grown so much that there are now educational institutions that run courses for various levels of advertising studies. It would definitely be not wrong to say that advertising has become a part of our culture.

Advertising now-a-days reflect the values of the society we live in. Our own culture would provide plenty of material for future investigation. “Dressed to kill”, an advertising campaign for Wallis tell us a lot about the attitudes to women from both male and female point of view. This also represents the power of sexuality in our society.

The study of advertising is very essential for the media studies student. Also, in order to analyze form and content, one needs to understand how advertising operates in the media industry and how it tries to generate the cultural identities. A world without advertising would be a different place to live than what we know off. Advertising is growing day by day, unleashing the barriers of imagination.

The field of Mass Communication covers everything from public relations to televise journalism to technical writing. Students who have finished their edification in the field of communication have stirring and beneficial career opportunity in front of them. But this is not all. Your resume is the first step that you would take to present yourself even before you actually meet the interviewers and they will be making an image of you before they call you for interview.

To get entire information on job options, necessary qualifications, training, profession description and earnings for a job in communications’ field, you will be required to select the career you want to go into this broad mass communication industry. There are a few career lists that is enlisted for the reader to get their perspective clear for making resumes. These career options can be like becoming Correspondents and News Analysts or the reporters, Public Relations Specialists, Photography, Editing and Writing, Editors and Television, Video, and Motion Picture Camera Operators, Announcers for TV, Radio and Sports, Language Translators and Interpreters, Radio Operators and Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians.

For the above careers, a resume has to be made and your communication resume should include following fields:

Personal Information:

Your Full Name
Permanent Address
Cell Phone Number
Telephone Number
E-mail
Web Site (if any)

Job Objective:

In this section write an objective for your job application. The objective should be concise, clear and easy to read. And it should be not more than a sentence.

Job Achievements:

This includes the previous job details and the things you have achieved and should look like:-

Title of the job
Name of the organization
Permanent address of the organization
Telephone number
Dates of employments
Responsibilities / Achievements

Significant and Outstanding Career Accomplishments:

You can list any other personal achievements under this title. These should be mainly concerned with the job you are applying for.

Qualification:

This section should start with the highest and latest relevant qualification first and should include the following:-

Name of the Highest Degree
Name of the University with brief Address
Name of the Second Highest Degree
Name of the University with brief Address

Special Knowledge, Abilities, Skills:

List your special expertise and computer related skills, etc.

Professional Organizations:

Write the name and description of the companies you have worked with.

Awards / Honors:

You can write about awards and honors you won in your school, college life or at your work places.

References:

Mention all available references under this section.

Public relations are a field of mass communication that attempts to build a sustainable and long-term relationship of an organization with the general public. A good public relations officer or agency is one which is able to create a positive image in the market for a brand or the company or the organization.

The practice of public relations also seeks to achieve such goals as education and awareness about a brand, correcting a misconception, which may arise in the minds of the prospective customers, and building or improving the reputation of a brand in the market.

Public relations agencies attempt to create awareness about a brand by drafting a press release and sending it to all the local media houses to be spread to the mass public. A good public relations agency or officer is one who can identify a larger number of people as a target audience and keep them in mind while drafting a press release as he knows what to say, how to say and when to say.

Public Relation can also be said to be a management function that involves monitoring and evaluating public attitudes and maintaining mutual relations and understanding between an organization and its public. This public is the potential customers or the customers or the share holders or employees or the government officials or public as such. It is the act of getting along with people we constantly come in touch with. The Public Relations Officers ensures internal cohesion in the company by maintaining a clear communications network between the management and employees.

Public relations as a separate career option has came into existence when lots of private or government companies and institution felt the need to market their product, service and facilities. Public image is important to all organizations and prominent personalities. The role of public relation specialist becomes pertinent in crisis situations when the correct and timely transmission of information can help save the face of the organization.

In terms of career opportunities, Public relations is broadly practiced for product publicity, corporate publicity, to have better relations with the government, to publish corporate publications like newsletter, bulletins, magazines for employees etc.

If one has the passion to make the things right, then this is the field for you as one will encounter situations where others try to tarnish the image of others to rise themselves. There is a need to stay a step ahead than the others.

Journalism is a form of writing that helps people to know about things that really happened, but that they might not have known about already. People who write journalism are called journalists. They might work at newspapers, magazines, and websites or for TV or radio stations. The most important thing that is available in the journalists is their aptitude of curiosity. A journalist wants to find out about the world as much as they can.

There are many forms of journalism that we observe around and those are:-

1. News:-

(a) Breaking news: Telling about an event as it happens in near real time.
(b) Feature stories: A detailed look at something interesting to be known by all and that’s not breaking news.
(c) Enterprise or Investigative stories: Stories that uncover information that few people knew.

2. Opinion:-

(a) Editorials: Unsigned articles that express a publication’s opinion.
(b) Columns: Signed articles that express the writer’s reporting and his conclusions.
(c) Reviews: Such as concert, restaurant or movie reviews.

3. Online journalism:-

(a) Blogs: Online diaries kept by individuals or small groups.
(b) Discussion boards: Online question and answer pages where anyone can participate.
(c) Wikis: Articles that any reader can add to or change.

The best journalism is easy to read, and just sounds like a nice, smart person telling you something interesting.

Journalism basically consists of two basic steps of functioning and these are:-

1. Reporting: There are three basic ways that are made use of in gathering information and they are:-

(a) Interviews: Talking with people who know something about the story you are reporting.
(b) Observation: Watching and listening where news is taking place.
(c) Documents: Reading stories, reports, public records and other printed material.

2. Writing: The keys to writing good journalism are:-

(a) Get the facts and not opinions. All the facts one can gather.
(b) Tell your readers where you got every bit of information you put in your story.
(c) Be honest about what you know and what you do not know. Do not lie to people.
(d) Don’t try to write fancy. Keep it clear.
(e) Start your story with the most important thing that happened in your story. This is called your lead. It should summarize the whole story in one sentence.
(f) Use illustrations if required.
(g) Write shorter paragraphs.

Everywhere there is a story that needs to be told. All you require is to observe it.

Mass communication is a broader term that encompasses a number of fields with all fields having an option of a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree that help in opening several career paths.

The persons who are entering the world of mass communication, enter via a bachelor’s degree from an institute and these persons have undergone intense program that teaches them the basics of radio, television, cyber media, Marketing and Public Relations, Photography, Research, Film-making, Scriptwriting, News development, Advertising and related concepts in the said subjects and sometime even helping the students undergo training at the work sites of some of the leading companies.

This means that students get acquainted with all the things that come under the broad umbrella of the term ‘Mass Communication’. This umbrella has the following fields that are famous among the young:-

Advertising: After undergoing training in this field, the individual is able to make the career as sales representatives, advertising campaign producers, copywriters, media planners, media buyers, creative directors and marketing specialists.

Broadcasting and Electronic Media: A degree in broadcasting and electronic media will land the individual as TV news producers, announcers, public relations managers, news writers, news anchors, disk jockeys and casting directors.

Journalism: This is the most famous of all the fields most of the young try to go into. They are more concerned that they will be able to change the society for good from their reporting. The individuals usually land up as reporters, editors, publishers, and talk show hosts and media interviewers.

Public Relations: This field is more required at the places or companies where there is a requirement to have an interface between the company or the organization and the general public. The individuals pursuing this field usually land up as press agents, media analysts, publicity managers and corporate public affairs specialists.

Mass Communication and Mass Media is a very wide subject having many diversified fields with many options in each field available for the individuals. Primarily, this is a field, which, as the name suggests- deals with the masses, and hence, there is a need for extrovert people in this area, so that they can connect to the masses well, and can produce meaningful entertainment, information, as well as education for them.

So, if you are an extrovert and have the tendency to speak meaning to anyone in this world and have a passion to convince people to your ideologies, this is the field for you.

What is your passion? Is your passion is to pound the pavement so that you get the latest breaking news story and then to report that news on television or the radio or you like to work with the newspaper and magazine to carry the news? If this is your passion then journalism is for you. Look around yourself. With so much communication happening over the websites of various genres, social media websites and online versions of newspapers, it is leading to a new era of opportunities of work of journalism and mass communication everywhere. Choosing a mass communication school anywhere in the world might seem overwhelming as nearly all the colleges offer the major subjects with luring internship programs. But still, before enrolling, check over the credentials of the college or the university in question.

In order to take admission in any of the colleges, one has to fill in the competitive exam form and submit it to the organizing authorities. Once the application is approved, the students are required to take a small aptitude test to qualify for the admission to the college.

In case one does not want to give the exam, there are seats available for students on higher rates as approved by the university. But there is also a third option of filling in the forms under the foreign country quota. Now this scheme is present in almost all the countries of the world. In this, a student needs to qualify the requirements of the university or the college through their valid embassy in their respective countries and then, visa is given to the candidates who clear the requirements.

In today’s time, mass communication has become an approach to strong living. Meaning which that the students are taught to apply moral and ethics to whatever they write as there can be a mass movement due to their writings. Such an attempt of education makes the students feel important and responsible since the time they take admission.

All the colleges require a basic education of higher secondary school, for allowing the students to fill in the applications for mass communication. In some of the best schools of the world, the competition is so much, that the colleges have a cut off percentage in higher secondary school marks, for taking admissions in mass communication.

The competition is beyond imagination and there is a fight to get better education from a better institute. All this has made mass communication a better choice for the young.

Mass communication is a very broad field that may include various types of journalism including broadcast journalism, print journalism, and web or electronic journalism, advertising, public relations, marketing, and other even more specific areas related to facing the public at various stages of working. Getting a degree in this field provides a solid foundation for a large number of career options as one gets equipped with the existing culture and mass and media psychology.

Finding colleges with mass communications programs is the first step one would take to make their career in this field. When you are searching for mass communication colleges, the key is to find the program that matches your needs in regards to your imagination of what success in this field means to you. There is a need that to understand that one should avoid seeing the subjects the university or the college or the school has to offer. Instead of focusing purely on the subjective part, one should go ahead on and focus on the best program that for you.

If you are planning to go ahead for the broadcast journalism colleges, then it is best to check out the academic courses. Apart from the academic courses, one should also see as to what all opportunities a college is offering as extracurricular opportunities. These opportunities can be like college television or radio station; this also includes the internship possibilities or other hands on experiences in relation to this field.

But on the other hand, if you are looking for taking admission to advertising colleges, one should look into the fact that one has to learn the basics of advertising and then only enter the field. During the learning of the basics, some of the colleges go to the extent of providing hands on experience on many sample ad campaigns. It is your ingenuity that you may also go in for participation in the advertising research and also, sometime may get involved with actual companies in an internship or co-op setting.

A mass communication college offer graduates, a number of career choices and gives them the skills to succeed in a variety of industries of mass communication. The key part of selecting a school or a college is finding one that is the best fit for your interests and abilities. Hook on to the internet and search for the college in your country and then verify the credentials on ground by some research.

Mass communication has a large number of career options that comprise of closely related fields of advertisement, communication and public relations. One will be surprised to know that almost all kinds of establishments whether business, government or politics are constantly availing the services offered by the mass communication industry and therefore encourage the people or the professionals who are looking ahead in making a career in mass communication.

Mass communication has a large number of professionals working in different fields under the common head. Some of these fields are discussed below.

Print Journalism: If we see journalism, it is basically collection and editing of the news for presentation through a media. Print journalism is one of the oldest forms of journalism. There are millions of readers of newspapers and magazines on everyday basis, which in turn are the products of print journalism. Print Journalism has seen major transformation over the years and each and every career appointments in it have taken a shape of highly specialized and professional field owing to the competition and other factors.

Electronic Journalism: Introduction of electronic communication especially through broadcasting using satellites and towers, has affected the lifestyles and thoughts of masses throughout the world. The Communication mediums like television, radio, audio, video etc. has made possible news, entertainment, information, education related subjects reach the very far and wide places in near real time. It has to an extent sidelined other forms of communication. With the growing network of TV, satellite communication, cable services, radio stations, etc., the future of this industry seems bright and growing. Electronic journalism offers to professionally qualified people, opportunities in a number of fields. Some of these are direction, production, camera, graphics, editing, sound, script writing etc.

Advertising: Advertising is brand building process of a product, idea, thought or a even a service, through effective mediums of communication. From newspapers, magazines, posters, signboards, bills to the commercials on radio, television and even Internet, advertising has come a long way. Business organizations, political organizations, social organizations, all find it important to advertise in order to influence public opinion.

Public Relations: For somebody to become a successful public relation consultant or officer, it is important to have a liking to meet people along with excellent communication skills and the ability to interact with, convince people, and build a rapport is important. The other traits should be quick decision making abilities and good organizational skills.

A degree in mass communication allows you to learn various types of skills such as writing and editing, visual communication, research, presentation, computer skills and above all, learning how to work on group projects and under deadlines. With a degree or some other course in mass communication you can work as a reporter, editor, producer, graphic artist, in government affairs, at special events or focusing on development and fund raising.

Journalism Reporting Basics: The fundamentals of journalism need to be established at the beginning of this degree program. Students learn how to write simple and complex news stories along with learning basic diction, grammar and skills in word processing. One can also go in for an advanced reporting course, teaching about interpretive stories, editorials, co-operative pieces and personal columns in papers and magazines.

Journalism Editing and Design: This is a course that focuses on essentials to editing and copy reading. Journalists must also focus on the layout and design of newspapers and magazines along with choosing the interior makeup of the design. These include selecting font types and sizes or where proper photo placement is supposed to be done.

Journalism Principles and Laws: This is a course that allows the individual to focus on the history and influences of journalism in both print and electronically. This also tells the students, how journalism and mass communication has evolved over the years.

Communication Fundamentals: Communication fundamentals focus on the history and development of communication over the years and impact on the media through electronic sources, film, radio, television and in photographs and the growth in the diversity of styles being used on the said media. Students also focus on media writing along with advertising, public relations, critical reading and writing for interactive media.

Public Speaking: Speaking in public situations is something that people focus on in educational and work settings as most of the students are weak in this line. Learn how to speak for both informational and convincing purposes. It helps students to learn on how to plan an interview and ending it at a good note.

Effective communication requires learning how to contest properly, including how to reason, analyze and prepare evidence or reports. A part of communication one also learns about the difference between how males and females convey their emotions or exhibit compassion.

Mass communication means mass production of messages that reach a huge number of people, and the Internet, television and books are all examples of communication reaching the masses.

Changing times have increased the prospects in all most every career field one can find today. So many new and exciting career options are available to all, which were once thought of impossible careers for general public. Mass communication is one such field which has attracting a lot of young these days and why not, as it has to offer such interesting career options in the fields, like various kinds of medias – newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertisements, public relations etc.

Though the presence of mass communication has been there since long, but it is only in recent times, that it’s been able to earn due recognition. People and scholars have added efforts in this field to add professionalism to different areas of mass communication, with many universities and institutions offering number of professional courses.

If you think of communication as something that people do through messages, and the end communication is the production of messages and the sharing of messages and the interpretation then mass communication becomes the mass production of messages. In fact, in some ways the book was the first mass produced product when suddenly you can produce an exact, infinite number of copies of exact same thing, that’s what the book was. And suddenly you could take a message and reach vast numbers of people by repeating the message, by mass producing the message and sending it over huge numbers of diverse heterogeneous crowds. Different types of technologies have been very good at reaching very specific groups, some have been very good at reaching enormously varied and diverse groups but when you can mass produced messages you can reach an unbelievable number of people.

With mass communication you can send a message from one person or one group to an infinite number of groups and an infinite number of cities, countries, all around the globe, instantaneously reaching larger numbers of people that was ever possible before. For this, now-a-days, technologies exist to even transfer the message in real time or in near real time. Televisions and radio have become the mediums that have enabled us to change the concept of mass communication and been a boon to send messages across globe in the best shortest time. This field has without doubts taken over the globe.