Q. I’m a senior business major and I think I made a career goal mistake. After sharing an apartment with two PR majors this summer, I know this is what I’d like to do. But is it too late or should I go on to graduate school and focus on PR there? -TD
A. Don’t sweat. Surveys show that most people switch jobs and career goals at least seven times during their lives. Here’s what I’d recommend in your case: If it’s not too late to drop-and-add courses, look at your current class load and tweak it in order to pick up one or two PR classes for the remainder of this semester. Then focus next semester’s electives on PR courses with the goal of earning a minor in PR or communications. Your business major combined with a PR minor will make a powerful resume–especially if you’re able to add some quality PR-related volunteer and/or internship experience.
Upon graduation, you can target agencies that have substantial corporate and financial practices. They normally seek out candidates who understand business. Once you get some experience and identify the areas of PR that most interest you, you can return to graduate school — often on your employer’s dime.
I’m a senior PR major with a general business minor and a second minor in advertising & promotion. I think having a business major and PR minor would be fantastic for you TD. Over the years, I’ve spread out my classes so that I could be in 1-2 communication classes, a marketing class, and a business course each semester. It’s amazing how the major and minors have correlated. I don’t know if I could have picked a better combination for my education. Best of luck!