Media Studies Majors: Salary and Career Facts

<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Degree Required</b> </td><td> Bachelor's degree</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Education Field of Study</b> </td><td> Film, media production, broadcasting production</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Key Skills</b></td><td> Creativity, physical stamina, thinking outside the box, attention to detail</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Job Growth (2020-2030)</b></td><td> 9% (<i>writers and authors</i>); 10% (<i>advertising and promotions managers</i>); 24% (<i>producers and directors</i>)*</td></tr> <tr><td><b>Average Salary (2020)</b></td><td> $78,680 (<i>writers and authors</i>); $147,560 (<i>advertising and promotion managers</i>); $96,690 (<i>producers and directors</i>)*</td></tr> </table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p><h3 id="section---WhatIsAMediaStudiesMajor">What is a Media Studies Major?</h3><p>A media studies major is a 4-year degree that teaches you to critically examine all types of media - including film, television, advertising, journalism and digital media - to understand how it impacts, and is impacted by, society. Media studies degree programs can typically be found in the form of a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies or a Bachelor of Science in Media Studies. Bachelor of Science programs are typically more career-oriented and offer more digital media technology courses than Bachelor of Arts programs. Generally, all programs require courses in: </p><ul><li>Communication theory </li><li>Visual communication </li><li>History of media </li><li>Critical writing </li><li>Media and culture </li></ul><h3 id="section---ShouldIPursueAMasterSInMediaStudies">Should I Pursue a Master's in Media Studies?</h3><p>A master's in media studies can help you refine your research, critical analysis, and communication skills in the field. Students can educate themselves on emerging technologies and trends that are currently re-shaping the landscape of the media industry, granting them a competitive edge when seeking employment. These programs may offer internship opportunities or culminate in a thesis project. </p><h3 id="section---WhatKindOfCommunicationAndMediaStudiesJobsCanIGet">What Kind of Communication and Media Studies Jobs Can I Get?</h3><p>You can seek a variety of jobs with a media studies degree. If you're a writer or critical thinker, you could pursue film and media studies jobs - such as a film or television critic. This profession involves writing media reviews for a newspapers or magazines; possibly reporting their views on television and radio broadcasts. </p><p>A media studies major is one way to break into the television and film business as a writer, director or producer. Writers who work directly for television and film are called screenwriters or scriptwriters and can be hired as employees or independent contractors. As a screenwriter, you might write for news or entertainment programs or write your own movie. As a director, you would provide the creative vision for a movie and make decisions on how it should be filmed and edited. If you have good business skills and want to work in film or television, a career as a producer, the chief executive of a film or TV show, might be the right job for you. </p><p>Understanding the media and how it influences people is a skill needed in the advertising industry. If you are interested in finding new ways to sell a product through different media, than advertising research might be the right fit for you. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), advertising is a competitive field (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). If you plan on an advertising career path, you may want to take advantage of internship opportunities to learn the business before graduating from a media studies program. </p><h3 id="section---HowMuchCouldMyMediaStudiesSalaryBe">How Much Could My Media Studies Salary Be?</h3><p>Your media arts degree salary could be as varied as the number of jobs available to media studies majors. A film studies salary, for example, can differ: some positions, such as film producers, don't have set salaries, but make a percentage of a movie's profits. Other positions, such as writers, make a one-time sum for selling a script. </p><p>Writers in independent artists, writers, and performers industries made a median salary of $107,110 in 2020, as reported by the BLS. Managers in advertising, public relations, and related services made $164,880, and producers and directors in radio and television broadcasting made a median wage of $80,390 during the same year. Salaries also vary depending on your location and level of experience. </p><h3 id="section---WhatElseCanYouDoWithAMediaStudiesMajor">What Else Can You Do with A Media Studies Major?</h3><p>Other alternative careers graduates can pursue include camera operators, sound or broadcast engineers and technicians. These positions need specialized training after high school or a bachelor's degree. Some of them, depending on the region, require membership in a union. These careers could be sound and film editors, broadcast analysts or on-air and voiceover announcers for programs like cartoons or commercials. These fields are all part of the entertainment and sales family and require a lot of creativity and originality.</p>