Rachel, need I go back to school for media?
The writer, now in PR, wants to jump careers and become a media planner
February 5, 2016
Dear Rachel,
I’ve worked in public relations for nearly a decade. I’ve decided I’m interested in transitioning to a career in media as a planner. Do I need to go back to school? What sort of qualities and experience should I be emphasizing on my resume to catch people’s eye? Sign me Transitioning in Chicago
Dear Transitioning,
There is a decent argument for going back to school for media, and it’s a better argument now than a decade ago.
For one—and this is just my sense of things—I think the media programs out there are much better these days. As media has exploded, there’s been an explosion of interest in media as a discipline, if not quite a science.
For another, in a good program you can cover a lot of ground in a very short period of time, giving you bedrock of knowledge and insight that might take years to acquire on the job.
That means you go to your first day on the job as a planner with a huge advantage over other newbies. You’ll get noticed sooner and ideally promoted sooner, meaning faster pay increases, which is a big deal in media planning, a field in which starting salaries are notoriously low.
Now to the arguments against.
Do you really want to spend the time and money—and I presume accumulate loads of debt—to go back to school? And at the age of 30 or so?
I don’t think I would.
Another argument is that you have accumulated valuable skill sets and experience in a related field. You’ve dealt with clients, which is a big plus.
You know huge amounts about how media works, giving you a broad worldview. You understand team work and the importance of getting the work done and out the door on time.
But I think the best argument against going back to school is that media is a fast-moving, ever-fluid business in which one is constantly challenged to learn new things. In a sense, everyone working in media these days is back in school, even if it’s not in a classroom.
One’s value is no longer so much in what you know as in how fast you learn.
School is structured, by definition. It has to be. Media can’t be structured. It moves too quickly.
Me? I’d save the money and jump in feet first.
Related News
‘American Idol’ ends its run on a sweet note
The verdict on the new shows: Not too bad
Miami: No. 3 Hispanic market is heating up
Mashable chops in shift away from real news
Rachel, talk to me about overtime
Weekend TV: Jordan Spieth defends his title
Just imagine this: An AOL Verizon Yahoo mashup
Cable overnights: A strong night for repeats
During commutes, people spin the radio dial a lot
Fox surges Wednesday with penultimate ‘Idol’
Programming blog: What’s canceled and renewed
Think papers’ websites are gaining? Think again.
The top English-language shows with Hispanics
People
- Erin Hauswirth becomes associate director of strategy at Giant Spoon
- Omar Quiñones becomes group strategy director at Anomaly
- Sergei Kuharsky becomes SVP at BBC Worldwide North America
- Amy Marks rises to head of ad sales marketing at Bloomberg
- Tyler Rogoway becomes a writer at TheDrive.com
- Alex Hagon becomes an editor at PS260
- Adam Carolla hosting interactive talk show on Spike TV
- Brad Garrett guesting on NBC's 'Law & Order: SVU'
This week’s broadcast ratings
This week’s cable ratings
This week’s top-rated movies, songs and books
This week’s daypart ratings
This month’s new media traffic data
This week’s younger viewer ratings
Media sales opening in Las Vegas
Opening for a freelance media strategist
Media director opening in Jacksonville
Opening in New York for digital planners/buyers
Media sales coordinator job in New York