Hernandez1

Karla Hernandez

Professor Andres

Counseling 20

30 May 2017

More than a Job

The start of this spring semester I came into my counseling class with the goal of

choosing a major or at least having an a major in mind. Throughout the course we did a series of

steps which are self reflection, interests and skill/abilities. This was not a simple process for me

because having so many interest it was hard on deciding on a career I picture myself doing for

the rest of my life. Throughout theses steps it helped me on the process of my career

development and career choice. I can tell myself I succeeded on my goal because even though

I'm still not fully committed to a major or a career choice my biggest interest at this moment is

becoming a communications professor. Even Though I haven't declared my major its a huge

interest on mine because the job meets all my interest for a job. Throughout this essay I will be

explaining the current statistics, occupational profile and my reasons for this career choice.

There are many factors in consideration when talking about current statistics of a job. The

ones I'm going to be explaing are the annual job salary, job outlook and education level required

to become a communications professor. The annual job salary is different for every professor,

there are many factors taken into consideration for example, professors who teach at a four year

university make a different salary than a professor who teaches at a community college.

According to the website called salary.com the average salary for a communication professor

is around eighty nine thousand in the year two thousand seventeen. This quote explains estimate

numbers, The median annual Professor - Communication salary is $89,372, as of April 27,
 Hernandez2

2017, with a range usually between $72,007-$139,870, however this can vary widely depending

on a variety of factors. As mentioned in the quote there was many factors being considered but

the research conducts an estimated number. As for a job outlook for a community college, I

interviewed the Senate President for communication studies at Valley College which is Jack

Smith. Jack Smith told me the job outlook varies in a community college because it all depends

on the number of students enrolled in the college and school funds. Conducting more research,

according to the California government website the job occupation for communications

professors in a community colleges is two hundred eighteen and for universities it is two

thousand six hundred and forty three for twenty seventeen. These numbers correlate to the area

of Los Angeles.The last job statistics is the education level required and according to United

States Department of Labor website a master's degree or a PhD degree is the minimal

requirement.

What is the study of communications and how do you teach it? What are important

factors when thinking of becoming a communications major? Communication is a series of

public relations, radio/television broadcasting, and journalism. Professors engaged in teaching of

combination of teaching and research through theses topics. According to O-net online website,

it informs you on the types of task, technologically skills, knowledge, and detailed work

activities a communication professor needs. One important factor I felt needed to be included is

the need to have lots of patience and being understanding towards the students especially when

teaching a social a course. Some basic skill components being described would be mastering

public speaking, time management, interpersonal communication and many more other

components the website explains. Technology required for this career choice is basic technology.

Meaning of basic technology is handling basic computer software. One work component I loved
 Hernandez3

was the freedom to make your own decisions and what the job values are. One important job

factors to me was having relationships on your work environment. The essential to this career

choice is having your master's degree and also having teaching experience. Also being very

comfortable public speaking in large crowds. These components were all on top of my list,

making self decisions and daily relationships in your work environment. Another factor is the

creativity aspect, you are teaching your own course you get to decide what you want to get out

of it and the lesson plans everyday. This is also something I value very much when considering a

career.

Self reflection was a huge part on what lead me to my career choice. I reevaluated what I

was I good at and my passions. In the beginning of this course I had an interest of being an

engineer because I was interested in math and science. After taking some courses I knew it

wasn't for me, as much I wanted to become an engineer I wasn't passionate about it. There was

not any negative noise from my friends or family but from myself. I didn't know what I wanted

to do, I didn't have a steady plan because I still haven't chosen a major which caused confusion

and frustration. I had a long talk with myself and asked what I was passionate about, it was

talking. I can talk for hours about anything and I like to think I'm good at it. All the personality

test I've taken say my best quality is the ability to work and interact with others. I remembering

crashing a communication course with Professor Jack and he was talking about his passion and

he gets paid to do what he loves everyday. I needed a job that it wasn't a nine to five job or being

stuck at a desk all day, I wanted to work in a creative environment where it wasn't going to be

unpredictable everyday. Doing more research on a communications professor the more I knew it

was something I would want to do. The only barriers I have is finding motivation to finishing

school and the financial aspect. There are many solutions to these barriers for example always
 Hernandez4

reminding myself the importance of higher education, the financial aspect can be fixed by to

applying for as many scholarships I can.

Throughout this course I discovered more about myself than I thought. Researching my

career choice made me think about my interest, my hobbies and my passions of life. Becoming a

communication professor would be the best suit for me because it would be something I'm

passionate about and I see myself doing for a long time. Also if I choose somewhere along my

path I don't want to become a professor, with a communication degree its really broad and the

major emphasizes human interaction which is my biggest interest.I feel that any career choice

you choose, you have to be passionate about it because your job is such a huge component of

your life. If you're not doing what you love you wont be happy, people say if you do what you

love you won't work a day in your life. Those are my ultimate goals, having a purpose on what I

spend half of my life doing.

 Hernandez5

Work Cited

Salary.com, Site Built By:. "Professor - Communication Salaries." Professor - Communication

Salaries by Education, Experience, Location and More - Salary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May
2017.

"Occupation Profile, California LaborMarketInfo." Employment Development Department. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 31 May 2017

"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 31 May
2017.

"25-1122.00 - Communications Teachers, Postsecondary." O*NET OnLine. N.p., n.d. Web. 31

May 2017.