Employers seek to hire graduates with strong communication skills. Those who receive a degree in communication from UMC will know how to adapt to changing circumstances and marketplace realities.

Graduates often find or create jobs in all sectors of the economy and in multiple levels of organizations. UMC grads can expect to find or to create jobs in corporate e-learning, health management, general corporate management, marketing and advertising, public relations, publications work, lobbying, sports information, or in fields requiring technical writing skills. Communication graduates also may hold jobs as corporate mediators and negotiators, editors, newsletter editors, political campaign leaders, public affairs officers, public information officers, speech writers, or website designers.

According to the Minnesota Career Information System (2002), the major employers of graduates with communication degrees are management and public relations firms, colleges and universities, and state and local government agencies. The UMC communication program allows students to take courses in other disciplines and concentration areas., i.e. marketing, technology, or the biological and physical sciences.

National Outlook

While jobs for communication graduates can be found in all sectors of the economy and at all levels of organizations, established career paths exist. A popular career path for a communication graduate lies in public relations. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2540 (2002-2003), reports "Public relations specialists held about 137,000 jobs in 2000." The bulletin explains, "About 6 out of 10 salaried public relations specialists worked in services industries-management and public relations firms, membership organizations, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, social service agencies, and advertising agencies, for example." The same bulletin reports "Others worked for communications firms, financial institutions, and government agencies. About 8,600 public relations specialists were self-employed."

According to the bulletin, "Employment of public relations specialists is expected to increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2010." Competitive business environments create the demand for public relations specialists. Some businesses have their own public relations specialists, and others contract services from firms. "Median annual earnings for salaried public relations specialists," according to the bulletin, "were $39,580 in 2000. The middle 50 percent earned between $29,610 and $53,620; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,780, and the top 10 percent earned more than $70,480" (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2540, 2002-2003).

Similarly, Occupations - Public Relations Specialists (2002) reports "nationally, the number of jobs for public relations specialists is expected to grow much faster than average through the year 2010." Nationally, 136,700 were employed as public relations specialists in 2000, and this number is expected to rise to 186,100 by the year 2010, an increase of 36.1 percent.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bulletin 2540 (2002-2003), median annual earnings of industries employing public relations specialists in 2000 were as follows:

• Management and public relations $43,690
• Local government $40,760
• State government $39,560
• Colleges and universities $35,080

Similar to Public Relations Specialists, the number of jobs for technical writers is expected to increase. According to Occupations - Technical Writers (2002), "Nationally, the number of jobs for technical writers is expected to increase faster than average through the year 2010." Nationally, 57,500 were employed as technical writers in 2000, and this number is expected to rise to 74,500 by 2010, an increase of 29.6 percent. The societal demand exists for communication graduates.

State of Minnesota

The job outlook is good in Minnesota for communication graduates. According to Occupations - Public Relations Specialists (2002), "In Minnesota, the employment for public relations specialists is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2008." In 2001 in the State of Minnesota 2,247 public relations specialists were employed, and the number is expected to rise to 3,390 by 2010, an increase of 23.4 percent.

Jobs in sales are also likely career paths for communication graduates. Because any baccalaureate degree program is essentially a "hunting license," students must learn to market themselves for employment. The advantage here, though, is that job advertisements often state "communication skills required"- and rarely state "anthropological skills required."

Communication graduates may also go on to graduate or professional programs-MA, MBA, or law school. The University of Minnesota system has prestigious graduate programs in communication. In addition, this region has seen the emergence of two new Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs in communication within the last four years. There are multiple opportunities for communication graduates.

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