English Major

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I know, I know...English majors are completely looked down upon by the majority of the posters here. However, I truly love English, and it's pretty much my dream to be a book editor. Although I tried Molecular Genetics so as to have a marketable skill, it just wasn't for me, and I've returned to English. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to make myself stand out from the sea of unemployed English majors working at Starbucks? I plan on trying for internships, but other than that I'm kind of at a loss.</p>

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<p>peace corps
grad school
law school</p>

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<p>Read. Write. Read. Write. Read. Write.</p>

<p>And in your spare time, try adding a bit of sleeping, eating, and showering to your schedule.</p>

4

<p>“unemployed English majors working at Starbucks”</p>

<p>One suggestion: reread before you publish. XD</p>

<p>Nah, but seriously: find any opportunity to travel and explore different niches of society. Not only will you be able to present yourself as a worldly and interesting person, but you will have material if you wish to write.</p>

5

<p>Hi, English major and student editor here. :p</p>

<p>If you really want to be an editor, look in the area for local internships with magazines and newspapers. Ask if you can shadow employees or have some minor copy editing work. Work for your campus newspaper above all else, or any campus-wide publications, as that will provide you with some experience that will also help you make connections with other future editors. Editing is NOT writing - it’s a much smaller market and is much more likely to get you a job.</p>

<p>Start reading Writer’s Market. Check out the editor listings, see what houses are hiring and what they’re looking for in a candidate. WM is like the writer’s bible. You can find it at any major book store, and it’s published each year in a new edition.</p>

<p>Also - take some business courses. Editors and publishers need some serious business savvy to cut it in the publishing market. It will help you infinitely.</p>

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<p>LOL, i’m also an English Major. You should get some internships under your belt and do a little study abroad.</p>

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<p>Just thought I’d add myself to the English major army.</p>

<p>Only, in England, you only do one subject. I can’t be an English major… cuz I don’t have a minor. I’m just doing English, heh.</p>

<p>Your application to universities is for a -specific subject-.
So you could make 5 applications to one university, for French, Mathematics, History, Philosophy and Dance. And get rejected for 3 subjects, but get accepted by the other 2 faculties.</p>

<p>No undecided majors. You go there on the basis of doing that one subject.</p>

8

<p>Try to get something published, maybe? There are tons of literary magazines and even online journals that publish short pieces; that’d be something that would make you stand out.</p>

9

<p>English is a great field of study! Congrats on tackling a misunderstood and really very versatile major. First of all, as an English major, you develop a certain set of skills that are very useful and desirable for many different kinds of jobs.</p>

<p>For example, English majors generally exhibit:

  • Excellent and adaptable communication skills
  • Especially fine writing ability (clear and concise)
  • Great sense of aesthetics
  • Ability to think critically
  • Strong ability to evaluate problems
  • Dedication to detailed research
  • Development of creative solutions
  • Outside-the-box mentality
  • Ability to read quickly and accurately (which can be a huge asset in many jobs)
  • Good insight into people, especially their emotions and desires
  • Capacity to think very theoretically and develop cogent, testable theories of their own
  • Ability to see and evaluate the possibility of multiple “right answers” (in other words, able to identify many good options and integrate them rather than being black/white, either/or)
  • Consciousness of (and comfortableness with) abstractions and complexities
  • Confidence to tackle difficult issues in contemporary society (racism, feminism, interreligious tensions, etc…) on both a theoretical and practical level </p>

<p>Possible things one could do with this:

  • Teach English abroad (places like Japan and China look for English teachers all the time, and that will give you some great crosscultural experience that is also useful in many fields and looks fantastic on a resume)
  • Pair it with a marketing or business minor/second-major and work in advertizing
  • Get a job as an newspaper editor or writer
  • Work for a publishing company
  • Write obituaries
  • Go to law school
  • Become a professional blogger (not easy or high paying, but sounds fun)
  • Write film scripts/screenplays
  • Write speeches (my grandpa did this for a living with an English major)
  • Go into politics and become involved in political campaigns
  • Any other ideas?</p>