I know that advertising and public relations kind of fall under marketing, so do you think it would be unnessacary or not to minor in either? what are the best cities to live in to follow careers in any of these?
Would it be worthwhile to major in marketing and minor in advertising or public relations?
I know that advertising and public relations kind of fall under marketing, so do you think it would be unnessacary or not to minor in either? what are the best cities to live in to follow careers in any of these?
3 Responses
January 19th, 2010 at 2:41 am
since advertising and public relations fall under marketing, i think it would be unnecessary to minor in either. and as for the best cities to follow careers in any of these careers, i would suggest new york or quebec or probably tokyo
January 21st, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Probably not a good major or minor. To be successful in marketing you will need an MBA, and it will be that Masters degree that carries you. You just need to be a strong enough student to get into a good school. An advertising degree will just teach you in four years what you will learn in your first six months in a job.
Study what is interesting to you. If it is communications, study communications. If art, study art. Ad agencies like a diverse mix of education so that ideas can be generated.
January 22nd, 2010 at 6:28 pm
If you’re certain you want to work in this field, get a business degree with a concentration in marketing. Then work a few years, and go back and get your MBA, or work toward your graduate degree part-time. You can take public relations and communications courses, but I believe you will find that a business degree on your resume will command a higher salary (and more respect) than a communications degree. It’s not that the communications degree isn’t useful or valid–it’s just not perceived in the business world as heavy-hitting. That may not be fair, but it’s the perception. In business, it’s the people in marketing who tend to rise to top executive positions, not public relations staff. So, something to think about.
It used to be that if you were going into the public relations field, standard advice was to get a journalism degree and work for a publication first (to build experience and media contacts), then work for an agency, etc. But that was the old days. I believe now, the more online marketing experience you have, the better your career prospects.
As for cities, it depends on your interests. Do you want to work for a public relations or advertising agency, nonprofit organization, the government, or the corporate communications department of a large business? If you want to work for the government, in public affairs, in legislative affairs, lobbying, etc. or for an agency dealing with these kinds of clients (esp. health, telecom, utility industries etc.), then pick D.C. If you want to work in entertainment PR, Los Angeles. If you’re interested in publishing or working on consumer packaged goods accounts, international relations, etc., New York or a NYC PR agency. You might want to head to Chicago if you’re interested in advertising. But there are opportunities everywhere–Richmond, Atlanta, the midwest. Really depends on what you want to do. Follow your dream.