Communications: a highly valued skill in many industries

Often, individuals who say they are doing a degree in communications or media studies are met with snorts of derision and remarks about how “you’ll never get a job with that”.

But if there is one thing that unites people from all over the world it is communication, which helps individuals to build relationships by allowing us to share our experiences and needs, and helps us connect to others.

According to Madeline Boughton, professor of public relations at Dublin City University, the public perception of communication studies has drastically changed over the past 10 or 15 years, with the importance of the skill really coming to the fore during the pandemic.

“I think it has radically changed. I mean, you could see it very much during Covid, in terms of the value of communication, and how it really came front and centre in terms of recognising the importance of it, both in terms of the sort of strategic use of communications as well as the practical use of communication,” she said.

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‘You’re now seeing recruitment of communication specialists working within the public sector, and adding a very much valued skill base’

—  Madeline Boughton, professor of public relations at DCU

“The other way that you can see how it’s shifted, I suppose, is even across the Government or public sector. You’re now seeing recruitment of communication specialists working within the public sector, and adding a very much valued skill base, that understanding of, you know, how to communicate to a whole range of very diverse objectives, and the skills that are required to be able to achieve those objectives.”

The advent of social media has also altered the public’s perception of communications, Prof Boughton said.

“People are much more tuned to it now than perhaps they might have been before because communications are on our phones. We’re sort of surrounded by the media,” she said.

“The media is sort of embedded so much as part of our lives today that I think there’s a huge recognition of the power of it, but also being able to let it work for us as opposed to against us, I think that’s invaluable.”

Job opportunities

While this emerging technological world means some areas of media are changing, such as newspapers transferring to digital-first news operations, it also means there are new job opportunities that didn’t exist previously such as social media executives and content creators.

There are a variety of higher education institutions that offer courses in this field, though the points requirements depend on the institution in which you choose to study.

Journalism at DCU, for example, required 432 points last year, while its communication studies course required 412 points and its multimedia course required 440 points.

[ Career guide: Media and journalism ]

In TU Dublin, there is a course in journalism that was 377 points last year, as well as a media production and digital arts course for 368 points.

Under the course, students undertake project work that includes filmmaking, music videos, 2D and 3D animations, motion design, graphic design and photographic portfolios.

Individuals who undertake degrees in communications learn a variety of transferable skills, not just clear communication but group work, critical thinking and leadership

The CAO entry points for journalism in the University of Galway were 414 last year. The university also offers a relatively new course called global media, which introduces students to a range of areas such as interactive web media, data, media production, journalism and film studies.

It also focuses on the changing global media environment and an insight into the role of the media in a globalised world.

Individuals who undertake degrees in communications learn a variety of transferable skills, not just clear communication but group work, critical thinking and leadership. According to Prof Boughton, many of these skills can be applied to any area of study or work.

‘Practical skills’

“There’s a range of practical skills around making content, writing content, understanding how the practicalities of communications, be that in terms of, you know, if it’s public relations, it’s about how to communicate to develop a campaign, in journalism, it’s about how news media works,” she said.

“There are also other skills such as an understanding of people, and how to communicate with people. The sort of practical skills of people skills really, as much as anything else. I think there’s also an element of skill that calls for creativity.”

Graduates from communications degrees would be lower earners on average, according to research from the Higher Education Authority.

[ Popular graduate programmes ]

According to website Payscale.com, the average salary for a communications officer in Ireland is €32,741, with journalists also earning an average of around €32,000 per year. However, as the field does provide that opportunity for creativity or passion, many graduates greatly enjoy the work they do.

While a course in journalism seems sector-specific, Prof Boughton said because of the versatile skills picked up throughout the degree, graduates are always in demand, even in areas outside of journalism or media.

Some of you might come into journalism thinking I’m not sure I want to be a journalist in the end. That’s okay, because the skills that you learn in terms of understanding media and how media is consumed and created are incredibly valuable

—  Prof Madeline Boughton

“You’ve got a lot of the graduates of the BA journalism working in media at the moment, but also graduates of journalism will also find themselves in high demand in terms of either in-house content creators, or very often communications and public relations,” she said.

“So even though, you know, some of you might come into journalism thinking I’m not sure I want to be a journalist in the end, that’s okay because the skills that you learn in terms of understanding media and how media is consumed and created are incredibly valuable.”

So who would be good at undertaking courses in these fields? According to Prof Boughton, an inherent curiosity is key to success in this area.

‘Curiosity and passion’

“The key things that we look for in students is a curiosity about the world, a curiosity about people, and a passion about wanting to tell stories or a passion about understanding the world.”

For students, part of the appeal is being able to make a career out of things they enjoy or about which they are passionate.

“We find people coming into, for example, the journalism courses say, ‘Well, I’m really interested in sports’, for example,” she added.

“And even though that might be a passion for them, what they will learn in journalism is a much broader range of skills around not just how they apply that but also how the news media works and how they might develop the skills to fit into that world.”