Online Bachelors Degree in Communications

If you worked in marketing for a brewery that wanted to expand, how would you go about it? How about building an ale house, plopping it onto a boat and shipping it to London? This is what New Zealand's Speight's Brewery did in 2007, after a London-based New Zealander emailed the company to say how he longed for their beer. They dubbed it the Great Beer Delivery. Total cost? The price of a traditional television campaign.

Speight's could have responded to the email with a list of London stores and pubs that already sold its beer. But this would not have resulted in the 6.5 percent sales boost and eight marketing awards the Great Beer Delivery raked in.

Genius? Perhaps, if genius means using creativity as your guiding force. Bachelor's degrees in communications can help you fine-tune your creative guiding force.

Earning bachelor's degrees in communications

Bachelor's degrees in communications can teach you a lot, from how to work the political campaign trail to how to market beer. Some degree programs offer concentrations such as technical communications or international communications. Programs should cover the following areas of study:

1. Advertising
2. Business administration
3. Finance
4. Political science
5. Sociology
6. Technical and/or creative writing

You will also complete liberal arts courses, such as English, math and history, which offer language skills and analytical abilities that you can use in your career. Sometimes communications students are required to learn a foreign language and web design, too.

Communications career options

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects above average employment growth for public relations specialists of 22.5 percent between 2010 and 2020, with the best opportunities for those who hold bachelor's degrees in related fields. Higher paid positions such as PR managers typically require experience as well as the four-year degree. The BLS reports these 2010 median yearly salaries for related occupations:

1. Advertising and promotions managers: $83,890
2. Marketing managers: $112,800
3. Public relations managers: $91,810
4. Public relations specialists: $52,090
5. Sales managers: $98,530

Earning your bachelor's degree in communications could expand your career opportunities and allow you to get paid for your innovative thinking skills. Communications degrees can also be applied toward MBA graduate programs, which can help applicants who are seeking leadership roles. And with online education, returning to school does not have to turn your life upside-down. Flexible schedules and part-time courses are widely available.

If you worked in marketing for a brewery that wanted to expand, how would you go about it? How about building an ale house, plopping it onto a boat and shipping it to London? This is what New Zealand's Speight's Brewery did in 2007, after a London-based New Zealander emailed the company to say how he longed for their beer. They dubbed it the Great Beer Delivery. Total cost? The price of a traditional television campaign.

Speight's could have responded to the email with a list of London stores and pubs that already sold its beer. But this would not have resulted in the 6.5 percent sales boost and eight marketing awards the Great Beer Delivery raked in.

Genius? Perhaps, if genius means using creativity as your …