Public relations - a "hot" job, "huge" salary

Many students dream of becoming a professional event organizer; a strategic advisor for CEOs and high-ranking politicians; a leading branding expert; the creator of world-famous brands, etc., but few of them know that studying Public Relations (abbreviated as PR in English) will help them turn those dreams into reality.

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This year's admission season, both parents and students are exhausted with the education sector's innovation plan. The exam format may change, but the desire to find an ideal job after graduation never changes in every parent and student. Recently, PR has become a "hot" industry because the demand for human resources in this field is very high while the ability of society to meet it is still too little. PR has just appeared in Vietnam, the Academy of Journalism and Communication is the first school to include Public Relations in the university training program. Being admitted to the Public Relations Department of the Academy of Journalism and Communication is the dream of most excellent students in groups C, D, A who are passionate about creative activities and social work. However, the quota for this industry at the Academy of Journalism and Communication is always limited, many candidates, despite high scores, have to give up their dream of becoming a brand builder, a talented consultant or a professional event organizer...

“ Currently, my company is hiring a group of Korean branding experts to brand the Organic cosmetics line at a cost of up to 4,000 USD/person/month. If we could recruit Vietnamese branding experts, we could save 50% of the cost. However, because this industry is still too new and has a shortage of human resources, even though we have been posting recruitment for a whole year, we still have not been able to recruit any, ” said Mr. Pham Thanh Lam, director of the organic cosmetics company OGN.

According to Ms. Pham Minh Phuong, Director of Maxlook Family Medical Equipment Company, human resources in the public relations industry always attract the attention of employers. “ Because my company is still small (100 employees), we do not have a separate Communications department, but when recruiting support staff for the Marketing department, advising on brand promotion strategies for the company, we still want to find people who have graduated from public relations. Students who graduate from this major are not only knowledgeable about brands, knowledgeable about the press and media, but they also have very scientific creativity, ” Ms. Phuong emphasized.

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If in the past students could only study this major at the Academy of Journalism and Propaganda, in recent years students can pursue their dreams at Dai Nam University, one of the few schools that offers a very special and impressive Public Relations major. The Public Relations major (Dai Nam University) is trained in depth in skills, practical time, and practice accounts for 50% of the subject time. Right from the time of studying specialized subjects, Dai Nam students not only participate in regular extracurricular activities, do scientific research... but also go to businesses and organizations to conduct field surveys, and participate in the actual work of a PR staff. MSc. Nguyen Thi Huong, lecturer of the Faculty of Public Relations and Communication, Dai Nam University shared. “ Bringing students to business establishments to evaluate the brand status, the advantages and difficulties of businesses in the process of brand development, analyzing the opportunities and challenges of businesses, planning to build brands for businesses... are regular tasks that our students have to do during their studies .”

Dr. Le Thi Nha, Head of the Department of Public Relations and Communications, Dai Nam University, said: “ Currently, the PR-05 class has graduated. Many of them have found jobs at companies and businesses in Hanoi. Some of them have been hired at the very units where they have participated in practice and internship during their studies .”

In the world, Public Relations is considered a special profession because those who study Public Relations have the ability to be creative strategic advisors not only for businesses but also for political and social organizations. Mr. Pham Chi Vinh, senior human resources expert of the Non-Governmental Organization on Labor - Employment affirmed: " Currently in Vietnam, the Public Relations industry is still quite new, so the image of this industry's profession is still quite vague. However, I consider this an extremely promising profession, with extremely large career opportunities with high income ."

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In addition to the Public Relations major, candidates will have less worries because they have more choices when registering for other majors at Dai Nam University. With a variety of majors in the fields of economics, engineering, medicine, social sciences and humanities, candidates can register for the following majors: Finance and Banking , Accounting , Business Administration , Information Technology , Construction Engineering , Architecture , Chemical Engineering , Pharmacy , Tourism and Travel Management , Economic Law , English Language ... These are all majors closely linked to the economic and social development of the country.

In fact, candidates today have little clear direction when applying for admission to universities and colleges. They do not know which major, career, or school to choose so that they can easily find a job after graduation. Choosing the right major, career, and school to study is the first step in their career path. Job opportunities after graduating from university or college also depend on the ability to plan for the future, soft skills, and personal efforts of each person.

This is probably the conclusion of this article, hopefully it will help parents and candidates have more reference information when choosing a major in the 2015 admission season and choosing a future career for their children.

Binh Huong