English Major

[Stare At The Sun]

Thinking, sorta, of changing my major. I have always liked english, and i was wondering, what sort of careers can you get w/ an english major?
What are the downfalls of an english major, etc etc

Feel free to discuss any options i'd have, TIA

[Averett]

My college roommate was an english major. She now works in a home for troubled teens. Doesn't use her degree at all, but she loves her job.

For what it's worth

[majik_6]

I was an English major, and I know that my only plans were to get my doctorate and teach at the college level.

A lot of the other people in my program, however, planned to go on to law school, and thought that the English background would be beneficial in that pursuit.

It's really a versatile degree, in that it can be used to satisfy the generic requirement of an undergraduate degree for many jobs/grad schools.

[lurkette]

Ratbastid was an English major and is now a computer programmer/manager.

It's the kind of degree that means everything and nothing - it's very versatile but not particularly applicable to any specific field. It all depends on your talents and skills and interests. You could go into marketing, tech writing, journalism, teaching, editing, administration, library science whatever.

The downfalls are that nobody really knows what the hell to do with an English major.

Bottom line is, you'll be fine whatever your major as long as you find something that you are interested in and apply whatever skills and knowledge you have to that interest. E.g., if you love sports, develop the skills to be a sports writer. If you like argument and discussion and current events, maybe combine the English major with some PoliSci classes and look into speech writing or campaign management.

The question to ask yourself is what you want to do eventually, and how can and English (or whatever) major be useful to you in pursuing that interest?

[Stare At The Sun]

Something in business, upper level shit, i think i'd be good at it, i think i could get lots of results, etc, however, i dont think i can do the math that is required to get the official degree(me and calc dont mix) so thats my plan...

[World's King]

Well, with my English degree I've...


Never had a good job where I used my degree. The only degree that's more worthless is Philosophy. Most people that have a degree in English ebd up teaching. So, no money is to be made.

[lurkette]

Originally posted by UnlikedOne
Something in business, upper level shit, i think i'd be good at it, i think i could get lots of results, etc, however, i dont think i can do the math that is required to get the official degree(me and calc dont mix) so thats my plan...

I'm not sure where this might be housed at your University, but ours had a Comm Studies department with an Organizational and Interpersonal Communications section - focus on a lot of business practices, consulting, business psychology, etc. That might be better for your goals than an English major, which is WAY too vague - it'll get you entry level and you can work your way up, but it's not going to get you management positions. Take as many business courses as you can without taxing your math skills (or just dive in and do the math - you'd be surprised what practice and exposure can do for you).

Before you do anything, you might want to either talk to your career counseling folks, and do some informational interviews - find business professionals whose careers you admire, and ask them what they did to get there, and what it might take for you to get there yourself. Keep in mind that everyone's path is different - sometimes it's knowing the right people or being in the right place at the right time - but focus more on the skills that they have developed rather than the degrees that they have.

[SiNai]

My college has Communications within its school of Business, and it's pretty much the major you get if you.. really shouldn't be in college, as this place is pretty much a business school. Maybe thats not what you're talking about up there..

My gf is going to a community college then transerring in 2 years and she's doing straight-up Business, she took some Calc with me at a community college in our hometown and they told her she didn't even need it for her degree- she needed 2 or 3 semesters each of Statistics and Accounting classes instead.

All that Calc for nothing..


Anyway, I suggest you ask around at your own college, see what majors require what courses..