Hospitality vs. Communications (degree) (bachelor's, degrees, reputation, high school)

[musicislife.glee]

They are both widely viewed as fatuous degrees that will leave you flipping burgers.

But for someone who wanted to get into the hospitality industry, would it be wiser to get a specific degree like Hospitality, or a broader Communications degree?
Thinking long-term, if I ever wanted to leave the hospitality industry (which I know you need a high school diploma to break into), I would probably need a degree to go elsewhere.
Would a hospitality degree hurt me if I wanted to leave the industry? A lot of employers say "Bachelor's degree required," but do not specify what you need a B.A. or B.S. in.

Or are they both a waste of time when I could just get experience and go off of that?

Thoughts?

[nowitsshowtime]

I sort of wish I considered a hospitality degree, or at least one of my concentrations.

You're already in NY (not sure if city) but there are SO MANY hotels, I'm sure you're already aware. It seems like a good industry, and after working with several NYC hotels, I'd like to consider a career move towards hospitality as well.

Between your two options, I would pick hospitality as I don't know anyone with a com degree that worked out well for them, and the ones that did make it, did it mostly from their own studies and initiative.

If you don't take your degree directly into the resort/hotel industry, I think it could carry over into the business field, from knowing how to deal courteously with customers, to knowing how to run a hotel (a business with generally, the same expenses as any other business out there).

I'd go hospitality.

[kyle19125]

A Hospitality degree would be my recommendation, though with a caveat. Zero in on schools that are heavily recruited for graduates versus the dime a dozen "other schools" without the reputation of the better programs. In NY, check out Cornell (uber-expensive but they match financial need typically if accepted), Fairleigh Dickinson Univeristy in neighboring Teaneck, NJ, as well as the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY though bear in mind it's not a traditional college/university, so even though you may achieve a degree credits largely won't be transferable if you decide on another career option. All three are heavily recruited by leading hotel chains and restaurants for graduates.

[Hemlock140]

If you are going into hospitality then the hospitality degree. If you might change to another field later, that degree won't help, but communications won't help you now. If you plan to change careers, a degree in Business is more helpful and transferable among industries than either of those two. Business will also help get promoted withing the hospitality industry. people with the hospitality degree these days will get you working the check-in counter at hotels. Your best move might be a business degree with minor in hospitality.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

If you are going into hospitality then the hospitality degree. If you might change to another field later, that degree won't help, but communications won't help you now. If you plan to change careers, a degree in Business is more helpful and transferable among industries than either of those two. Business will also help get promoted withing the hospitality industry. people with the hospitality degree these days will get you working the check-in counter at hotels. Your best move might be a business degree with minor in hospitality.

Sorry, but that's completely inaccurate. A person with a B.A. from a top-flight Hospitality Program will outshine someone with just a Business degree pretty much always. Unlike the person with the Hospitality degree, the person with the Business degree and Hospitality minor may have spent all of one summer working in a hospitality setting. Employers aren't looking for just "book smart" in the Hospitality field.

[cpg35223]

Unless it is a career field where there's a great deal of technical demand such as engineering or accounting, you're better off getting a liberal arts degree and minoring in whatever career you'd like to try.

Seriously. When I entered advertising at age 26, I learned more in three months on the job than I ever would have in the degree program. In fact, I found that people who went through the degree program at universities had to be untaught to a degree. This is especially true in professions where the landscape is changing constantly. Hey, accounting is largely accounting. But the world of most industries is always in flux, and a professor ten years behind the times is dangerous.

[ocnjgirl]

I would actually contact the HR department of a major hotel chain, or even walk in and talk to a manager (not on Friday night, lol). Why guess when there are people in the field who can tell you what degrees they look for?