Major in English

SmithieandProud
Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:08:52 +0000

I agree with katlia, I think that a major in English is sort of what you make of it, and in that way it’s not automatically any more applicable to a job than a major in Economics or Math. It’s all about what direction you want to take it and how you choose to tailor it.

For example, would you be interested in working in publishing? An English major combined with the right internships can easily give you a future there. Maybe in the growing world of e-books or digital journalism. Would you like to teach? Find out what you need to get your teaching certificate or what other education classes you might want to pair with it. Maybe, for example, you want to teach overseas after you graduate. You don’t neccessarily need a lot of qualifications to teach English overseas, but learning a foreign language and being an English major can help a lot, especially if you try to learn more about the mechanics of the language, versus the language itself.

Like katlia said, an English major can be a good preparation for law school. You could try out technical writing, you could pair it with internships in public affairs/public relations/communications and go that way or go into advertising (two fairly lucrative fields).

A few basic economics classes will stand you in good stead no matter what you do. Knowing the basics of macro and micro are just a good foundation for future life. But there’s no reason why majoring in English should condemn you to a life of poverty or misery.

Yes, it’s up to you to figure out how to make the major work for you, it’s not going to be an automatic gateway to anything, no matter what. But neither will a math or econ major or basically most other majors. Grad school is not a magic ticket either. So if you’re willing to commit to making your English major work, then I say you should go for it.