MA for Communications Jobs? - And, What If a Recession Is Coming?

"Not ONE of my past employers cared [that I had the MA in Communications]. Nor has it helped me get a job. I think college degrees are becoming a thing of the past. I wouldn't really recommend a masters unless you're going in to get a PhD" - Response posted on Reddit Public Relations/Communications about adding on the credential of an MA in Communications, April 2024

This seems obvious. Just look at the growing number making a good living being influencers pitching products or enriching brands with no specialized public relations academic credential. 

Also, much of work in public relations is hands-on, like sales. Either you are good at it or you're not. If the former you could become hot. Agencies want you. Or you could launch your own shop. There is also the category - freelancer - which has become a way to earn a living. I doubt many of those freelancers around the globe on UpWork have MAs in Communications.

But this isn't new. Degree deflation, unless you have the few marketable ones, has been going on since I, a boomer, bulked up on them, all the way to the Ph.D. 

My generation, which came of age post-GI bill, believed that the more higher education the better. That was the myth. When on a job search, with the exception of the M.B.A. at the time (no long the situation), what landed boomers offers was either referrals from someone with power or proven-out experience.  It was through the former that I was hired for my first job in Communications. That was also how I got my second job. With the credentials for two jobs under my belt I received the offer for the third on my own.

If a recession is coming - Q1 2024 GDP growth was at a low of 1.6% - there could be the usual flight back to formal academic degree-granting programs. In my coaching I am recommending to parents that their children don't go for that option. However, certification and licensing can be marketable.

Limiting beliefs? Self-defeating? Stuck? Complimentary consultation with Coach Jane Genova (text/phone 203-468-8579, janegenova374@gmail.com) 



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