Possible majors and careers?

snfluhar
Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:20:56 +0000

There’s lots of choices available to you if you want to pursue English. It’s not just about creative writing- many novelists have day jobs (in writing or otherwise,) and do their creative writing on the side. At least until they become famous, if they ever do.

I have a friend who’s majoring in professional technical writing. Her focus is going to be on writing grant proposals, but there’s lots of other things that PTW’s do. You could probably find a way merge PTW with some other interest that you have. Maybe check to see if your university has this program?

How many English classes have you taken? Were they lower or upper level courses? You may find that not all of your courses will be heavy in philisophical debate, especially as they become more specialized. I think it’s more common in gen-eds because they are trying to teach students how to effectively express their opinions through discussion and writing. I can’t imagine a lot of heated debate going on in something like grammar, or technical writing, however.

You can have a science career without going to med school. But, they will likely require more than a 4 year degree. You may wish to go to grad school in English, depending on what your goals are. I’m not sure what is available with a bachelor’s in English, job-wise.

Are there any professors in the English department you can speak with about the options available to you?