<p>Hello,
I have many interests, but I'm not really sure which ones to pursue during college. I really like creative writing, and I'm pretty good at it (I've won a national award). However, I'm aware that I creative writing major in college, even with an MFA, can have dismal job prospects, even though I'm willing to be a university professor.
Keeping this in mind, maybe it would be a good idea to pair creative writing with something a bit more practical, such as computer science. I'm fairly good at it, and although I'm not extremely passionate about it (I don't code in my spare time), I think it would be fun to work at Duolingo or another company like that.
A third thought is a Mathematics major. I like math as well, although I'm not outstanding at it (I'm finishing senior year with multivariable calc.). I've heard that math majors are always in demand.
So, what do you think? Should I double major in two of these, or major in one and minor in the other and really get good at the one I choose? In addition, I will have lots of AP credits, so I will be able to skip a lot of classes.</p>
<p>Is the national award you won a big deal? If so then I’d say go all in with your passion in creative writing. Majors like creative writing are usually considered poor majors because they don’t do anything for people who are mediocre at it, where as you can still get a great job if you’re a mediocre CS major. But if you have the talent and passion for creative writing then you should do well. The CS would only be worthwhile if you think you’re not going to be successful as a writer.</p>
<p>It was a national gold in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for poetry.
On a side note, what kind of jobs are available for those going into creative writing?</p>
<p>Finishing senior year with multivariable calc <em>is</em> outstanding. The vast majority of high schools don’t even offer that.</p>
<p>Have you considered taking an English or English Litt major? They’d give you lots of reading and a wide experience of authors while teaching you critical thinking. A potential employer knows better what they’re getting skills wise. </p>
<p>Go for the math major if you enjoy it. You have the ability :)</p>
<p>A math and english double is pretty unusual but a cracking skill set that would be very attractive to employers.</p>
<p>Your creative writing can be pursued via many EC activities at college- newspapers, websites, drama production programs, writing plays, poetry journals. This is additional to your own regular writing practice. </p>
<p>Most poets work on their writing in their spare time, creating regular time slots before or after a paying job to be productive. Even some of the most well know had day jobs- Philip Larkin was a librarian, TS Elliot worked in a bank, Jack Kerouac worked on the railways. But this has the advantage of supplying you with stories and characters to populate your work.</p>
<p>Hello all. Thank you so much for the encouragement! I’ve been very unsure about this decision, especially with the economy being as it is, and I really appreciate the support. </p>
<p>Do you think a math major in addition to creative writing would be overwhelming? I want to still have time to write in college. What are the differences between English, English lit, and creative writing as majors? Also, what are some good colleges with both departments? I’ve heard of Iowa University. Are there any others?</p>
<p>Hello? Anyone?</p>
<p>You aren’t going to see job posting with Creative Writing degree required. Many colleges don’t have a creative writing major. They have an English major with creative writing classes and maybe a concentration. With a BA in Creative Writing or English you are eligible for any job that requires a BA not in a certain area (like engineering or CS) if you also have the skills that they are looking for. Many people with English related degrees go for teaching, copywriter, working at ad agencies, working in PR, trying to get into publishing, any general business trainee position, sales, various writing and editing jobs. You will need a day job if you are going to try to have a career selling your fiction.</p>
<p>I know a recent graduate with a Creative Writing degree who is working entry level at a major talent agency in LA. These are highly sought after jobs for those who want to become agents and to work elsewhere in the entertainment business. However they only pay $12 an hour to start. If you survive, you can eventually make decent money through paying your dues and getting promotions or external placements. She got the job through an internal referral from a friend, which is the inside track. Otherwise it is extremely difficult to land one of those jobs.</p>
<p>English and math are core university offerings. Any half decent uni is going to be solid in those areas. You can proceed with your general college search and then drill down to look closer at those departments after you get a list of 20 or so you want to look at further. Of course there are uni’s that are more famous and have famous departments.</p>
<p>Iowa is known for the Iowa Writers Workshop which is a graduate program.</p>
<p>If you love writing and are good at math, consider English with Accounting. You would have a lot of possibilities - including the option to moonlight as a CPA to make extra money if you end up in an English based career path. It might be a little easier than Math English if you are concerned about the workload. I think double majoring is the only way to go, because you double your options when you get out plus you can do one practical and one you love.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Your major choice will depend a lot on what school you go to. You might go to a school with no creative writing program or a bad one. You might go to a school with a shoddy math major, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>You won’t know how much you like math until you have at least some exposure to proofs (this usually happens in a real analysis or abstract algebra class, but you might get some of the flavor in a discrete math class). Consider taking discrete math early so you can get a sense for this.</p></li>
<li><p>In terms of job prospects, the math majors I know usually go into finance or PhD programs. Some might become actuaries or teach high school. Computer science majors who don’t go into PhD programs usually program for a living or do some other tech-related job, like project management.</p></li>
<li><p>They say computer science majors have great job prospects and can make six figure salaries. But that’s only if you really enjoy programming. If you don’t like coding then all of your job prospects suck.</p></li>
</ul>