Graduates · Ontario · 2021 Census
What can you do with a communications degree?
What graduates actually work as, from Statistics Canada, beside what Job Bank says about each job: openings, pay, and what it takes.
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What can you do with a communications degree in Ontario?
In the 2021 Census, the most common jobs among employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher in communications were professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (19.6%), advertising, marketing and public relations managers (9.6%) and producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations (3.1%). The 12 most common jobs cover only 51.5% of graduates, so communications leads to a wide spread of work rather than one career.
What graduates really do
What jobs do communications graduates in Ontario actually have?
Ontario is published for the communication, journalism and related programs group, so the lead table is Ontario graduates aged 25 to 34.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 19.6% | 4,140 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 9.6% | 2,040 | Very limited | $57.44/hr |
| Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations | 3.1% | 655 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.8% | 595 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Graphic designers and illustratorsOur guide | 2.7% | 575 | Very limited | $32.69/hr |
| JournalistsOur guide | 2.5% | 525 | Limited | $38.46/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 2.3% | 490 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Authors and writers (except technical) | 2.2% | 470 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Administrative officers | 2% | 425 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 1.8% | 390 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 1.6% | 335 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| Editors | 1.3% | 275 | Limited | $34.62/hr |
How does it look for other groups?
These are different groups of people, shown separately on purpose: a different place, age group or level of education. Do not read them as one comparison.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 9.9% | 995 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 5.9% | 590 | Very limited | $57.44/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 4.9% | 495 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 3% | 300 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 2.8% | 280 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Graphic designers and illustratorsOur guide | 2.4% | 245 | Very limited | $32.69/hr |
| Administrative officers | 2.1% | 215 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 1.8% | 185 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| JournalistsOur guide | 1.8% | 185 | Limited | $38.46/hr |
| Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers | 1.8% | 180 | Moderate | $17.95/hr |
| Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations | 1.8% | 180 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Material handlers | 1.7% | 175 | Limited | $21.50/hr |
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 16.5% | 9,555 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 7.8% | 4,530 | Very limited | $57.44/hr |
| Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations | 2.7% | 1,570 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.5% | 1,440 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Administrative officers | 2.5% | 1,435 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Seniors managers - public and private sector | 2.4% | 1,380 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 1.9% | 1,130 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 1.8% | 1,060 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 1.8% | 1,030 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Graphic designers and illustratorsOur guide | 1.7% | 970 | Very limited | $32.69/hr |
| Authors and writers (except technical) | 1.6% | 910 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Human resources professionalsOur guide | 1.3% | 745 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 13.1% | 1,710 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| JournalistsOur guide | 11.5% | 1,500 | Limited | $38.46/hr |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 6.3% | 825 | Very limited | $57.44/hr |
| Editors | 4.6% | 600 | Limited | $34.62/hr |
| Authors and writers (except technical) | 4.1% | 535 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations | 3.6% | 470 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.5% | 320 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Seniors managers - public and private sector | 2.1% | 275 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 1.8% | 230 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Managers - publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts | 1.7% | 215 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Administrative officers | 1.5% | 195 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 1.3% | 165 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
Do those jobs have openings?
Which of those jobs are hiring?
None of the 12 most common jobs for these graduates has a good or very good Ontario outlook from Job Bank for 2025 to 2027; the best-rated are listed below. That means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hired. Outlook is a province-wide forecast of openings against job seekers, not a promise for any one town or employer.
- Retail and wholesale trade managers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 1.8% of these graduates.
- Administrative assistants: Job Bank outlook moderate, 1.6% of these graduates.
When the degree is not enough
What does the degree not lead to on its own?
A communications degree does not lead to a regulated profession. Employers in marketing, media and public relations mostly look at your portfolio, your writing and what you have produced.
A short college graduate certificate can add a specific skill, such as digital marketing or event planning, if you want to point your degree at one kind of job.
Routes that need more than the degree
Add a college graduate certificate
Ontario Colleges states that graduate certificates require a university degree or a college certificate or diploma for admission, and build on knowledge and experience from earlier postsecondary study. Check each program on ontariocolleges.ca for its own entry requirements. Ontario Colleges: program typesBecome an Ontario certified teacher
The Ontario College of Teachers describes a consecutive program as a four-semester program leading to a Bachelor of Education, open to students who have completed an undergraduate degree. Its becoming-a-teacher page lists a postsecondary degree of at least three years plus a four-semester teacher education program, then an application to the College for certification. Ontario College of Teachers: teacher education program providers
Jobs to look at
Careers worth a closer look
Full guides: what the work is really like, who hates it, what it pays, and the route in.
- Marketing specialistGetting the right people to notice something and act on it, then proving with numbers whether it worked.Career guide
- JournalistFinding out what is true, writing it so people read it, and getting it out before somebody else does.Career guide
- Graphic designerMaking things people need to understand look clear and feel right, usually to somebody else's brief and somebody else's deadline.Career guide
- Event plannerGetting a hundred people, a venue, a caterer and a schedule to all arrive in the right place on the same day, calmly.Career guide
- PhotographerMaking images other people will pay for, which is mostly running a small business that happens to involve a camera.Career guide
- Web developerBuilding the pages and tools people use in a browser, and then fixing them when they break on somebody's old phone.Career guide
Read this before you rely on it
What the numbers do not show
- The Census is from 2021. Jobs and hiring have moved since. Job Bank's outlook is current to 2025 to 2027.
- It counts employed people and what they do, not whether they wanted that job or use their degree in it. A graduate working as a retail supervisor is counted in the data exactly like one working in their field.
- It is a 25% sample, and Statistics Canada rounds every count to a multiple of five. Small groups are noisy.
- For Ontario the Census publishes bachelor's degree or higher together, so those tables include master's and doctoral graduates.
- Each person is counted once, by their highest credential. A person who finished a diploma and then a degree appears under the degree, not the diploma.
- The 12 jobs shown are the most common, not all of them. The rest of the graduates are spread across hundreds of other jobs.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, tables 98-10-0447-01 and 98-10-0403-01; Job Bank (Employment and Social Development Canada) Ontario outlooks and wages, linked on each job. We join them by occupation code and change neither.
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