Careers in Mass Communications

What Can I Do With a Major in Mass Communications?

Sample Occupations: The following listings are occupations you can pursue with a Mass Communications Degree. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. There are many careers for which a Mass Communications Degree prepares you. Also note that the occupations that require an advanced degree are also listed. For help in identifying more information about the occupations listed below, please visit the Career Development Center, Lenfest 103 and 104 (phone: 717-262-2006 or email career@wilson.edu).

Sample Occupations

Advertising director                                                                                           
Announcer
Author                                                                                                              
Book editor
Bookstore manager                                                                                          
Broadcast supervisor
Camera operator                                                                                              
Children's books author
Children's books illustrator                                                                                
Circulation manager
Communications specialist                                                                                 
Copy editor
Copy writer                                                                                                      
Correspondent
Court reporter                                                                                                  
Critic
Darkroom technician                                                                                        
Department editor
Disc jockey                                                                                                      
Dubbing editor
Editorial assistant                                                                                              
Educational affairs director
Electronic publishing specialist                                                                           
Feature writer
Fiction author                                                                                                    
Filmmaker
Freelance reporter                                                                                            
Fundraiser
Grant writer                                                                                                      
Illustrator
Indexer                                                                                                            
Investigative reporter
Journalist                                                                                                         
Librarian
Literary agent                                                                                                    
Lyricist
Magazine editor                                                                                                
Media director
Media relations representative                                                                           
News anchor
Newspaper editor                                                                                             
News writer
Nonfiction author                                                                                              
Novelist
Photojournalist                                                                                                 
Playwright
Poet                                                                                                                
Press secretary
Print production manager                                                                                 
Publications editor
Public information officer                                                                                  
Public relations specialist
Publisher                                                                                                          
Professor
Reporter                                                                                                           
Script writer
Speechwriter                                                                                                    
Spokesperson
Station manager                                                                                                
Stringer
Syndicated columnist                                                                                        
Teacher
Technical writer                                                                                                
Traffic manager
Wire editor       

Sample Work Settings

Advertising agencies                                                                                          
Book stores
Cable systems                                                                                                  
Editing firms
Educational institutions                                                                                       
Finance industry
Freelance
Home offices                                                                                                    
Journals and magazines
Libraries                                                                                                           
Literary journal
Marketing firms                                                                                                
Medical industry
Newspapers                                                                                                     
Nonprofit associations
Printing presses                                                                                                
Professional organizations
Public relations industry                                                                                    
Publishing companies
Radio stations                                                                                                   
Sports organizations
Television stations                                                                                             
Wire services
Writing firms

(Adapted by permission from the website of the career center at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.)

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HEAR FROM A WILSON WOMAN…

KAYLA CHAGNON, ‘10
Kayla graduated from Wilson in 2010 and went on to earn her MA in Journalism at Syracuse University.

Wilson prepared me for graduate school in a number of ways. Most importantly, I had close relationship with my professors that have carried on now that I am in graduate school. Many professors tell me that I am one of the few students that visit them during their office hours to ask questions or just to talk about my future. Not only to professors usually appreciate students coming to talk to them; it also helps me in many ways. I would probably not do this if I went to a larger school and did have mentors like my professors. Wilson prepared me academically for journalism school with my background, while some students might have wrote for newspapers or magazines, my hands-on experience at Wilson gave me enough momentum that I never felt confused or really over my head. Wilson was just the place I needed to find myself and become a journalist.