Why Easy Majors Aren't A Joke

As a Media Studies and Public Relations major , I’m often told that I chose an easy route. My work gets criticized because my class discussions revolve around pop culture and social media, and sometimes, 25% of my grade is designing a magazine cover. It’s frustrating and discouraging to continuously be told the major I'm devoting four years to is easy or trivial. In order to destigmatize “easy” majors, I asked four students to recount the comments that bother them the most, and how they respond with their heads high.

Maddie Sheinker – PR Major, University of South Carolina

“Your Major Is So Easy” - “I had this one class called Writing for Public Relations and it was literally SO hard. My teacher was so tough on us and would grade our writing so harshly. When I would come home with a bad grade on one of the assignments, I would complain about how hard the class was to my roommates and every time they would ask, “I don’t get why your teacher is grading you so harshly like it’s just a communications class.”

“Anyone Can Do What You Do” - “In order to succeed at PR, you need to be confident and persistent to get what you want. You also have to be strategic and creative. Journalists have thousands of options of stories to choose from that are being sent to them from public relations people at all times. In order for them to pick yours, you have to strategize to find a creative way to show or write your story.”

“As long as you realize the importance of the work you’re doing, that’s all that matters. You don’t need to prove that to anyone and shouldn’t focus on what other people think of what you’re doing. Focus on your work, become successful and show them they were wrong through your results.”

Dylan Barron – Spanish Major, Skidmore University

“Your Classes Are So Stress Free” - “My classes require me to complete many readings, analyze stories or novels, discuss these works, and write essays, all in Spanish. Because of this, my readings will often take me at least twice as long as they would in English, especially when I am reading an essay written in Spanish from hundreds of years ago.”

“Everyone had to have chosen their major for a reason, and if that is something you’re truly passionate about, then you will be much more successful not only throughout your studies, but also when entering the job market, than someone whose chose a major simply because they thought it was the practical thing to do.”

Ariana Nathani – Fine Arts Major, Carnegie Melon University

Your Major Isn’t Important - “If something is interesting enough to someone that they want to spend 4 years of their lives studying it- then it is important. That goes for everything. Specifically for art though? People take art for granted- it is so ingrained in our society but is looked down upon as a career option at the same time. If you discourage people from making art because it isn’t a “viable career path” then who is going to make it?”

All You Do Is Projects - “One project I worked on was in an advanced 3D animation class. I spent nearly an entire semester on one part of one project. I was exploring facial motion capture all while teaching myself how to animate, rig, compile, render, etc. Art is so much more than painting and drawing (although those are equally as tough) everything requires time, skill, iteration, patience, and talent!”

“Live your truth - you’re really only going to succeed in the things you care about the most! If you are a great and dedicated artist, you will find a way to make a living and be happy in your life rather than being a bad engineer/doctor/lawyer/etc.”

Kat M. – Communications Major, TCNJ

Your Major Won’t Get You A Job - “Com is definitely an important field of study specifically in this day and age with social media as a way to reach hundreds of thousands of people. If you search what kinds of jobs you can get with a communications degree, you’ll see they range from public health workers, marketers, and film editors. Specializing in communications can give tons of opportunities to basically do anything you want.”

“Some people enjoy studying numbers or the human body or different cultures or making robots but personally, learning more about the ways people interact with each other on a one on one and a global scale is most interesting to me… Every major is valid in college, because college is where you figure out what you want to do with your life.”