Public Relations Careers: So Many Options, Such Little Time
It is my first semester of my senior year of college, and everyone I know is talking about jobs. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been asked the question, “So what are you going to do when you graduate?” I’ve been asked by friends, parents of friends and even teachers on the first day of class. My usual go-to response is, “I have no idea.” And I really don’t have an idea at all.
Some people might think I am crazy for being so lost as to what I will be doing with my life just 8 short months from now when I will be thrown out into the real world after graduation. Sometimes I think about my friends in nursing school, and even though they have had to endure countless long and stressful hours working in the hospital during the past two years, I can’t help but envy them. I envy them for the fact that they actually know what they will be doing when they graduate. They have the option of moving to any city in the country and knowing exactly where they will work – a hospital.
I, on the other hand, have chosen to major in public relations, which is somewhat of a broad field when considering potential jobs I could have. There is no obvious area or job to consider for a public relations major, which is exciting but also scary at the same time.
Since I should probably start thinking about potential jobs for me in the public relations industry, I did a quick Google search of “Jobs in the public relations field.” A website called aboutpublicrelations.net came up, so I started browsing through its content trying to alleviate some of my worries. I discovered that in the upcoming years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that PR jobs are expected to increase at a rate higher than all other jobs combined.
Because most organizations are required to have some sort of public relations department, it is possible for a public relations major to end up in virtually any industry. For example, if you love medicine, but you weren’t quite focused enough to go to medical school, you could still work in the medical field doing public relations for a healthcare company. This is something I find very exciting, considering I love sports. Doing PR in a sports-related environment would be very fulfilling, as I would be combining two things I enjoy.
Although I don’t need to decide right now exactly what I want to be doing less than a year from now, it is important to start thinking about my options. It’s reassuring to know that public relations is a thriving industry with many job opportunities in different industries. Although my friends in other majors, such as nursing, have the luxury of being certain of what they will be doing when they graduate, I have the luxury of having many different options and not being tied down to one career. And that is more exciting.