<p>My son will most likely attend a Liberal Arts College in the Midwest mainly because he wants to continue running track and cross country at the D3 level. He is a very good student (4.0) and tests pretty well (31 ACT). His strength is definitely in the language portion. I think he got a 35 English, 28 Math, 28 Science, and 34 Reading. He loves to read and says that right now he would like to major in English. I know kids can change their mind but once he starts something he usually gets excited about it and continues down that path. Every time I google 10 worst majors, English appears on the list. So, is English really the dead end major it appears to be? Secondly, would it be possible to have a double major like English and something that gets you a job and attain this in 4 years? Thanks so much for your help and advice. I don't know if this is relevant but right now his top choices would be Wooster, Kenyon, Wittenberg, and Ohio Wesleyan.</p>
<p>A friend who works for a Wall Street firm has said multiple times in recent years that he sees a huge lack of basic communication skills in all applicants. He would hire an English major who can write well over other majors who can’t compse a basic email with correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. </p>
<p>There was an op ed in either the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post this week that addressed the same issues. Employers are increasingly hard pressed to fill jobs, not because they are looking for specific STEM-y skills, but because they can’t find people with communication skills. I’ll try to find that article.</p>
<p>I know several doctors with English degrees :D. It’s all in what you do with it. Technical writing is a hot field right now, for example. English teachers at the high school level are a dime a dozen. A lot of lawyers have UG degrees in English (but I wouldn’t ‘let’ my kids go into law right now).</p>
<p>It is good to hear some positive things about the English major. So why is it stuck on all these bad major lists? One list had English rated just above Puppetry and just below Music Therapy as far as bad majors.</p>
<p>“Hard Unemployment Truths About “Soft” Skills” written by Nick Schulz, in the September 20,2012 edition of The Wall Street Journal.</p>
<p>“But considerable evidence suggests that many employers would be happy to find job applicants who have the sorts of “soft”” skills that used to be almost taken for granted… Employers also mentioned a lack of elementary command of the English language… More than half of the organizations surveyed reported that simple grammar and spelling were the top “basic” skills that are not readily present among younger workers."</p>
<p>The editorial’s focus was on manufacuring, and on lower level employees, but I think it is applicable to college graduates as well. Any college graduate who can write well, particularly in technical areas, is a valuable commodity.</p>
<p>midwestdadof2–like any rankings, take it with a grain of salt. The rankings I’ve seen have only included direct jobs for various majors-high school teachers is common for English majors, but they never consider other fields that are common for English majors, like Law, Technical writing, publishing, copywriters, editors, proofreaders, etc. As for music therapy, those jobs are in HIGH demand. I think there is a perception about some majors more so than reality.</p>
<p>Some friends of our family have a DD that just graduated with a degree in English. She had 5 grad school offers for full costs plus stipend to teach 3 classes and take a full load of grad school credits. They are paying her $25K/year plus all of her tuition, books, and living expenses. Pretty nice deal for an English major. She will probably end up as an English Prof some day but she also had numerous job offers in the technical writing field. She just graduated from a very low ranking state school too.</p>
<p>Technical writing is a hot field right now, for example</p>
<p>This is interesting. What companies are hiring for this?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids–a lot of them–everything from publishing companies, to pharmaceutical companies to construction companies–really any company that puts out manuals, marketing materials, etc. Websites are a hot thing now and larger companies often hire technical writers or even just English majors to maintain the information on their websites–especially if they have a blog.</p>
<p>You need to listen to Garrison Keillors’ Prairie Home Companion on occasion, who does humorous pieces about English majors. </p>
<p>That he cares about the English language, and using it well, is a great thing. At a great LAC, who knows what direction he’ll eventually go in. My D planned on majoring in Creative writing and ended up in a science, despite NO inclinations in that direction in HS. She finds her writing skills of value in any discipline. </p>
<p>My niece just finished her practicum for Music Therapy-and has a job. Not the worst major for her!</p>
<p>If the student intends on staying in a traditional English major occupation (book editing, creative writing) then the competition is very tough. Casting a broader net certainly helps.</p>
<p>All of the technical writers that I work with are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. I think that there are a lot of older technical writers out there with a lot of tech experience and these compete with new graduates. The new graduates may have more experience with newer products but the older writers may have more experience in working with engineers in explaining technical concepts and directions to users.</p>
<p>His math and science scores are not that bad. He may love English but he may have other possibilities too.</p>
<p>I was an English major 20+ years ago, and much of my current job includes writing and editing. Obviously, my English major was pivotal in getting this job.</p>
<p>BUT - my other major 20+ years ago was chemistry, which was much much more important in my overall career path. For many years I was a scientist who could write and not a writer who knew science. </p>
<p>I think English skills are important, but career-wise, it’s even more important to bring something else to the table along with your aptitude for writing and editing - maybe a knowledge of economics? engineering? statistics? As Erin’s dad said, you need to cast a wide net.</p>
<p>And I also second what BCEagle said. When I was transitioning to a new post-chemistry career, I found the competition for technical writing very (surprisingly) tough.</p>
<p>BCEagle91–which means those jobs those 50-60 year olds hold will be opening up as they retire. Like I said, it’s all what you do with the English major that will make the difference but it isn’t any different than any other major. You could major in biology with nothing else with it and have equally as difficult of a time finding a job.</p>
<p>My DD is an English major; within that, she had to select an particular concentration and she picked “professional writing.” Note sure what the other options were - probably in creative writing, literature. She has a minor in a subject area that she would possibly like to write about.</p>
<p>Through internships, your DS can figure out how he wants to apply his English degree. Or maybe he will want to go to law school afterwards. While there are some degrees that definitely lead into a particular career (accounting, engineering), the vast majority show that you have learned how to write and think critically about a topic.</p>
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<p>We have older employees that aren’t retiring at traditional retirement ages. It appears that we don’t have a requirement that employees retire at 65 or 67 - whatever the ages is these days. These kinds of jobs aren’t physical and people are healthier and living longer. With the losses in pensions, 401Ks and low saving rates, more older workers will be staying on the job longer. Also, recent labor reports show that there has been far more hiring of experienced workers compared to young workers - young workers actually lost a lot of ground in last month’s report (this was after seasonal adjustment too).</p>
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<p>One of the guys that I work with has a Phd in English and he’s had a long career in software engineering and the patents and features to show how good he is.</p>
<p>In the case of the person being discussed, I was thinking of a dual-major or a major with a minor.</p>
<p>My husband has a friend who works for a large well-known corporation. He says that when he hires, he looks for the English majors: Employees can get hands-on training for the job right here, but I cant teach them how to write.</p>
<p>I think I will encourage him to major in something in a hard science to go along with the English. It is nice to hear that some people, who seem to be in the know, place value on the English major.</p>
<p>Major in english + some other degree would be ideal.</p>
<p>@Mary13–You posted my experience. My first job as an English major right out of college was as a technical writer with a technology company. The hiring manager said just that, “I can teach you about systems, but I can’t teach you to write”. Along with my resume, she had asked for what I considered my two best pieces of writing and hired me on the spot. I did not stay in technical writing long, but it was always my language, writing, speaking skills that enabled me to move up (I ended up several years later at Harvard Business school where I was my section’s management communications tutor).</p>
<p>I will never forgot that my first boss hired me into a technical field for which I had no background simply because I could write. I have taken that philosophy to heart and payed it forward to many new grads coming to me for jobs. I have always evaluated candidates based on their writing/communication skills first; everything else can be learned.</p>
<p>I am no longer in management but, in the waning years of my career, my work still focuses heavily on writing. Yes, it matters what you do with it, but I would say that an English degree provides the best sorely-lacking skills out there, and wise companies know it. All the best to your son.</p>