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“The major value in life is not what you get; the major value in life is what you become.”
– Jim Rohn (American Author and Entrepreneur)
Worried about getting a job after graduation?
So, an English degree is not useless since it cultivates applicable and relevant skills for your future career…
But wait a second, what career is that exactly?
Engineering majors become engineers, nursing majors become nurses, equestrian majors become equestrians — so what do English majors become if there are no such career options or job titles as “Englishs” or “Englishists”?
Applying for jobs post-graduation can be a stressful prospect for anyone. For an English major, there is an extra worry to top it all off: there is no direct career/job associated with their degree (other than the stereotypical high school English teacher).
Though this may not seem to be a positive, it actually is!
Chegg has thoughtfully taken the time to compile a list of 100 Careers perfectly suited for English Majors, jobs just sitting and awaiting your highly-qualified applications. So what is the reason there are so many options? The answer is simple: English majors learn how to communicate, think analytically, and research (skills vital for each of these jobs, remember the skills mentioned in “Are the Humanities Useless”).
These skills, fostered by the English major, are what you get; what is crucial is how you use these skills in finding a career, in shaping who you become.
Announcing jobs for the English major
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English prepares you for a host of solid career options, arming you with skills applicable to countless different industries — education, politics, law, business, entertainment, news, writing, publishing/editing — and opening the door to almost any choice.
Use these skills to land an of the following jobs, jumpstart your career, and start making real money:
Designer
Use your creativity and ability to understand your audience effective working as a web designer or graphic designer.
Journalist
Tackle the news in a fast-paced environment. Journalists must be able to write compelling articles with interesting hooks to capture the attention of readers, provide information concisely, and work efficiently in researching and writing to bring the world instant news.
Editor
Work in book publishing, magazine publishing, or news outlets. Ensure quality and accuracy of all writing or create the designs and layouts for all publications. List of editing jobs include:
- Copy Editors (proofreading and fact-checking)
- Managing Editors (supervising and making deadline/budgets)
- Executive Editors (overseeing news staff)
- Design and Layout Editors (create graphic content and layouts)
Paralegal
Work for a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and performing delegated substantive legal work, researching and completing paperwork for lawyers. Possibly even continue to work on developing compelling arguments as you enter into law school.
Writer
Pursue your love for the written word even in your job by writing for a living:
- Screenwriter (writing TV or movie scripts)
- Creative Writer (novelist or playwright)
- Content writer (blogging, writing advertisements, or social media posts)
- Lyricist (writing lyrics for hit songs or promising musicals)
CEO
Analyze the productivity of a company’s performance, think of new ways to optimize this performance, and effectively run a company and lead it into a better future as the organization’s leader.
Look towards a promising future
Never forget, you time spent as an English major has prepared you for a promising future, setting you up with the ability and skills to do whatever you desire, ultimately to pursue a career.
You have the tools, so now face daunting struggles and an uncertain future. What is important is how deal with success and failures and become the person you make yourself into.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
-Winston Churchill
