How Useful is an English Degree?

By Jody Morse, published Aug 08, 2007
Published Content: 710  Total Views: 724,070  Favorited By: 164 CPs
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What are you going to do with a Degree in English? Is an English Degree even useful? Do you think that majoring in English will really get you anywhere in life? These are just some of the many questions that you may be asked when you tell someone that you have decided to pursue a Degree in English. It has always been a very common misconception that an English Degree is worthless. The truth in the matter, however, is that there are many things that a person can do when they decide to pursue a Degree in English. Since the skills that you will learn when pursuing an English Degree are so diverse, many doors open. Here, we will take a much closer look at some of the many career opportunities that are available to English majors.

Writing

The writing field is probably one of the broadest fields in which you can pursue a career with an English major. There are a variety of different opportunities available in writing for people who have English Degrees. Many English majors go on to write for magazines and newspapers. Other pursue careers in editing or copywriting. Writing books or ebooks can also become a full-time career for many people who enjoy writing. Many people also find jobs at publishing companies. Technical, clinical and contractual writers are all in very high demand.

Testing

One of the very common jobs that many people are pursuing nowadays is within testing, such as the SAT/ACT exams or state testing exams. The demand for people in this area of English is growing. The main reason is because many exams are trying to become more thorough with their grammar and writing sections.

Freelance Writing

Many people do freelance writing for major professional corporations. Others do freelance writing for local businesses or newspapers. The internet is a very useful tool for those who wish to pursue freelance writing. While the work that one can find through the internet is not believed to be as steady as through the other previously mentioned placed to find freelance work, it is also believed that there is a lot of money involved when it is found.

Teaching

Comments
Showing Comments 1 - 6 of 6
 
 
This is great, my sister is an English major, but unsure what she wants to do with it yet. I'm going to pass this on to her. Thanks.

Posted on 11/02/2007 at 10:11:00 PM

 
well...youre going to do more with it than i am with my poli sci degree!

Posted on 08/15/2007 at 10:08:00 AM

 
Excellent, informative article. (Should I have put that comma after "excellent"?) Will reread your profile, you seem to have mastered the Freelance writing bit.

Posted on 08/10/2007 at 11:08:00 PM

 
Nicely done.

Posted on 08/10/2007 at 8:08:00 PM

 
A lot of these could apply to my degree - History. Great article.

Posted on 08/09/2007 at 6:08:00 PM

 
Great info. This will definitely help some people out.:-)

Posted on 08/09/2007 at 10:08:00 AM

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