By Bob O’Gara, Professor PR, Advertising and IMC, Point Park University  rogara@pointpark.edu 

First the obvious disclaimer:  I teach at the grad level and undergrad level at Point Park University. That said, after 25 years I am generally on top of trends in higher education and career development. For what it’s worth, here are my principles for graduate study beyond the Bachelor’s level.

1) Have a clear career goal or personal reason for reentering the academic path.  It could be gaining new skills, getting more current in the professions or even re-charging your personal and professional “system”.  In some cases you may want/need an advanced degree in communications or a business, management, leadership , law etc. degree.

2) Be sure you have the time.   Sounds obvious, but from an educator’s perspective lack of time results in poor grades and limited learning.

3) Select the format most applicable to your lifestyle.  The offerings now include online only, regular classroom attendance and a hybrid combining both.  Online is deceptively easy to accept nut it requires enormous self-discipline and classroom offers a comfortable personal environment that you may be very used to.

4) Pick a major, degree or set of courses that best suit your needs.  Consider skill based courses to enhance your technology, more theoretical or strategic courses or even intellectual courses in the liberal arts to heighten critical thought.

5) Some general principles:  Study course construction (syllabi, etc.)  carefully.  Research your teachers for the right combinations of professional and academic experiences.  Review the required readings for relevance.  Sit in on classes BEFORE you commit to a program.  Ask to meet recent graduates and current students.

Grad school is a serious commitment and often a long time period.  Today’s times mean we must commit to lifelong learning, but how we do it may be grad school or another avenue to professional development such as PRSA professional meetings and workshops.

*This is a sponsored post. Learn more about sponsoring PRSA Pittsburgh here:
http://prsa-pgh.org/content.php?page=Sponsorship_Opportunities   

@colinmhaas | Colin Haas

 

Where do you work/what do you do?

Love this question considering all the recent things I have been doing! To give a little back story, I had been working full-time for CONSOL Energy, for the last 7 years as an analyst II and freelancing in marketing and PR (since 2010). Then in April of 2015, CONSOL was going through a downturn and I was laid off. My freelancing turned full-time and so did the job searching! The same week I was laid off, my wife went with her Mom to her eyelash appointment, at Lash Spa Studio in McMurray. My wife was already an aesthetician and was offered a job the following week, which brings me to myself. Through her job I have had several run-ins with the CEO of the Lash Spa and as of last week, they have transitioned into a franchise, under the brand name Deka Lash. I am currently running all marketing, PR, social media, and content by myself and that has been quite a process. I have been treating it like a startup and building everything from scratch, so for me, it has been just creating the framework and filling it up with content as we move forward. While I have different applications out, around the city, Deka Lash is planning to make a formal offer and have me head up and run all marketing and PR. Until then, I continue freelancing for them.

 

What’s your title?

With my freelancing, I just went with integrated marketing strategist, but with Deka Lash I don’t have an “official” working title yet.

 

Where do you live?

Waynesburg, PA

 

What’s your favorite bar/restaurant?

Cheesecake Factory, on the Southside. Although I have a growing list of places I want to try, thanks to Instagram.

 

How long have you been a member of PRSA?

I was a student member of the PRSA since May 2013 and now a regular member, but joined the Pittsburgh chapter in December 2015.

 

What’s one thing other PRSA members should know about you?

I love podcasts! Especially the marketing, PR, and social media podcasts. We can be at the gym, sitting in the car or doing any other activity and still learning. As a result, I plan on launching my own podcast in the coming months and interviewing some of the industry leaders that I have became friends with, as well as other industry professionals.

 

What do you hope to get out of PRSA this year?

I am really excited about making new connections with my fellow chapter members and being able to learn from them. Please feel free to reach out to me anytime or connect with me.

 

What’s your favorite thing about Pittsburgh?

The Pittsburgh skyline! Does that ever get old?