My friends and I all joke that we’re essentially unemployable because we attend a liberal arts school, but there might be some degrees that will be more wonkily received by the job market than a Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies major.
As I scroll through my college’s career database, searching for internships for the summer, I am stunned by how many of the job descriptions include some variation of the phrase “social media savvy”. Recently, I posted about how social media could be used as a tool of political activism. We all understand the significance of Twitter in assisting the organization of a wide range of protests in the Middle East over the past few years. However, upon reading about several universities who have begun to offer M.B.A programs in Social Media, I have to admit I was slightly unnerved. Social Media plays an important role in people’s lives, and I understand the desire of businesses to market their products via Facebook and Twitter – I’m going to link this post to both upon it’s completion. However, dedicating an entire degree to learning how to use it seems, well, unnecessary. I don’t think there’s any marketing strategy pertaining specifically to Facebook, or believe that learning to advertise a product in 140 characters or less really needs an entire class devoted to it. And as Myspace has proven, Social Media sites come and go. Who’s to say that Facebook and Twitter might follow its example in a few years? Ultimately, graduate school is a place to learn or hone skills that will be valuable for the rest of your life, hopefully in whatever career field you decide to join. Use of Social Media is significant, and perhaps worthy of posting on a resume, but you don’t need a degree in it.
