In today’s job climate it is natural for students to worry if their intended degree will land them a job or not. And the worrying is justified, considering more than half of 22-year-old college graduates who found a job in the last three years were in a position not requiring a degree according to a labor economist for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Knowing all of this, however, the market is difficult for anyone seeking a post-grad career, not just one specific major.

Although I am now seeking a master’s degree in political science, I earned my bachelor’s degree in mass communication and it has helped me tremendously in graduate school. However, one of these fields tends to land me in more scrutiny than the other when someone asks what I study.

For some bizarre reason, there are people out there who don’t think a communication degree is a “real” degree. I find this peculiar because I went through four years of classes and even completed a rigorous capstone course, like many other majors out there.

Communication is such a broad spectrum, and the Mass Communication Department at MSU covers advertising, broadcasting, graphic design, journalism and public relations just to name a few. But the best part is communication degrees offer endless options for jobs, so even if our department doesn’t offer courses on something else I would like to do, communication is easily adaptable.

When applying for jobs we often begin our search in the most obvious places, but mass communication teaches us that our skills are valuable to any company. Looking at job listings for a wide range of companies, from retailers to video game producers, almost all of them have an opening for employees with communication or journalism experience.

Some of my former colleagues have since gone on to run successful lifestyle blogs, while others are in law school and some even manage advertising campaigns for high profile clients. But if that doesn’t sound like a “real” job to you, we also have the people who bring us the news, whether they be on the local or national circuit. These individuals are the producers, camera men and women, anchors, editors and writers. And of course there is radio, as well. There are so many ways to communicate!

A colleague of mine, Christian Buckler graduated from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication with a major in Strategic Communication. Buckler said he picked the major because he saw endless opportunities after graduation, as classmates of his were looking at graduate school, law school, entrepreneurship, journalism jobs, marketing jobs and work in public relations.

“I currently work in a digital ad agency, splitting my time between direct client/partner communication and implementing strategies through industry tools. I have a good mix between written and oral communication and data-driven optimization,” Buckler said. “My background in communication has helped me frame client communication in a productive direction in several scenarios.”

Ciara Sims, a 2013 Mass Communication major from MSU said, “I develop and execute social media marketing campaigns for clients within the fashion industry. My degree in Communication helped me understand different ways to utilize both digital and print media into my business.”

For me, choosing to be a mass communication major was about more than discussion classes or presentations (both things I enjoyed heavily.) It was about conveying a message across various mediums. It was about the people. Communication majors work just as hard as any other major, and because of our proficiencies, we are generally well rounded, which at the end of the day is what most employers seek.

At the presidential candidate forums, for example, there was a lot of talk about the value of attending a liberal arts college. Engineers who appreciate art, understand history and can hold a decent conversation on something that is not math-related will be ahead of their peers by being well-rounded.

My hope for my colleagues—and every college student—is that we pursue careers we are passionate about, and we don’t criticize others for having different passions than ours, however hirable we perceive their degree choice to be.

Jasmine Jones is a political science graduate student.