Communication & Media Studies

• Studying: 7%
• Employed in graduate job: 37%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 39%
• Unemployed: 14%

• Average graduate salary: £17,275
• Average non-graduate salary: £14,213

Degrees in media studies cover a broad range of subjects from the highly practical to the theoretical. You can develop a variety of skills that are extremely useful in many employment areas. Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.

View the best universities for communication & media studies degrees.

Read Cathy's story about how an internship led to a job after her studies.

Prospects

Media graduates work in a wide range of professions, and success often depends on the motivation and determination of the graduate. If you choose to follow a media/communications career, be mindful that every career path is different. What works for one person may not work for someone else.

A 2010 HESA survey of 2009 graduates indicates that six months after graduation, 65% of media studies graduates were in full or part-time employment. Of these, 30% found jobs as retail, catering, waiting and bar staff, 15% were in arts, design, culture and sports professions, about 13% had gone into other clerical and secretarial occupations, and 7% were in marketing, sales, and advertising professions.

Where are the jobs?

Various employers from different sectors employ media studies graduates. These employers include:

• PR consultancies;
• communications agencies;
• marketing organisations;
• media companies;
• local government;
• the Civil Service;
• further and higher education institutions such as colleges and universities.

Jobs directly related to your degree

There is a diverse range of jobs related to communication and media studies, however it is a very competitive field to work in so you may wish to consider some work experience alongside your studies:

• Programme researcher, broadcasting/film/video
• Public relations officer
• Media planner
• Multimedia specialist
• Runner, broadcasting/film/video
• Television/film/video producer

Jobs where your degree would be useful

The relevance of some of these jobs may depend upon the type of modules or course you have studied. 

• Advertising account executive
• Advertising copywriter
• Broadcast presenter
• Broadcast journalist
• Information officer
• Magazine journalist
• Market researcher
• Newspaper journalist
• Writer

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.