What can you do with an English degree?
 

I graduate from college with a BA in English in May and was curious about what you can do with such a degree?

I'm aware it is not a focused degree, such as criminology, anthropology, or one of the sciences, and that was ultimately what drew me to the degree in the first place. I majored in English because it interests me and I love reading, and not because it would fulfill the requirement for a job I could get after graduating with such a degree.

That being said, I am about to graduate, and I would appreciate your responses as to what jobs, or type of jobs, an English degree will be worthwhile in pursuing. IE, what types of jobs will have prospective employers saying, "Neat, you have a degree in English!"

If any of you do have an English degree, I'd be very interested to hear how, or if, your degree factored into your current, or previous, employment.

Furthermore, what kind of jobs are out there that would interest an English major? I like reading, can write well, and have an open mind and a reasonable backing in literature, both through college and leisure reading, which I am doing constantly.

My employment thus far has not related to English much at all, but instead physical labor, and now management responsibilities. I am not familiar with what one can do with an English degree, and unfortunately (in the employment sense) my senior seminar class in college focused more on differentiating between the various eras of literature and their authors than it did what you can do with such a degree after graduation, which is where I am at currently.

You've got a degree- that opens up a lot of doors - in a lot of cases, it really doesn't matter what the degree is in..

Some possible options:
Education
Advertising/Public relations (generally requires good writing skills)
Publshing (copy editor)
Librarian (though library sciences as a graduate degree would be necessary)
Researcher (especially if you like to read)
Politics (legislative type positions would require lots of reading, etc)


There's a lot you could do - check out the career center at your college, and see what they have available... I wouldn't worry so much about finding a job that is related to english per say, but that you've gotten a degree - that's what matters..

I graduated with a BA in English in 95.

My first job out of college was a temp job, fielding irate phone calls from customers of a sketchy vitamin company.

My second job was as a marketing assistant at a large gourmet food store. I managed signs, labels, and web presence. I got an education in printing and Internet technologies, and helped write copy and do design work for a mail-order catalog.

My third job was as a web developer for an e-commerce consulting shop. I built literally hundreds of websites with all sorts of fancy e-commerce features.

My fourth job was as a freelance web developer. That's the one I'm doing to this day.

Am I "using" my degree or what I learned in school? Sure. Now, being able to quote Chaucer in proper Middle English doesn't really get me too far. But I can write a clear email and communicate well. In my line of work--where basically, I'm the implementor of somebody else's idea--communication is critical.

Here are the jobs held by folks that I know were English majors:

Hearing and Speach Therapist
Wholesale Insurance Broker (4 of them actually)
Claims Adjuster
Bartender
Landscape Estimator
Investment Banker
Lawyer (at least 3, probably more)
Writer
History Professor (I don't understand that one myself)
English Teacher
Math Teacher
Public Relations Officer

Good luck!

I am one credit away from a minor in Professional Writing. The class I need to fulfill the minor is Journalism, and I haven't taken the class partly due to lack of planning, but also because I fluctuate on my stance towards journalism on varying levels.

I am graduating in May, but I'm curious if this decision to not take the Journalism class and add a minor in writing to my degree is a big deal?

I'd rather not run this thread astray by asking side questions, but there is a slight nagging feeling that I may have made a mistake by not adding the minor in professional writing, given that I only needed one more class to fulfill the minor.

And as an addition to my original post: I really do enjoy writing, and I consider myself to be quite adept at it. I don't like journalism, and would not be interested in reporting the news (this also ties into me not fulfilling the minor). Nor do I write on my own much.. But when I have to (assignments, etc) I am able to do it pretty well. I am not sure if that means anything, but I wanted to add it in case it eliminated or added a few potential jobs/careers.

EDIT: I have to head out now, and have only read Mal's reply so far. I've since seen there are others, and I look forward to reading them tonight. Thanks!

aaah... from the Tony Award Winning Play Avenue Q.

quite honestly, you can do anything you want. Look for something that interests you.

Coming from a tech writer/editor...take the class. In my opinion, having an English degree does not at all imply that one has communication/writing skills. This could be the paper bridge that would interest potential employers.

Re: your stance on journalism...not to be mean, but does it really matter? Not all professional writing is journalism, but you should understand journalism to merit a minor in professional writing. Just take the dang class and get the dang piece of paper. :p

Honestly, I don't know if potential employers care at all about minors. *shrug*

Well, I never really considered minoring in writing at all until I looked at a Professional Writing minor grid and saw that I had taken all the required classes but Journalism. At this point, it is too late anyway, as I am not likely to pay for another semester and go another semester, just to fulfill a minor. I've already applied for graduation and am excited about finally graduating.

I'm already in my sixth year, as a result of putting the foreign language requirement off, and I really have no desire to go to school any further at an undergraduate level.

I suppose if it comes down to listing writing-related classes on a resume, I can do just that.

Regarding Journalism and my disinterest in it.. I was never taking writing classes with the intent of minoring, but instead taking writing classes that interest me to the extent they were available. Journalism is not interesting to me, as I have no desire to write/report on the news and reality. If there had been a creative writing minor, then I would have pursued it possibly, but the college I am attending is likely too small to have such specialized offerings. I love reading and keeping up on the news, but I have no interest in writing it. One of the luxuries of going to college for two extra years was that I was able to take classes that interest me, and not ones that were required, foreign language aside. As it turns out, many, but not all, of the classes I took could have been applied to a minor in professional writing.

I feel I went to college more to be exposed to classes and subjects that interest me, insteading of preparing for a job. Being well read in literature likely has little bearing on my ability to qualify for a job, but I was able to enjoy the time I was at college, which ultimately makes it worthwhile to me. As for actually getting a job that interests me, that is what I am hoping to get from this thread as I read it in its entirety. :)

Teaching... oh for the love of god teaching....

Well heck then, I guess my answer won't be as useful. I have a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing and journalism. I've been a broadcast journalist, anchor, print journalist, editor, and am currently a talk show producer.

More to the point, my fellow co-majors have become teachers, computer network installers, rich, poor, lawyers etc.

If you want to continue your education in a few years, pre-law shares many of the same classes as English majors (as well as history majors). I took classes in rhetoric just to keep that option viable.

Have you looked at publishing companies as a possible career?

Impressive. I don't think I am as good/interested in the journalistic aspect of writing, but it does seem to be a very profitable field.

I think I have the mindset to be a good lawyer, but I am pretty certain I don't have what it takes to get a law degree and pursue a career in law. I enjoy debates and arguing my case among friends and family, but beyond that is out of my reach. ;)

I actually have, but am not familiar with what it would entail. What is an entry level publishing job? At higher levels, what would I likely be doing? I enjoy reading more than I do writing, so logically, publishing seems like it could be a viable option. I just know very little about what the job would entail and where/how I would get started in it.

A large number of the entry level jobs at bigger publishing houses are something similar to fact checking. You vet materials for accuracy. In the case of non-fiction, you call sources to cooberate facts, with fiction, you make sure it hasn't slandered anybody who isn't aware/OK with it. Other entry level positions in publishing include event planning (magazine events, book signings). And then there's the whole world of advocacy publishing which deals with specialty fields that are little more the PR for businesses (ie: "The Galxo Bone Density Journal").

PR is always a field for ENGL majors, but I'd avoid it like the plague. You'd definitely do a lot of writing for companies that may suck.

It's been awhile since I checked/posted in this thread, but I was just dicussing my employment future with my parents, and thus gravitated back towards this topic.

My current job is managerial, and I am well aware that if I commit to it, I will be entering the ranks of management tiers on a full time basis. This is something I am not really looking forward to, despite the promise of good pay, etc.

I don't consider myself to be a good manager to the level that would make a successful career out of it, in the field I currently am in. I am a good worker, and even now while managing I try to "get down" with my workers and help them physically as much as possible. I'd rather work than supervise, but the higher I go, the less work I would be able to do. Furthermore, I notice myself siding with my employees instead of against them when issues arise in which I should probably be siding with my boss; despite him being wrong. To go along with that: I am a good worker, and in a way this may be why I am reluctant to pursue management as a career. I know I do good work, and as a result I like to be in control of the work I do/create. I am not as good at motivating others to do good work for me as I am doing quality work myself. One of the key reasons I was promoted to management was a result of me doing good work at the physical level, and ironically the promotion has strayed me away from the type of work I did best, and appreciated most.

I'd really like a job that was related to English, reading, and/or literature. I love reading and to be able to get a job doing something I love seems ideal to me. I could make a very lengthy list of jobs I wouldn't like to spend a lifetime doing, but have trouble coming up with a list of jobs I would like doing. Therefore, when it comes to focusing on activities I do enjoy doing, and that could potentially be related to a career, reading, and to a lesser extent, writing rise to the surface.

I can forsee myself having a career in management, but I don't think such a career would result in a content and enjoyable life. I am at a point in my life where I can go many different directions, and while I have an idea what I don't want to do, I could use some guidance on where I can go, given my interests.

Publishing is interesting to me, and if there is any more information you, or anyone (this is the first time I really am referencing the quoted post) could offer regarding that field, I'd be very appreciative. Furthermore, I welcome any futher feedback, recommendations, or comments regarding this topic.

I can write well, and I truly enjoy reading. I opted not to pursue the minor in writing, but am also reluctant to think that such a decision also eliminates any potential writing careers that may be in my future.

I've yet to have a job I truly enjoyed after the initial effect wore off. My current job is nice for me. The pay is decent, has benefits, but is part time, and I am doubtful about my desire to pursue management on a full time basis. To be fair, I do make the best of situations whenever possible and do not hate my current job by any means. I work with good people, for a good company, and it is a good job to me. I just also realize that forecasted over a lifetime, I am doubtful it is a job I'd like to make a career of.

Lastly, I could use some advice regarding a jumping off point. You've all listed impressive jobs to me, but I am not sure how I would get into them. The nature of a liberal arts degree in English is a double edged sword for someone like myself. I love the freedom the degree offers, but my indecisiveness also makes it hard to focus on a specific professions and pursue entering it.

I welcome responses in any form, and greatly appreciate the ones given to me so far.

With an english degree you can talk real purty like.

Publishing is a pretty broad field... it could be copy editing, production, design... working for a publishing house, or internal in many bigger companys - especially pharma firms... Any kind of written documentation (whether it be a magazine on the newsstand, to a newsletter you get iether emailed or mailed to you, to a pamphlet in your credit card statement, to the instructions on how to take a pill are all publishing...

Editing is tough as entry level, because you really need experience.. but copy editing, though not sexy, is a good entry level field...