<p>So, I'm curious in hearing some first-hand accounts of the lives and goals and all that of people who studied (or are studying) English as a major, rather than through third-hand advice and people with questionable reliability on the subject. English majors, why did you pick what you studied? What kind of career do you have/are you going to pursue? Any double majors? Any thoughts on the major? Basically any stories or advice on the subject would be interesting to hear!</p>
<p>I WAS an English major, but I switched. Now a Bio major. Don’t ask how that happened.</p>
<p>I was going to double major in English and Poli Sci and try and get into the political journalism field. Plus, I am just naturally good at writing and enjoy politics and stating my opinions.</p>
<p>But I changed because I just didn’t think it was for me. I wanted to use my college years actually learning things, not learning how to write well.</p>
<p>I’m not bashing the English major, but I feel like I am already a good enough writer and think analytically enough to succeed in what I want to do, so it would just be a waste of money and time.</p>
<p>^ i thought english majors spent a lot of time studying literature ? that’s learning something . . .</p>
<p>I think Jim 224 meant he wanted to spend his time studying/learning something useful.</p>
<p>Reading a bunch of 200 year old books doesn’t give anyone a skill set, unless they want to be an English teacher.</p>
<p>Biology on the other hand, does provide skills…but I’m not speaking for Jim, just my take on it.</p>
<p>I can read Sports Illustrated and learn something, that doesn’t mean it’s useful or provides me with any skills.</p>
<p>As a current English major, I want to tell you that this major won’t offer you a concrete skill set. You do not need an English major to be a good writer. What English major offers instead is a sense of personal enrichment and knowledge that goes beyond the simple confines of the much talked about skill set. Since I want to become an English professor, this kind of literary appreciation then becomes a kind of careerism, that is, I read literature so I can get into a good graduate school and eventually a tenure professorship.
If you take the hardest English class available at your school, then you will find that these classes require a different kind of writing style than most of your other writing exercises, whether it is for work or just for writing diaries. English major writes in an academic style that is extremely difficult for someone outside to understand. This is largely due to the academic nature of the subject studied, because as an English major, you really ain’t writing about criticism of a book or your personal opinion, but an accumulated, insightful addition to the theoretical/interpretative archives already available to your specific field of studies. For instance, the professor assigns you “Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, your paper will not be your personal like or dislike of poe’s writing style, nor a regimented analysis of all formalist elements: such as metaphors, symbol, etc etc, but an accumulated thematic, formalist, and philosophical analysis of Poe’s story as it is filtered through your particular system of thought. That is, an English major concentrated on comparative literature may, after reading Poe, links it with French poet Baudelaire; whereas a medievalist may consider the symbolic imagery of the cat as it is related to medieval poetry cycles. </p>
<p>If you want to get a skill set, then humanities is probably not for you. My classmates who major in the subject are divided into several categories: people who don’t want to study, people who can’t handle math, rich people, future lawyers, and potential graduate school attendants.</p>
<p>I’m going back for a degree in eng lit, 2nd BA maybe on to MA. I already do independent work with a business I started in IT(web development), and side stuff for NFPs. I would like to perfect my writing and get some…shall we say, clout? I envision doing freelance publishing gigs/quasi journalism and enhance my skill set to offer technical writing and web publishing into my current business services. After contemplating many career changes I thought this was best as it covers all of my likes, philosophy, political science, literature, classics, writing courses all in one field. Plus I do not have to give up what I already do. I do not enjoy working for other people per se or the 9-5 routine so most fields are not good fits for me. I just end up quitting. I am by no means lazy, I put in long hours, just a bit on the independent side.</p>
<p>This board I have noticed, is extremely career oriented, valuing the bottom line and ROI vs knowledge attainment and personal enrichment oriented so… take that with you.</p>
<p>If you are a risk-averse person however, English will probably not be a good fit…get something practical. It is really all up to you though.</p>
<p>I personally look at it like this, it might take me longer, but I can eventually figure out complex math problems, algorithms, etc for my programming at the level of the majority of workers. BUT, I could spend that same amount of time and never be able to write and have the same thought processes with the skill of an average author.
I am not at a PhD level at a prestigious school in either of them, nor are most people… so it might come down to fulfilling your personal desires for the other 99% of us.
That is what I am hoping to improve upon.</p>
<p>English major here…class of 1979.</p>
<p>Spent a dozen years doing marketing communications. Responsible for brochures, newsletters and direct mail in the travel industry. Responsible for entire project from inception to distribution (copy, design, print production, mailing.) Very creative because I got to hire and work with artists, art directors and copy writers as needed. Added bonus was amazing travel perks and model shoots on cruise ships and tropical destinations.</p>
<p>Second career (after going back for elementary ed and reading certification masters when kids were very young) has been as a part-time elementary reading teacher. I started at 15 hours per week (always home for kids) and have been increasing hours to almost full-time recently (now that kids are almost grown–but I am still home by 3 to 4 o’clock) Since I am certified as an English teacher as well (yay English major credits!), I may eventually decide to teach high school English after my own kids are out of high school.</p>
<p>Almost everyone I worked with in marketing communications/ advertising and pr were also English majors. My degree has served me well.</p>