Survey shows communication graduates are mobile and in demand

Tuesday 15 January 2019
A Massey University survey of graduates from its Bachelor of Communication degree has found high employment rates in a diverse range of sectors.
Survey shows communication graduates are mobile and in demand - image1

A Massey University survey of graduates from the first 12 years of its Bachelor of Communication (BC) degree has found high employment rates in a diverse range of sectors, with graduates often moving quickly into managerial roles.

Thirty-three per cent of all BC graduates from 2006-2017 participated in the survey, and 91 per cent were in employment (84 per cent full-time and 7 per cent part-time).

The survey found the median salary for BC graduates in their first three years after degree completion was $51K-$60K. For graduates of four-plus years, the median salary range rose to $61K-$70K. Around 14 per cent earned over $100K.

Massey BC graduates also move frequently not only between roles, but between industries. More than 280 different job titles were reported in the survey, across every kind of industry. One year after completion, the average time spent in a position before moving on was just 0.7 years. But job tenure increased with years after completion, resulting in an average for the total sample of 1.5 years per position. 

The survey was conducted by Massey’s Student Survey and Evaluation Unit, in conjunction with staff from the Massey Business School and College of Humanities and Sciences.

The value of a communication degree

Professor Frank Sligo says the value of communication degrees is still not well understood. 

“Many people think communication graduates only enter specific media industry roles such as journalism or public relations. The survey confirmed this is not the case,” he says.

“In today’s communication-oriented world, every industry is using the skills of communication graduates to connect effectively with their staff, donors, volunteers, customers, communities and more.”

As a result, Massey’s BC graduates work in diverse industries, including the arts, tourism, health and tech start-ups.

“What they bring is their ability to help those industries be outward-facing and connected, and those are skills that every organisation needs,” Professor Sligo says.

“It’s also not the case in communication employment that mobility is seen as a lack of stability, as it may have been in decades past. On the contrary, our graduates are moving quickly between roles, accumulating experiences and flexibility as they go, and finding themselves rapidly in positions of managerial responsibility.”

Read the full report.

Find out more about the Bachelor of Communication.