Career choices for English majors

I had this epiphany during my first quarter of college. It's the only time in my life I can remember having an honest-to-God epiphany. The thing is, I had always loved reading and writing. From the day my sister taught me to read when I was five, I read everything I could get my hands on. I wrote poems in my journal when I was little, and was always making up stories in my head. I even had my first attempt at novel-writing at the age of 12 (it was about giant, super-intelligent anthropomorphic rats from outer space). I took AP English and got a high score on the test. I did very well on the verbal part of the SATs. And yet, someone had told me that English wasn't a real major; that I really should do a useful, non-humanities subject. So I entered college as a pre-biology major.

Back to the epiphany: it happened in my first quarter of introductory chemistry. There was the professor: an ancient man with a speech impediment, a southern accent, and a problematic rotator cuff. And he had tied a pair of scissors to a string and was swinging them wildly over his head as students in the front row ducked nervously (it was a practical demonstration of how electrons circle around the protons and neutrons of an atom). And that's when it occurred to me: there were people sitting in classrooms in other parts of the campus, discussing literature. Reading and analyzing novels and poetry! I felt like I needed to run out of the lecture hall. I've never had such a strong feeling of being in the wrong place.

I called a family member right after I got the papers signed that made me officially an English major. I felt like a great weight had been lifted from me. "Ohhh," came the voice at the other end of the line "but you can't do anything with an English major."

I think the reason people are skeptical  about the English major (and humanities majors in general) is that there's this old notion floating around that says the only thing someone can do with a degree in English is become an English teacher. This can be really frustrating if, like me, you majored in English but have no desire to become a teacher. I mean, English teachers are great, brave people. I have a friend who is an English teacher, and several other friends who are training to become teachers. That being said, it's just not for me. So it was always annoying when in college I encountered people who gave me a concerned, confused look when I told them that, despite studying literature, I had no plans to go into teaching. Sometimes they would even try to persuade me into being sensible. "You could teach until you write your first best-seller," a friend's well-meaning but rather patronizing father once suggested.

This bothered me so much that I discussed it with my (amazingly awesome) Early Modern Literature professor during my senior year. She told me that the reason people have the idea that you can't do anything with an English major is that the English major doesn't prepare you for a specific type of job, like engineering or architecture does. What it does do is give you the basic skills for a wide range of different careers; skills like communication, creativity, research, and analysis. It's not a vocational degree, and it is very much what you make of it.

So, in the spirit of breaking through myths about English literature students, here is a list of a few of the jobs suitable for English graduates, courtesy of prospects.co.uk. Some of these require specialized skills, which is why it's a good idea to do internships while you're still in college or after you graduate, and to take some practical classes to learn things like software programs.

(One of the careers missing from this list is lawyer. Students who take an English degree tend to earn among the highest scores on the LSAT and the best grades in law school, along with philosophy, history, economics, and political science graduates).

• Advertising account executive - acts as a link between three to four client accounts and an advertising agency and has overall responsibility for the smooth running of a campaign; coordinates the activities of the advertising and administrative teams.
• Advertising copywriter - usually works in a creative partnership with an art director to conceive, develop and produce effective advertisements. Copywriters are usually involved with creating the slogans, messages and straplines and may also have a role in the production process of a campaign.
• Arts administrator - provides administrative support for a wide range of arts and cultural organisations.
• Academic librarian, Information officer, Records manager - responsible for the acquisition, organisation and dissemination of information and materials within the library system or information unit.
• Charity officer - has responsibility for aspects of marketing, public relations, organising events, finance.
• Editorial assistant - assists senior editorial staff in the administration of the commissioning, planning and production of books, journals and magazines. This role is a recognised starting point for editorial and publishing careers.
• English as a foreign language teacher/English as a second language teacher - teaches English to international students either in the UK or overseas.
• Lexicographer - writes, compiles and edits dictionaries, monitors and records uses of language and uses databases to interrogate a wide range of evidence. Lexicographers consider both the meaning and usages of words and compile definitions in a structured manner.
• Marketing executive - involved in business development, market research, planning, product development, pricing, packaging, advertising, PR and sales. Marketing executives may also be known as marketing assistants or coordinators
• Newspaper journalist- researches and writes stories for publication in local, regional and national press.
• Press officer - acts as the official media contact for a specific public or private organisation, handling all media interest.
• Primary school teacher and Secondary school teacher - teaches in state and independent schools, sixth form and further education (FE) colleges.
• Programme researcher, broadcasting/film/video - supports the production team, collects, verifies and prepares information for film, television and radio productions. This can be seen as apprenticeship for a production role.
• Public relations officer - uses all forms of media and communication to build, maintain and manage the reputation of companies and organisations.
• Runner, broadcasting/film/video - fetches, carries and does any small jobs needed for the production department of a film, video or television company. This is an entry-level role.
•  Writer - may write in a number of wide and varied forms including prose, poetry and material for the theatre, screen and radio and reviews. Most writers work freelance and are self-employed.