What Kind of Jobs Are There for English Majors?
Choosing the right major in college can make or break a student's overall college experience. If a student succeeds in their college studies, and that can allow them to eventually find a job that provides for them financially and emotionally. An English degree is an attractive option as a course of study for students with a passion for reading and a love of language. Additionally, the communication skills that English majors acquire are useful in many job fields.
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Creative Jobs
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Individuals that earn a degree in English because they love the creative aspect of language should consider a job in a creative field. Jobs that make use of a person's knowledge of English and their creative abilities include being an actor, a songwriter, a novelist, a children's book writer, a poet and a screenplay writer. An English degree prepares actors and all types of writers for their careers by giving them a deeper understanding of the structure and rhythm of both spoken and written language. While the availability of these jobs may not be as high as some of the other jobs for English majors, these jobs can be personally rewarding.
Jobs in the Media
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Jobs in the media are another option for English majors. The communication and language skills that English majors have make them ideal candidates for careers as publishers, literary agents, journalists, reporters, proofreaders, editors and researchers. Additionally, there are many writing and editing jobs in advertising, public relations and marketing that require a strong background in English education.
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Teaching Jobs
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Many English majors go on to become English teachers. Teaching is a wonderful job for individuals who love to work closely with others and share their knowledge; however, most teaching positions require additional education. In order to teach English at the K--12 level, a teaching certificate must be earned in addition to an undergraduate degree. To teach creative at a college or university, a master in fine arts degree is required. To teach more advanced subjects like literature or cultural studies, a Ph.D. is necessary. Becoming an English tutor is another option in the teaching field. There are many professional tutoring companies that hire English tutors that have undergraduate degrees in English.
Business Jobs
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There are also numerous professional business careers with job positions that English majors should consider. English majors have language skills in comprehension, critical thinking, text analysis, research, writing, problem solving, structuring arguments and decision making. Each and every one of these skills lends itself to job positions in management and administration at any number of businesses. Fields including sales, social work, finance, government, legal and insurance are some to consider. Each of these fields involves the close reading and writing of documents, whether it be sales reports, contracts, proposals or reviews; textual analysis skills are crucial to working with all written documentation. Additionally, managers and administrators in any field must be able to think critically and make decisions, skills fundamental to English major's education.
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