My Grad School Dilemmas

Ravenhpltc24

Hi everyone!

1. It's my senior year of college, I will graduate in the spring with a BS in Communications (Television/Radio, video production concentration), and a minor in Marketing. I had not considered attending graduate school at all until last year, since my degree is a "professional degree" (or so they tell me) and does not require additional certifications to land me a job. I've recently come to doubt this, a lot, as my passion for video production wanes.

2. The Marketing thing is new. I worry that I won't be accepted into an International Marketing graduate program with only a minor in the subject. I'm also wondering if a marketing degree will complement my TV/R degree like I've deluded myself into thinking it will. (Advertising? Entertainment marketing? Yeah?)

3. I really want to study in the UK. I'm American, and spent last fall in a study abroad program in London, which I absolutely loved. I really would like to live there for more time, and making the move fresh out of college seems like the best way to ensure that it happens.

I really would like some opinions on this. I can't seem to find much information on my chances of getting a spot in a grad program in a field unrelated to my major. Has anyone had this problem? Will an MSc in Marketing increase my chances of employment? Should I move to another country without the safety net of my friends and home university? Am I going for the right reasons?

Thank you for your help.

KrubixCube

I honestly don't know much about marketing though my sister landed a pretty good marketing job with just her undergraduate so of course, connections and networking can make all the difference. So in that regard it might be worth just working on those skills if you're only doing the grad school thing to land a better job, since at the end of the day it's a LOT of money to spend where you could find something through lots of e-mailing/phone calls/meetings instead.

As for moving abroad, I went to school in England for 3 years. The good news: it was awesome. The bad news: it's expensive. Not only is the dollar weak against the pound (oh so weak) but English universities did that stupid tuition hike so they've gotten a lot more expensive as well and you'll be hard pressed to find loans that you can get as a non-English. That said, I'm sure the loans exist but again, at that point you want to ask yourself is the debt you're about to incur on yourself worth what you're getting out of the degree.

As for the benefits of moving to another country itself...it's great! You'll make friends, you speak the language and it's a great way to expand your social and professional network in unexpected ways so I wouldn't worry about that.

Not sure if that helped any, but there's my two cents.