Majors and Minors and Jobs... Oh my!

In response to a comment, yes, I did start out here at the University of Missouri majoring in Journalism. And technically, I still am. Here's the deal.

The School of Journalism at the University of Missouri has six "sequences" that one can major in. They include:

print journalism
broadcast journalism
photojournalism
magazine journalism
convergence journalism
advertising

When I started out my college experience, I was undecided as to what sequence I would eventually apply to. At first, I thought that I might want to do broadcast journalism. Then I learned more about it and toured KMOU (the local TV station run by the School of Journalism that all broadcast journalism majors must work at) and I decided that it probably wasn't for me.

Then, I thought that print or magazine wouldn't be so bad. Then, I toured the Missourian (the local newspaper run by the School of Journalism) and decided that probably wasn't for me either, although I do think I kind of would have enjoyed being a sports reporter.

I thought briefly about convergence journalism, which is the combination of broadcast, print, and internet journalism. I did this because, well, I love the internet, so I thought that it would be an interesting field of study for me. Then I took News Writing and Reporting and had to do a big convergence project that was definitely not my style. So that didn't last long.

Finally, I had it down to photojournalism or advertising. I love photography, and you didn't have to have any real huge knowledge about photography before going into the photojournalism sequence, so I thought that would be fun. However, I also thought that certain aspects of advertising really appealed to me. I couldn't decide which to choose. My mom thought that I would be better suited for advertising, and that I would hopefully also make a bit more money with it, but I still wasn't sure.

I'm not really sure what really made up my mind for me, but I decided on Advertising. I start my sequence in the fall and I will be taking the first three advertising courses - Principles of Strategic Communications, Strategic Communications Research 1, and Strategic Design & Visuals 1. I'm excited but also a bit nervous. I think that I will be able to pick up on the technical aspects of advertising very easily, but I am slightly concerned with the creative side. Usually, if I can think of a really good idea for something, I have no problem implementing it. However, I guess the challenge for me is thinking of that great, innovative idea.

My minors are (and have always been) Political Science and Spanish. I chose Political Science, because, well, I love it. My obsession with it started in high school when I got the chance to take classes such as American Legal Issues and The Supreme Court (still the best class I have ever taken). Poli Sci is just really interesting to me for whatever reason. I've only gotten the chance to take two Poli Sci classes so far in college, but next semester I'll have The American Constitution and Civil Liberties. Sounds fun to me. =P

Spanish is my other minor. Why did I choose Spanish? I guess for a number of reasons. First of all, I took 5 years of Spanish in high school. I didn't feel like I could just throw that away. Secondly, I really love the language. I think I'm getting worse at it as time goes on because honestly I don't think that I've learned much more Spanish since I've come to college, but I'm still trying. I think if I had the chance to study abroad I would really advance in my speaking skills, but unfortunately, that isn't really an option for me. I've been to Mexico twice and each time I had a ball talking to Spanish speakers. They really love it when a "gringo" makes an honest attempt to converse in Spanish. I have two Spanish classes left before getting my minor - Hispanic Lit 1 (which is prose) and Hispanic Lit 2 (which is poetry and plays). These will probably be the most challenging Spanish class to date. I am taking Hispanic Lit 2 this next semester because it fit in my schedule and the other didn't. I am excited for it, but a little nervous. However, I think I have better comprehension skills than speaking skills, so maybe it won't be so bad.

My dream right now for when I graduate from college is to work in the Advertising/Public Relations department of the Arizona Diamondbacks. I love Arizona and I love baseball. I think that it would be pretty much the best job in the world. Plus, having a Spanish minor should come in handy living down in Arizona. I used to say that I wanted to work in the Advertising department of Target, but their headquarters are in Minneapolis, and I don't like the cold much. =P

I applied for an internship for this summer with my city's local minor league team (owned by the Chicago Cubs, my most hated team, but oh well) in their public relations department. However, the pay was only $400 a month and because I haven't completed at least one semester of my sequence yet, I wouldn't have been able to get the intership credit hours applied to my Journalism degree. So I decided not to pursue it further.

I'm still looking for a summer job, hopefully I find one soon. I may still have the insurance company I have worked for the past two years to fall back on, but I really can't count on that. I'm nervous about finding a job. Last year I ended up back at home without one, and called the insurance company and asked if they possibly had a spot for me. They said that they might, but I didn't hold out much hope. Then, Monday morning came and my boss called me. One of my coworker's mother had died and they needed someone to fill in for her. Well, they ended up needing help through the whole summer and I had a great job. I could more or less set my own hours, and I like pretty much everyone that I worked with. At the end of the summer, my boss and her boss even gave me a huge gift card to the mall. I was sooo surprised and thankful. They said that if they had known that I was going to work as many hours as I did, they would have given me a bigger raise, so the gift card was a way to make up for it. I don't know that I could ever get another job while I'm in college that treats me as well as the insurance company does.

So I'm torn. Do I stick with the insurance company that treats me like gold, but the work is tedious, boring, and totally unrelated to my major? Or do I pursue a job more closely related to my major, with possibly longer hours, less pay, and difficult coworkers? We'll see I guess.