Career fairs are a fabulous tool for soon-to-be graduating seniors. There are job tables galore, free keychains and cups, and job opportunities sprinkled just about everywhere. They’re potential portals that can catapult you into your desired workforce. So what happened to Rowan’s career fair? Don’t get me wrong: the fair presented a fabulous opportunity for people in healthcare, law enforcement, and logistics, but what about everyone else?

As a journalism major, I walked away utterly disappointed at the selection of offerings to be had. It was the Communication, Humanities, & Social Sciences Career Expo, but where the heck was the communication aspect? I eyed one booth that excited my senses, and it was PBS. Finally, I thought I found something that applies to my major. But no. As it turned out, it was the Positive Behavior Supports Corps, not the Public Broadcasting Service.

There was the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ DOL), New Jersey State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New Jersey Manufacturers Casualty Insurance (NJM Insurance). There were tables for Pennsylvania State Police, Renewal By Anderson, ReYou Ketamine Treatments, and Oaks Integrated Healthcare. But where were the employment opportunities related to communications?

I walked around, talking to every person at every table about whether there were any opportunities for a journalism major, and the general answer I received was that there wasn’t anything journalism related per se. Each job has lots of opportunities for people in every major because they can train us.

How does that help me?

Still, I tried. I honestly did. I submitted my resume to Disney, even though their program is more like a general communications role, and the jobs are more up front and with the public, according to the Disney representative. Then I headed over to the FBI — hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? — but they were really only looking for people who were good with computers or who wanted to become full-fledged agents. I’m a little old for that game.

But I wasn’t giving up. My professors told me that the career fair was brimming with opportunities, if not for a career, then at least for a contact in a nontraditional field. I went to the ketamine shop and a couple of law enforcement agencies, but at the end of the day, had I actually accomplished anything?

The answer? No. All I did was waste three resumes and the high-quality paper it was printed on. I started to question my major. Was that career fair representative of what’s available in the communications field? Was all this work on a journalism degree for naught?

I picked my dejected self up and headed home. I picked up my phone to read the news, and, as usual, there were more stories than I could possibly read. There are plenty of journalism jobs in the working world.

So the question stands, where were the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Courier Post, and the New York Times? Okay, that last one might be stretching it a bit, but there are easily a hundred local publications available to apply to, and not one was in attendance that day. I don’t know if it’s because the tables actually cost money for the prospective employers or because Rowan University is too small for some of the more well-known publications, but there’s one point that I stand steadfast on: I believe this is one’s on Rowan, not me.

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