# Finishing English Major in 2 more years. But now what?



## Northcrest (Sep 21, 2012)

Ive made alot of college threads in the past year, not saying this is my last one but some guidance would be cool.

I have no clue what i would do with this degree. I rather enjoy the classes Im taking they allow for alot of creativity, but i dont know exactly what type of entrance job to go looking for.

Ive thought about going for a masters in english but i feel like i would be just prolonging the inevitable having to find a job and not know what. I also dont want to pay for another 2 years or so of college. I would be okay when generally anything it looks like at this point except teaching. I really dont want to teach, and my mom keeps hinting at going to law school but that does not sound like something i would like (as well as being in front of people and making up arguments. I dont know man).

How much i get paid isnt a huge factor either.

Ive heard all of the English major jokes in the books so please none of those. Unless its original then come at me with it. But yeah any help? 


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## FakeLefty (Aug 19, 2013)

Journalism? I know there's a separate major for that, but I would think that English would be useful for at least some aspects of journalism.


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## zenobia (May 29, 2015)

I'm in a similar predicament. I originally planned to get a masters in Library Science to become a Librarian, but recently I've had a lot of doubts. Of course, technically, you could do just about anything that doesn't require a specialized degree. 

*I tried linking you to two websites that I found helpful, but couldn't post them because of my post count. If you feel up to searching for them one is titled "35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors", and the other is "100 careers for English Majors: They Do Exist (Really!)".

In the meantime here's a condensed list that is also far more broad than what the two websites list:
Brand Management
Communications
Editing
Interpreter
Journalism
Public Relations
Publishing
Sales
Writer

The websites have some job prospects that perhaps you haven't explored. I thought some of the careers (jobs) listed were really interesting. Wishing you luck on whatever you decide... I certainly get where you're coming from. Sadly being in the same boat I can't offer you much advice.


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

Well, you could become an editor for a literary agent, or a reader (yes, agents have readers to help with the mass volume of submissions). 

Beyond that, there's freelancing, which isn't stable, of course. 

And if you take some marketing classes--like a minor in marketing, you could do something with that.


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## Birdy (Dec 22, 2012)

I don't really know of any particular jobs, but I will say this obvious advice. For most of us it will come a time (if not immediately, it really is now, don't let being in school make you think it isn't now), that we will have to make money and pay bills, it seems generally accepted at 18, or 22ish if you go to college. What will you do to make money, where will you live? Figure out how you want to make money, or think you can make money, and start going towards that now or investigating. At one point you will finish the degree, and need to have a resume (if you don't already have one), so I would do that now. I wouldn't wait around, just think of something and work towards it in whatever way you best thing will have you achieve that whether it means changing schools, degrees, or dropping out to investigate it, or email people who have the job, etc. 

Whatever job you think of or, or hear about, or are suggested about, that you can get with an English degree, immediately begin trying to get that job. If you don't know what to do, pretend you got your degree yesterday, as if you don't do anything you will be in that situation. Sadly I've found career counselors at schools less than worthless, giving advice such as use google. The ones I have spoken to have not said anything I couldn't come up with in 5 minutes. 

Good luck!


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## chanteuse (May 30, 2014)

How about starting from the mailroom in a talent agency in Hollywood or a production assistant (PA)? These are lowly jobs but if you are aggressive and fast learner, you may step up nicely. 

My supervisor's son got his start from William Morris Agency's mailroom. His extensive knowledge of TV shows, comic books, and pop culture and his eternal fear of getting fired propelled him to be extremely good at proving himself to those who are watching from one studio to another (he's worked for all the big studios in town). Now he's a producer with Disney Studio. It took him 10 years from 22 to 32 but he's getting known in this extremely competitive industry without knowing anyone when he first got in. BTW, he's black.


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## Northcrest (Sep 21, 2012)

chanteuse said:


> How about starting from the mailroom in a talent agency in Hollywood or a production assistant (PA)? These are lowly jobs but if you are aggressive and fast learner, you may step up nicely.
> 
> My supervisor's son got his start from William Morris Agency's mailroom. His extensive knowledge of TV shows, comic books, and pop culture and his eternal fear of getting fired propelled him to be extremely good at proving himself to those who are watching from one studio to another (he's worked for all the big studios in town). Now he's a producer with Disney Studio. It took him 10 years from 22 to 32 but he's getting known in this extremely competitive industry without knowing anyone when he first got in. BTW, he's black.


Thats nice to hear! Ive been leaning close to the idea of going for a masters in creative writing at a top english university in the states. And if that doesnt work im thinking editor like someone said earlier, which is pretty ripe for creativity suprisingly. But i will definitley remember that.


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## Coburn (Sep 3, 2010)

Northcrest said:


> Ive made alot of college threads in the past year, not saying this is my last one but some guidance would be cool.
> 
> I have no clue what i would do with this degree. I rather enjoy the classes Im taking they allow for alot of creativity, but i dont know exactly what type of entrance job to go looking for.
> 
> ...


Freelance article writing (go through online sources). 
Journalism (usually for local newspapers online and off).
Script review (Blacklist usually has openings, but can be hard to get if you don't have any film-ish background).
Content Writing (probably one of the better options)
Technical Writing (if you don't have a class in this already, look for a course you can take)
Paralegal (may have to go to a paralegal school depending on where you live, but it's MUCH cheaper to going to grad school. It also can be done in less than a couple months.).
Marketing (seen a lot of my friends who majored in English get this...not so much for their writing skills, but because youth are tech savvy (or seen as tech savvy) and tend to be easy hires for social media stuff). 

My biggest advice would be learn MS Office (PowerPoint, Word, Excel) well. That means knowing how to navigate master slides, being able to set up basic macros. These skills are usually mandatory for entry-level office jobs of any kind. As someone who has hired for these kinds of positions, you would be AMAZED how many college grads can't work their way through MS Office software. 

It may not have much to do with writing, but it will help you get a job out of college. Which means you can get paid while you try to sort out what specifically you want to do. 





chanteuse said:


> How about starting from the mailroom in a talent agency in Hollywood or a production assistant (PA)? These are lowly jobs but if you are aggressive and fast learner, you may step up nicely.
> 
> My supervisor's son got his start from William Morris Agency's mailroom. His extensive knowledge of TV shows, comic books, and pop culture and his eternal fear of getting fired propelled him to be extremely good at proving himself to those who are watching from one studio to another (he's worked for all the big studios in town). Now he's a producer with Disney Studio. It took him 10 years from 22 to 32 but he's getting known in this extremely competitive industry without knowing anyone when he first got in. BTW, he's black.


Yeah...I would only recommend this if the OP already has connections in these agencies. I have friends who work at WME and CAA. All of them except for one were hired because they already knew agents who could forward their resumes to HR. The exception only got hired because the interviewer kept forgetting to show up for the interview, and gave him the job as an apology. 

It's a cool experience if you get in...but it's a bit like winning the lottery. There are a lot of people fighting for those 20 mailroom slots.


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## Cosmic Hobo (Feb 7, 2013)

My first advice to English majors would be: DON'T STUDY ENGLISH. In hindsight, one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. (To her credit, one of my teachers told me not to; I ignored her. More fool me.) A decade after graduating, I'm still in the process of getting into a career I can stand - and it's taken two other degrees to get there.

(I'm finishing a Master's degree in TESOL - which I loathe, but it gets me out of the country, and supports me while I'm getting my "proper" degree: Journalism. That builds on various languages, a substantial publication history, experience in international relations policy, and my general knowledge. So it's a lot of other stuff on top of the English degree.)

I wouldn't advise doing a Master's degree in English - been there, done that, looks impressive on paper, haven't found a way of using it. Do it only if you're turned on by Derrida and Barthes.

Don't do a degree in Creative Writing; if you're a good enough writer, most of what they would teach would be instinctive, and otherwise it's a non-degree.

What other skills / interests do you have? Languages? Interest in IR or Pol Sci? (Not law.) Psychology?


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## Word Dispenser (May 18, 2012)

@Northcrest:



FakeLefty said:


> Journalism? I know there's a separate major for that, but I would think that English would be useful for at least some aspects of journalism.


This.

You don't need to take journalism to be a journalist. Or an editor. Or any aspect of that world.

Just like how with art, you just need to show a portfolio with awesome work (Nobody cares if you went to school or not), in Journalism, you just have to show that you know how to write (And nobody cares if you went to school for it or not. But, of course, it helps.) Normally, being a journalist is as simple as sending an article to a magazine. Knowing _how _to write that article is a different story-- But, not too difficult to do with some research.

I took a couple of years of journalism, and this is why I know this. :kitteh:


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## The_Truth (May 2, 2015)

I have an English major cousin who got a job at her school in the library and she's hoping to become a full-time librarian.


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## 66393 (Oct 17, 2013)

"But now what?" As you are an English major that is quite an intriguing question...


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## StElmosDream (May 26, 2012)

Recently a friend showed me an alternative application someone found for an MA in Creative Writing: training in NLP therapies and literary therapies as a means of facilitating self expression for those with anxiety, stress, bereavement and depression (I have no idea if the person was successful but poetry reading and stream of consciousness, group reading of classic literature and film discussions has been found to help some refocus empathy and compassion away from the drowning 'me' to the collective 'we').


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