<p>First I’m going to assume a few things. 1) Your father is funding your college education. 2) Your dad genuinely cares about you and is doing this because he thinks (perhaps mistakenly) that it is your best option for happiness. My advice is NOT to compromise by leading him on and making him think you will become a doctor (or something like that). If you won’t be happy pursuing that, then don’t. However, his concern is legitimate. Passions like writing have infinite applications, but just majoring in English doesn’t give you a ready-made path as a career in medicine might; you’ll have to develop one yourself. So, I’d suggest you research potential careers that involve writing. Start with just researching it on the web; talk with professors, look for internships. Talk with your dad about different ideas. I haven’t had too much experience with the issue because my parents have never put an ounce of pressure to choose any school or any career (not to mention I want to be an engineer anyways), but my friend just faced a similar dilemma. I believe that if you can convince your dad there are viable careers that incorporate your passion and if he sees that you’re serious about your future, things will work out. Good luck!</p>
<p>Would you consider law as a provisional, back-up plan? Would your dad be satisfied if you told him that you are thinking about law school? If so, this may be the way to get him to allow you to focus on your writing now. Developing your writing skills is probably the best thing an undergraduate could do in preparation for a career in law ( and more particularly as a litigator in a large law firm). Tell your dad that you want to be an appellate lawyer in a big law firm and that you understand that you need to focus on writing to do that. An appellate lawyer works on cases after they’ve been decided at the trial court level and appellate lawyers are essentially professional writers. You mentioned that you enjoy theater. Many lawyers take acting classes to improve their presentation skills. There are no required undergraduate courses for law and any major that stresses writing is the best preparation for law school. If you end up with some sort of fabulous writing/publishing/art job after graduation, you could always put off law school for a few years (I.e, forever). </p>
<p>What kind of writing are you interested in? </p>
<p>On the art business front, you should interview people on the field to get a sense of what they actually do on a day to day basis. I know lots of people in the art world with very boring jobs. Lots of the jobs in the art world are fundraising jobs. Many others are basically sales jobs. I know someone who just quit an extremely glamorous and prestigious high art job in an auction house because she finally got sick of the relatively low pay and basically got sick of the narrow field she specialized in. I’m not trying to talk you out of pursuing a career as an arts administrator or in the art business but I’m just pointing out that the actual jobs in an exciting field are not necessarily exciting jobs. It’s worth keeping an open mind while mollifying your dad with vague future law school plans.</p>
<p>P.S. I work in a large law firm and each year our first year associate class is filled with former journalists, curators, history professors, art critics, actors, novelists, activists, screenwriters, editors, etc. So it is not exactly a fib to tell your dad that you are considering law school even if you intend to pursue a more creative field along the way.</p>
<p>I know why! Because you are Asian! That’s normal, bro.</p>
<p>Your dad does have a point… major in English = no job. He’s looking out for your long term interests. Major in a STEM major right now will be hard, but the reward will come later (delayed gratification). How about just major in a hard sciences and write on the side as a hobby?</p>
<p>majoring in science is also= no job. Major in English and do premed too.</p>
<p>Medicine is a long road and will have less and less financial renumeration in future years. I’d suggest English major combined with pre-law or business/economics. After graduation, you could work for a few years trying to make a go using your English degree in some way. If you are successful and happy, continue on that path. If you are unsuccessful or unhappy, then continue on to apply to law school or business school.</p>
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<p>Actually, parents have considerable financial leverage over their under-age-24 students. Unless age 24, a veteran of the US military, or married, the student needs parental cooperation. If the parents can pay according to financial aid calculations, but they refuse to pay (even for something like majoring in the “wrong” subject), then the student cannot afford to go to college unless s/he gains a very large merit scholarship. Even if the parents can afford to contribute $0, their refusal to provide financial aid form information can block a student from going to college.</p>
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<p>Biology and chemistry majors do not have very good job prospects if they do not get into medical or other professional school. The STEM majors with the best job prospects tend to be some types of engineering, computer science, math, and statistics.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/internships-careers-employment/1121619-university-graduate-career-surveys.html</a></p>
<p>Ethan Canin, one of our greatest american authors, is a physician. fyi</p>
<p><a href=“For Writers, the Doctor’s Definitely In | Poets & Writers”>For Writers, the Doctor’s Definitely In | Poets & Writers;
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<p>Michael Crichton, author, screenwriter, producer, and director, was also a physician. Got his MD from Harvard Medical School. His show ER was based on his novel “Five Patients” compiled from his experience as Mass General Hospital.</p>
<p>I haven’t read this whole thread, but feel I must weigh in. I live in a part of the world (LA) where many working writers earn way more than doctors, and quite a few doctors have screenplays they would like to sell. </p>
<p>This is anecdotal, but I know many English majors who have graduated in the last two or three years. These are the jobs they have found (not just in LA and NYC):</p>
<ul>
<li>Assistant at literary agency (2)</li>
<li>Social Media director at nonprofit (writes web content)</li>
<li>SAT tutor ($300+ a session)</li>
<li>Researcher on reality show</li>
<li>Development assistant at production company (doctor’s daughter)</li>
<li>Writer for international film distributor (writes subtitles)</li>
<li>Writers’ Assistant on kids’ show </li>
<li>Junior Account Exec at advertising agency (2)</li>
<li>Speechwriter for lobbyists</li>
<li>Publishing assistant (educational media)</li>
</ul>
<p>Chances are you won’t sell your novel or screenplay as soon as you graduate. But with the social media explosion, there are more and more entry-level jobs for good writers. And most good writers do study English. Follow your dream!</p>
<p>P.S. Just read nottelling’s suggestion - great idea - mention you’re thinking about law and need to study English to hone your communication skills . Many English majors do, in fact, go into law. (But most of the attorneys I know also dream of selling their screenplays.)</p>
<p>I have not read the entire thread, either, but I have a bit of advice for the OP. There are some jobs that people just cannot do for the money. Number one is parenting; if we didn’t love our kids, we would kill them at some point. Others that demand sacrifice day in and day out, constant hassle, headaches, heartbreak, and leave you emotionally and/or physically exhausted require a person to love the job or they will be miserable. Law enforcement, firefighters, teachers, and medical care come to mind. I have been an RN for over 18 years, and I can’t tell you how many doctors have told me that they did not enjoy what they did, they were miserable, but after the investment of medical school, their practice and all that was entailed, they felt very unhappily trapped in their profession. If you do not want to be a doctor, PLEASE don’t become one. Do something that you can happily see yourself doing decades from now.</p>
<p>nueroticparent, while I enjoy your blog, and generally enjoy your posts, it is not true that most writers major in english. English lit is about learning to criticize literature and to find themes, it is deconstructive, by nature, and not all that interesting to most writers. Editors, however, do seem to enjoy english.</p>
<p>OP, please don’t worry so much about what you study. Just read and read and read. And write.</p>
<p>" Just read and read and read. And write."</p>
<p>Poetgirl, did you ever read Schopenhauer’s essay called “On Thinking for Yourself”?</p>
<p>My Asian cousin once aspired to be a writer (she was 16 then). My aunt and uncle made a deal with her: publish something of substance by the time she’s 20 (in a major literary magazine, a novella, etc,) or win a notable literary prize for young writers, and they’d support her writing career until she’s 30, or until she could support herself with her writings. In the mean time, she didn’t have to go to college until she’s 20. If she couldn’t get it done in four years, then she’d to study in pre-selected majors (science, engineer) or they wouldn’t pay for her college. My cousin tried really hard for 2-3 years, but discovered that she didn’t have the talent. She’s now a well paid dentist. </p>
<p>Talk to your dad about a similar deal.</p>
<p>Perhaps dual-major… hopefully med schools, or employers that hire English majors, will see it through.</p>
<p>You can be a writer and not major in English. I like to write and also considered majoring in English. But the degree requirements were filled to the brim with courses I did not want to take (Early British Lit, a crap ton of poetry classes, etc., etc. Deconstructing and blathering on about Yates and Shelley isn’t my idea of q good time) but I have still taken two creative writing classes and I’ll be taking another in the fall.
Take some classes that fulfill your gen eds until you find something you would want to major in and pursue that. If it is English, then it is English. </p>
<p>If your father can fund or help fund your education but chooses not to, It’s a jerk move. Your federal aid and often times your scholarships, are largely based off of your parents’ income until you are independent. Him making your life harder than need be because you don’t follow in line with his plans are pretty screwed up. Funding your own education was a lot easier when the cost of college wasn’t rising at a rate where most wages can’t keep up.</p>
<p>OP, why don’t you look at a major in technical writing? You can fit a number of creative writing courses into the requirements, but you’re also trained in a very marketable skill in a technical field - especially if you have a specialty like grant/proposal writing, manufacturing specifications, social media, etc., etc. Research the job market and find a niche that suits you and also has a reasonable demand in the area you’re most likely to start out after college. </p>
<p>In my quick-overview-can’t-I-support-my-theory-before-I-post research, I found that most of the stats I saw for both salary and postgrad employment lump English together (Literature, Language and Writing), which means you’ll have to dig a little to find technical/business writing stats - but find them separated from the rest of English, because it’s a completely different market. Like History of Chemistry versus Chemical Engineering. Well, maybe not quite, but I don’t have a better example.</p>
<p>Is your dad going to pay for medical school? Because if he’s not, most doctors don’t/won’t get paid enough to compensate for the high amount of student loan debt you’ll have. Spending 8-10 years to become a doctor with 300k debt and only a 120k-150k income is financially idiotic. You’d be far better off becoming a CPA or engineer without student loans. And fwiw, an English major is largely unemployable. You might think you won’t care now, but you may want to earn money in the future. Just double major and deal with it later. I wouldn’t double major in biology though - another useless, unemployable degree on its own.</p>