<p>I'm an English major at UC Berkeley, and I recently got back from a vacation during which I got pretty seriously grilled by my uncle as to why on earth I am an english major and how I should immediately switch to pre-med while there is still time to save myself. My uncle thinks that because I didn't argue back with him while he criticized me, that I wouldn't make a good lawyer, and that my career options are pretty narrow at this point. Moreover, he thinks that because I am asian and female, I wouldn't fare well in the business world, because I would have a hellish struggle climbing up any corporate career ladder. My parents think that law is the most suitable career path for me. Since I am on an early graduation track, I'll be graduating when I'm 20 next December. I would like to take this summer to intern at a law firm and see if I might be interested in law school, but I know I need more alternatives if that doesn't pan out. </p>
<p>I feel like I've worked very hard to get into this university, and I continue to work my hardest while I'm here, but I worry that the English major may not reward me practically upon graduation. I have researched a lot of fields into which English majors can easily transition, such as journalism and publishing, but I've found that the starting salaries are extremely meager, and I fear, that job growth and opportunity for salary increase won't occur until decades down the career road. Are there any career paths for an English major that don't cap out at a salary of 40k? I've even looked at careers in higher education administration, but these seem like prestige positions that depend more on who you know. Of course, I'm not sure if that assumption is correct. I would like to pursue a career that need not be ridiculously lucrative, but should allow me to be financially secure. I hope to find a career that is intellectually stimulating, allows for creativity and autonomy, and allows me to have a concrete influence over my work, if that is possible. I know my parents are doing their best to guide me, but I feel like they may not have experience with job possibilities in the field I am embarking on. They even tell me that by studying English I am pursuing something so far removed from anything they would have ever imagined for me career-wise (they say they know of three golden paths to success - engineering, medicine, and law), so I would really appreciate any input you may have as to career possibilities that you know of or that you yourself have pursued and found success in. Any advice you have would be great. Thanks all :D</p>
<p>I was an English major. I have never been without work. I have worked as media relations director of a human rights/human relations agency, taught at a community college, founded a publishing house, edited 140 books (and ghostwrote several), wrote 10 books, have three regular magazine columns, worked as senior planner of a state board of health (never took a health-related course in my life), worked as head policy analyst for the state on alcohol and drug issues (no experience/training there either), and am in constant demand as a writer, editor, and speaker. </p>
<p>In most cases, they wanted me specifically because of my writing skills - folks with information/expertise at their fingertips were a dime a dozen, and (they discovered) most of them, Ph.Ds and all, couldn't craft a decent business letter. And they don't have to - that's what they pay me for.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I was effectively an English major (comparative literature). I am in law. There's no question that law is a field open to the kinds of people that might be English majors, and that it also meets the criteria you set forth. So it is an option to look into.</p></li>
<li><p>There's nothing inconsistent between being an English major and being a doctor, either. Oliver Sachs, Lewis Thomas, William Carlos Willams . . . .</p></li>
<li><p>If you are a good writer, your career path certainly doesn't cap out at $40k. It's a tough row to hoe, and not everyone is successful, but successful writers (and I'm not talking just about best-selling authors or million-dollar screenwriters) can make a real living. One of my English-major classmates is a conservative pundit, for example (she also has a law degree). Another has written great, multiple-edition advice books for teenage girls.</p></li>
<li><p>Teaching. High school teachers in this area can make more than $100,000. And you have time to write, or do seasonal work for more money. It's not a bad life, and it also meets your criteria. You may need to get a certificate, but you may be able to do that while you are in college. College teaching, of course, requires a PhD, and is a much tougher field -- better paid at the top, but very hard to get there.</p></li>
<li><p>Who do you think writes advertisements? Ad agencies and marketing firms are full of English majors.</p></li>
<li><p>Another of my classmates wound up as a cook, then an innovative chef, and now runs a high-end, very successful catering firm with her husband.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>There is no reason you can't be a lawyer. Just because as a teenager who HAS NOT YET BEEN TO LAW SCHOOL you couldn't - or maybe even chose not to - argue with your uncle doesn't mean that you aren't cut out for law. </p></li>
<li><p>I'm not saying that there is no discrimination in the business world, but you aren't doomed to failure because you are an Asian female. In fact, some companies might actually want to promote you as a diversity gesture. </p></li>
<li><p>As others have mentioned, being a professor or teacher would allow you to live a quite comfortable and secure life, although getting a PhD would require years of extra schooling.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are worried about financial security and stability issues, you could do something like get a teaching certificate as a possible fall-back in case other things don't work out. Yes, I know that teaching is a calling for some people, but as long as you aren't averse to the idea, it might be a reasonable second choice if you can't succeed in publishing or journalism.</p></li>
<li><p>Stop worrying about your family, and figure out what you want to do. I understand that your parents deserve some input, but they themselves admit that they don't really know what's out there for English majors, and it seems like they assume that it is a degree of more limited value than it actually is. In today's world, undergraduate major doesn't actually count for that much in most fields.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>JHS, I liked your post BUT high school teachers do not make $100,000. Maybe you saw a figure in the newspaper that included their benefits package, etc. but the starting salaries for new teachers is around $35-40K best. Top teachers after 20+years might be pulling in $65 or so.
English is one of the very best majors for a future lawyer. Law schools want undergrad majors that require any of the working skills a lawyer needs, most importantly: critical/analytical thinking; writing; oral presentation.
I have many lawyers in my family and here are their undergrad majors: French literature; English; Music (performance); History; Political Science; Economics.
The only major I've heard maybe isn't always favored by law schools are so-called "pre-law" majors because they want to train you. Better use of your undergrad years is to develop a solid liberal arts foundation, and wait for grad school to learn how to practice law. However, some of the undergrad law studies programs are more about the theory/philosophy/sociology of law and in no way profess to be pre-law programs. In fact (as at Amherst College's LJST major) they state it clearly in the catalogue. It's unlike a pre-med approach and they want you to know that if you major is LJST (Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought) that it's just for the sake of studying those disciplines and not to grease your way into law school!
I think your uncle was unfair to you (the word "bully" popped into my mind) because unless he told you he wanted to debate you, there might have been restraints in your mind not to disrespect your elder relative within your home.</p>
<p>It's becoming very difficult for schools to find principals and superintendants. These jobs would need graduate degrees and aren't easy, but they could give you a lot of influence in the field of education, if you're interested, and the pay is quite good. You'd want to try teaching first.</p>
<p>First off, the reason to major in English is that you love the subject. The nice by-product is having writing/critical thinking/analysis skills.</p>
<p>Non award-winning, non multi-million-dollar screenwriters also make very good $$-- but it is often less about writing skill and more about having a commercial/marketable/castable "high concept" story idea. Sold my first script (which took me about 5 months to write) for over $100K, at age 27. </p>
<p>Then again many so-called screenwriters can't even qualify for the WGA health plan (~$35K earnings in a year). </p>
<p>mini and I are similar, I have also done many different jobs. I tend to get sick of stuff after about 5-7 years, so then I move on to the next thing. Screenwriting was great fun, but it got too hard when I had small babies (because when I write sort of disappear into a hole for hours or days on end-- & babies don't really like that).</p>
<p>I am working on a book, now that my littlest baby is 9.</p>
<p>Teachers in my area definitely top out around 100,000. And my H started this year at more than I make after many years in higher ed. (Not to mention he gets summers off, which I don't, which gives the English major loads of time to write and read. Not a bad gig.)</p>
<p>Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have professional writers in house. These jobs of course will require you to have a science or medicine background as well. The same would apply to other sort of technical writings.</p>
<p>There are of course English majors who go to medical school. Harold Varmus was an English major at Amherst. Went to Harvard Med, won a Nobel and became the NIH director for sometimes. </p>
<p>Lots of English majors go into Wall Street firms. </p>
<p>I can't convince my D to major in English. She wants a field that is lucrative. LOL.</p>
<p>mathmom and garland, with all due respect, I checked the figures, which come from the wealthiest suburbs of New York. Those six-figure salaries ($105,000...) for schoolteachers represent the top 5% in a handful of wealthy districts. Median salaries (50th percentile) in NY State are around $50-60K. Starting salaries at $35-40K.
How fair is it to talk to a young person such as the OP, not even graduated from college and cite such statistics as $100,000 for a teacher! Yes, "some teachers" make that much..but what does that mean. Statistics must be handled with care. I try to offer realistic understandings of salary to young people.
On top of that, NYState has a powerful teachers' union, the envy of the nation. Teachers in other states do not fare quite as well.
I know this as a NYState certified teacher.</p>
<p>I notice that there is a HUGE variety there, but you may want to tell your uncle that, yep, some Berkeley English majors do indeed go on to medical school -- and law school as well.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm a big believer that every person forges his or her own life and career path, so perhaps you will do something not yet "on the list." In any case, I'd highly recommend taking full use of the resources and connections of Berkeley's career services center - don't wait until you graduate to do so either! Good luck!</p>
<p>A B.A. in English isn't worth the paper it's written on. Literally. Jobs in journalism/editorial are tough to get, and you'll need skill, chutzpah, and contacts to get one. An English degree won't help, nor will a M.A. in Journalism. Publishers have cut staff to the bone. Pick up a book and see for yourself -- it probably went to press with roughly 20 hours of editorial attention. When I started in the business, somebody checked every fact, every comma, every typeset face and style. No more. It costs too much. As for ephemeral online pubs -- nobody cares.</p>
<p>If you want to teach HS, you'll still need an education certificate or, for private schools, skills, chutzpah and contacts. You can make a good living if you can earn the students' respect and your temperament suits the job. It means being "on" for most of the day; it's not for the faint of heart or the weak of bladder.</p>
<p>That said, I applaud your efforts. I majored in English 'cause it thrilled me. Still does. Like Mini and SBMom, I've done many things and mostly loved what I was doing. For many years I did online tech editing from home and that was the best. For a while now I've had a hard time finding enough to do, but that's likely because I've grown old, tired, and insular. Bright, eager youngsters like you are getting the jobs. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>My son is a junior and an English major. We did not grill him over the break, but we gently inquired as to what he thinks might be next. As he loves Chaucer and Milton I expected him to say he was thinking of going on for a PhD, but he surprised us and said he does not want to on to grad school, yet. This summer he hopes to work on campus as an assistant for a teacher who is researching a non-fiction book she is writing. He thinks he might be interested in journalism and wants more researching experience. After a competitive process he was given a column on his school's mainstream newspaper and writes regularly for the alternative paper as well. This past summer he wrote grants for an NGO and taughted ESOL part time(both overseas)..I have no idea what he will be doing 10 years from now. He doesn't have expensive tastes, he is happy with his world and he is not driven by ambition. I figure it will all work out for him- he will graduate having had a range of experiences related to his degree so that hopefully he has a sense of what to pursue first, and what he can do if that doesn't work out. </p>
<p>I am feeling like if a person is an English major they are an English major for a reason. I think before you worry about how much money you will make as a HS administrator, screenwriter, lawyer or anything else it might help you to ask yourself why you became an English major. What sorts of experiences have you had related to things that an English major might do? From answering these 2 questions you will possibly migrate....towards a path. You don;t sound like an administrative/business type to me (wanting control over product would seem to me to be far removed from what drives happy administrators)...</p>
<p>Engineering, law, medicine...can't think of 3 less satisfying experiences for people who really aren't doing them for the 'right reason'- the right reason being that it is what YOU, not your parents or other helpful relatives, really want.</p>
<p>To build on what anitaw says - definitely don't choose a career path unless you are genuinely interested in it.</p>
<p>My husband had an unfortunate experience in med school with a very unhappy med student in his class. This particular med student really wanted to pursue poetry and was very talented, but his parents pushed him into med school. He ended up leaving med school (voluntarily, but the deans gave him a bit of a push because of several problems). What a waste of money, time, and happiness.</p>
<p>Think about the things you enjoy. Then find a way to pursue those things. That's what college is about. Your advisor should be a good source for these questions, too.</p>
<p>If you're interested in law school, don't listen to your uncle. It doesn't sound like he knows much about the careers that graduates from top law schools go into, or what being an attorney is like. Also, graduates of good law schools peak at a significantly higher income than $40k, and law is a career path that is more than accessible to former english majors.</p>