Hallooo everyone..my post this time is sharing about my previous study life at University. You guys might wondering with the title,don't you?,hahaha..actually this post is special for those intend to further study in communication. I prefer to talk about it because my study background was in Communication back then. Well,previously I have studied at Universiti Utara Malaysia majoring in communication and minor in development.So for those who has chosen to study in communication in their UPU, it is time for you guys to get a big picture what is COMMUNICATION all about, what to study in this course, what careers to be expected and so on.
So,if you are receiving an offer to study in communication, no matter which university you would be in, there is a lot to tell about it. When I was applying university through UPU system, I was thinking that Communication is only about media (from my randomly reading) and you are expected to be a 'Journalist' after your graduation.Still, I did not even know much what I would be in the future by doing Communication programme. People also asked me what I would be when I graduate? the answer was 'Journalist!' because this is the only word that acrossed in my mind at that time. Most of my friends also thought that they would become a journalist one day. What a pity to us that lacked of idea what communication was about..
Basically, COMMUNICATION is a course that mostly trained you on how you are going to present yourself in Public but academically it has many parts or specialization. Apart of Communication studies is a mass media which is also known as a mass communication(MassComm.). While in Masscomm you can find that the specialization are Journalism,broadcasting,Public Relation and so on. Other than that, Communication is not just about media but also related to management where you can find there is specialization in development, organization and corporate communication. I think you all can see that undeniable communication mostly related to media.Which is confirm!..
I bet at the end of my posting, you will find that by doing Communication, you are not just a 'Journalist' but beyond than that. Since I was a graduate from UUM,let me tell about Communication Programme at this university. At UUM, communication study is conducted under Faculty of communication and modern language,now it has been united under College of Arts and Sciences. Since I was in Communication programme, my majoring was indeed in communication. I did not entitle to go into specialization for the first three semesters.Opss..before that, to let you know,duration for Communication Programme is 3 Years and 6 Semesters. That was during my study from first semester 2007/2008 till second semester 2009/2010. But I do not know how the duration programme now because I heard UUM will make it to 4 years.
Alright, let us proceed with what I had learnt in my first semester. The basic or fundamental of Communication is you must know about Communication theory and this subject is compulsory. That time,my lecturer was Dr.Syed Abdul Rahman but now he has passed away. I really shocked when this news had been informed to me. It was really sweet when having this course with him. Eventhough he strict but his speeches delivery when teaching are so funny.It full of humours that can make you to understand the subject.If not, you will get bored because this subject is about theories that generated by Communication scholars. You even have no idea what you are learning about since you are not familiar with Communication terms. No matter what the contents in this subject are useful for you to apply it on the other within communication subjects.
Other than this subject, I also learned the subjects such as Introduction to Communication and Information Communication Technology(ICT) and Society. For the Introduction to Communication subject,the contents are quite similar to the Communication theory but the syllabus a bit different, and that time I had learnt it with Dr.Hassan.Anyways, as a university students, you are bear in mind to be independent and you must find your own resources at Library to complete your assignments and prepare for presentation. You will work individually and also in group for every assignments that you are assigned to. This was what I had in my first semester as a Communication student. My study continuing until my fourth semester when I was starting to do specialization.
At UUM, there is three specializations are offered for Communication programme and another two from other programme. So students are freely to choose to specialize whether in Communication Development, Communication Organization and Technology Communication or specialization from other programme in Tourism and Public Management(if I'm not mistaken). In this case, I had chosen to specialize in Communication Development.Why?
As you have been notified on the above, I have thought that I would be a 'Journalist' when I graduate, so the encouragement of this thinking plus the courses that I have gone through within the last three semesters with various lecturers built my interests to be a 'Journalist'. I do not know I might end up as a Journalist one day and it would be my career. Since in this specialization has a subject of Development Journalism, I chose to be in it.
There are many subjects that I have learned and the subject that I love the most is Public Relation conducted by En.Mohamad Noor Salehuddin. That time, I lead a Public Relation project which my group decided to do a motivation programme for school students who were expecting for SPM that year. This subject trained us practically how to deal or liaise with media by inviting them to cover a news for our project. We also had to liaise with many parties such as finding sponsorhip and so on to win this project. At last you know what my project covered and established by Sinar Harian.I got an 'A-' for this course. At least I experienced something than nothing,hehehe...
My study went away and during waiting for final semester result, I received an interview at Karangkraf Shah Alam. I felt so excited because I attended an interview for Cadet Journalist and it would be a good start for me. I had been interviewed by five Editors represented their magazines. I will not tell you the interview processes but I can tell you I had been offered for the position as a cadet journalist for 'Media Hiburan'. The editor was a quite famous person at Karangkraf was Meen Tahrin. I really did not expect that I would be a Journalist one day. But, how unlucky I was, I had to pass up the offer due to certain reason that makes me not ready for this career. After receiving and passed my final semester, I had my convocation and awarded with the degree of Bachelor Of Communication with honours by UUM. After that, I started looking for a job.
Time goes by, I am now a Senior Executive in a bank. I really did not expect that I am a banker now. How can I expect this? as far as I know, for those doing accountancy and business only can join banking sector. But I was wrong, in choosing career you are on what you want to be and how good your communication skills. It is not on what degree you are in. Furthermore, in banking also has a department for Communication graduates which is Public Affair Division. In this department you are assigned as a Public Relation Officer or Corporate Communication Officer. Nowadays, all companies need a PR or Corporate Communication to expand their organisations. I am happy with my job now but I wish I can achieve my ambition one day to be a Lecturer in Communication. As a communication student, you are ought to ensure yourself to be able to command English language. Even me this is my first time am trying to write fully in English. My English not really good but I believe I will be keep improving it.
So, from my story, I can conclude that eventhough you are a Communication students, you are not expected only to be a journalist but you can go in many industries. You can be a teacher, Lecturer, PR Officer,Corporate Communication Officer,Marketing Executives,Banker,Manager and so on. In government sector you can be a 'Pegawai Penerangan Grade S41'. So now you have a choice to choose what you wanna be by doing this Communication Programme. You can answer precisely when people asking you what you would be in the future by doing this programme. I really hope this give you a picture of what is Communication programme all about. If you guys have any idea about this post, I am pleased if you would like to leave a comment.Thank You..
