Career options for students planning to pursue Media Studies

Media Studies is one of the most popular fields of study for students after class XII. The media landscape has evolved significantly in the last few years with the advent of digital technology. However, this field is not merely about news reporting, editing or anchoring.  Media Studies covers a huge gamut of subjects including Print Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Videography, Photography, and Photojournalism among others. That is why career options for students pursuing Media Studies (UG, PG and Diploma course) are very wide. Here are the avenues they can explore after completing the course.  

Journalism 
Typically, the functions of a journalist include gathering news or information and putting it together in a reader or audience-friendly way. An aspiring journalist can expect jobs in media houses. If you want your youngster to be a good journalist, encourage him to follow these smart strategies:    

• Practise time management skills to meet deadlines. 
• Do not stick to only one niche, explore and learn as much as you can. 
• Read a lot to develop writing skills. 
• Focus on building verbal and non-verbal communications skills by actively participating in debates, presentations and other college activities. 
• Stay updated about current affairs. 

Advertising
An advertising expert is supposed to promote products of various experts successfully, increase their visibility and popularity. After pursuing Media Studies a student can look for job opportunities in advertising agencies. Here are some tips for your aspiring advertising guru:

• Sharpen your creative writing skills. 
• Improve your visualisation power by watching movies and advertisements of international standard.  
• Learn how to tell a story. 
• Develop an understanding of different forms of communication. 

Public Relations 
Broadly speaking, the role of a Public Relations Executive includes building positive relationships with stakeholders, media and the public to create an organisation’s brand image. Typically, the function entails developing PR strategies and campaigns preparing press releases, keynote speeches and promotional material. Mostly, large scale organisations have their own internal PR department while others outsource the role to external agencies. So, an aspiring Public relations Executive can explore job opportunities in both. Encourage your child to follow these suggestions to excel as a Public Relations Officer:  

• Build good relationships with media personnel. 
• Focus on developing writing skills  
• Learn the art of communicating with customers. 
• Be well-informed about the mission and vision of the company. 
• Pay proper attention to the details. 

Photojournalism 
Photojournalists are supposed to click images of important events, incidents and personalities to create a press story. Their role also includes photo editing. Newspapers, magazines and digital publishing houses usually hire them. In order to be a successful photojournalist, your child can follow these tips: 

• Develop good observation skills by paying attention to details. 
• Focus on the technical aspects of photography. 
• In order to tell a story through pictures, strengthen your visualisation skills. 
• Learn to use photo editing tools efficiently.