<p>Hello everyone, I am a senior in high school, DESPERATELY trying to come to terms as of what I should major in college. Throughout my past three years of my high school career I have been preparing for a career in the fine arts, specifically I wanted to work for video game companies like BioWare, Blizzard, etc. because I have always enjoyed gaming and the aspects all around it, plus I love to draw and write. I thought this would be a perfect career path for me, but then during this summer I realized that I want to major in something that can get me a number of job opportunities, and going into the gaming business, ESPECIALLY since the artistic aspect of it is so competitive, I feel might be a wrong path to go down and I'm afraid that I will get stuck in a rut, or even get stuck in a game company that makes games like Angry Birds.
So, getting to the point, I have been seriously thinking about going to college for something like English or Literature. I have been researching all day about which would be better, but the only "advice" I keep finding is that majoring in English/Literature is a waste of time and money and that I would probably be hopping from one job to the next. I really want to do something I'm interested in, and one of those things is writing (plus I kind of have this dream of writing a novel or series and getting it published), but I'm scared of the kind of future it will bring for me. If I major in English and receive a degree, do you think there will be any type of jobs for me where I won't be suffering financially for the rest of my life? I know everyone always say to do what you like, but what if that brings me my downfall? I don't want to major in something that I hate just so I can pay the bills.
In short, is it worth it to major in English at a college, and what kind of courses or sub-fields should I take while majoring for English? Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>If you are interested in writing, your options are creative writing, technical writing, professional writing, or journalism. Creative writing and professional writing usually are offered as tracks within an English department; technical writing and journalism usually are programs separate from an English department. Technical and professional writing programs often include some coursework in other media. These various writing programs usually are available as majors or minors, or, sometimes as certificate programs. You could combine these various programs with another field to improve your employment prospects, either as a double major or a major-minor combination. </p>
<p>If you think that a game design major is focused too narrowly, you could consider a more general computer science major.</p>
<p>Maybe look into technical writing?</p>
<p>To answer your topic question, the answer is yes, most people who major in English/Literature/“Foreign” Language are destined to either being unemployed, or stuck at sub $15/hr jobs their entire lives. </p>
<p>Take it from me: do NOT major in English, Literature, or a foreign language UNLESS you double major. You will most likely regret the choice by not double majoring…</p>
<p>You know, you can practice in an artistic endeavor (novelist, essayist, scriptwriter, etc.) that is not at all related to a career you do for income. Some say that if you write or edit for your income, that “writing itch” is scratched and you won’t feel like doing more of it in your free time. However, you might want to take an undergrad degree in writing/literature and follow it with a graduate degree for an income-generating career. Of course, be mindful of college loan debt. </p>