Media, Communications and Cultural Studies future careers

What skills will I gain from a Media, Communications and Cultural Studies degree?

You will develop a variety of skills that are useful in many employment areas including:

• Critical analysis
• Research
• A broad commercial and cultural awareness of the media and creative industries
• Teamwork
• The development of creative work in writing, audiovisual or other electronic media
• A flexible, creative and independent approach to tasks, the ability to work to a brief and meet deadlines
• Transferable skills within social and critical theory, aesthetics and performance, communication and multimedia
• Ethnography skills
• A critical appreciation of current debates in the media, the culture industries and the wider contemporary cultural environment

What kinds of industries do Media, Communications and Cultural Studies graduates work in?

Advertising, marketing and PR

Advertising is a creative and fast-paced industry and is now globally big business. BBH London and JWT London are two of the major players in the UK.

Marketing professionals generally create, manage and enhance brands in consumer goods and service. Marketing opportunities can be found in most large organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Entry-level positions and graduate schemes are particularly numerous in retail, manufacturing, energy, banking, finance and the pharmaceutical industry.

Public relations (PR) has grown in importance as a marketing tool and is now considered a critical component of the marketing mix. Roles exist in-house or in consultancies/agencies. Some consultancies specialise in one sector, eg healthcare or IT. Bell Pottinger Group and Brunswick are two of the top 10 PR agencies.

Media, publishing and creative industries

Many graduates enter the creative and cultural industries. This could be in areas as diverse as film, publishing, design and visual arts.

In the UK, the media sector employs around 550,000 people and encompasses opportunities from animation, computer games and film production to interactive media, radio and television. In journalism, there are three broad areas: broadcast, magazine and newspaper. Broadcast journalists are responsible for investigating, gathering and reporting on news and current affairs presented through news bulletins, documentaries and other factual programmes for radio, television and online broadcast.

The biggest broadcast TV stations are the BBC and Sky, and the BBC dominates the airwaves with 10 distinct national radio channels. The publishing industry in the UK is vast, producing printed and digital information for individuals and businesses. Bertelsmann Media Group, Pearson PLC and Hodder & Stoughton are some of the major players

Charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

A passion for people and improving the world takes many of our graduates into this sector. Within charities and NGOs there are many roles from PR and communications, to fundraising, administration and research. There are also more hands-on roles managing projects in the field or working with communities/disadvantaged groups to train, empower or support.

These organisations will be particularly interested in your communication skills especially in terms of getting their messages out.

Central and local government

The Civil Service Fast-Stream fast-tracks graduates into policy roles. If you fancy local government there is a similar scheme called the National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP).

Social research organisations and think tanks

The biggest employer is the Government Social Research Profession (GSR) where you could be working on anything from community cohesion to gender equality. There are other organisations in this field of work ranging from university-based research institutes and think tanks to consultancies with one or two self-employed individuals.

Where do Goldsmiths Media, Communications and Cultural Studies graduates work?

Our graduates go on to work in a huge variety of industries and many of our graduates now work as translators, curators, writers, researchers, editors and web designers. Some of our recent graduates now work for companies as diverse as McCann Advertising Agency, Shazam, Greenpeace and The Purple Agency.