Degree in English Prepared Me for Jobs in Editing, Teaching, and Writing

In 2002, I graduated from the University of Illinois at Springfield with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. My decision to earn a college degree in English was motivated by one factor: my dream of being a writer. And yet, my degree in English has led me to several career opportunities to date.

The benefits of a degree in English are subtle, but they are profound and proudly highlighted by every college's English Department. In analyzing texts and writing expressively, English majors become proficient in critical thinking, creative thinking, and communication. Because English majors often choose their course of study despite limited career opportunities, they tend to be more involved and more passionate about their studies.

My alma mater, like other universities, insists that a college degree in English can lead to a professional career in any field. Yet opportunities are often limited to a student with any liberal arts degree without practical work experience. Networking, on-the-job training, and business relationships are especially important for a person beginning a professional career with a degree in English.

My own path after college led me to the three most common career fields for an English major: editing, teaching, and writing.

Editing

After completing a B.A. degree in English, I entered the graduate program and for the next two years was the editor of the UIS English Department's literary journal, The Alchemist Review. This was my first opportunity to directly use my English degree and the skills I had learned as an undergraduate English major.

An editing career is often begun as a student or intern, a fact checker, or editorial assistant. Editors then work their way up through increasing levels of responsibility which vary according to the organization. Newspaper editors often begin as writers. Editors for book publishers may proofread or evaluate manuscripts.

After two years as a student editor, I knew I would not continue on that career path. I wanted to create the written work, not edit it, and from my short experience as an editor, I knew a career in editing would take too much time away from my own writing. One of the choices for completing a master's degree in English at UIS was finishing a creative writing project. For my master's thesis, I wrote a collection of short stories. In 2004, I graduated with an M.A. degree in English and my first career experience in editing a literary journal and completing an extensive creative-writing project.

Teaching

With a graduate degree in English, my next-and I'll be honest, easiest to obtain-employment opportunity was teaching English Composition at a community college. Instructors of English Composition at any accredited two-year college must hold an M.A. in English. (Many, but not all, four-year universities require a PhD.)

If teaching is a career you are interested in, begin teaching while you are still a graduate student. At most four-year universities, graduate students teach undergraduate English Composition. This experience will be crucial in your post-graduate job search. Teaching positions at colleges are competitive, and the more experience you have, the more likely you are to secure a good position.

However, if you are merely interested in teaching part-time to supplement your income or leave time for creative pursuits, then you will have little trouble finding a teaching job. Adjunct English instructors are always needed at community colleges and some four-year universities. The bad news? The pay is low with no benefits or tenure security.

Also, as the English language is spoken more often around the world, teachers who can teach English abroad are in high demand. A B.A. degree in English will often be the only requirement to secure a job teaching English in a foreign country. TransitionsAbroad.com and TeachAbroad.com are both good websites to begin looking for more information on teaching English around the world.

Writing

Because journalists and technical writers usually earn journalism or communication degrees, I assume that most who earn a degree in English are creative writers: poets, essayist, novelist, and such. I also fall into this category. My degree in English was the means to study the language and literature that I loved, so that I could learn the craft of writing.

As a teacher, grading essays, preparing lectures, and communicating constantly with students, I was depleted in creativity and had little time to write anyway. As my daughter entered her first year of elementary school-and I entered my thirties-I decided the time was long past due to follow my heart and turn my focus back to writing full-time.

I submitted a short story to a local literary magazine and saw it published. I began writing more stories. I read through Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way again and went back to writing morning pages. I wrote entire drafts of novels and put them in my desk drawer. I started a blog. I attended my first writer's conference in Chicago. I signed up at Associated Content and began writing web content, which turned out to be a great motivation to me. Writing short articles for Associated Content and seeing them published was not only instant gratification (helpful for a writer working on a seemingly endless project), but also a reminder that I was a talented writer. Within a month of signing up, I received a Best of AC award for my books reviews.

Soon after, I joined my first professional writing organization, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and found my current writing group through that organization. Now, I am to the midway point of completing my first young-adult novel.

Famous English Majors

The English Departments at most colleges insist that an English major is prepared to enter any career field, and many prove this point by listing famous people who were once college English majors. Putting aside the reminder of our society's obsession with fame and notoriety, it's still fun to see successful people who were English majors, if only because of the variety of their chosen career fields. These famous English majors include not only writers, but actors, artists, executives, and scientists:

• Dave Barry (humorist, writer, actor)
• Carol Browner (head of the Environmental Protection Agency)
• Johnny Carson (talk show host)
• Chevy Chase (comedian, actor, writer)
• Tom Clancy (writer)
• Vin Diesel (actor, director, producer, screenwriter)
• Michael Eisner (Walt Disney CEO)
• Kathryn Fuller (World Wildlife Fund CEO)
• A. Bartlett Giamatti (President, Yale University and Commissioner of Baseball)
• Cathy Guisewite (cartoonist of "Cathy")
• Stephen King (novelist)
• Conan O'Brien (talk show host, writer)
• Joe Paterno (football coach, Penn State)
• Sally Ride (astronaut)
• Diane Sawyer (broadcast journalist)
• Martin Scorsese (director)
• Sting (singer, songwriter, musician, actor, environmental activist)
• Steven Spielberg (filmmaker)
• Brandon Tartikoff (television executive)
• Clarence Thomas (U.S. Supreme Court Justice)
• Harold Varmus (Nobel laureate in medicine, Director of National Institute of Health)
• Barbara Walters (broadcast journalist)
• Reese Witherspoon (actress)

Don't choose a college degree in English thinking you'll make the list of famous English majors, but if you know in your heart that you love language and literature, then please follow that intuition and earn a degree English. You may not have the security of knowing your direct career path, but then most English majors are the kind of people who understand that the not-knowing, the adventure and excitement, the unlimited possibilities, is the best part of life, no matter what their career.

Sources:

Occupational Outlook Handbook: Authors, Writers, and Editors http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos320.htm
What Can I Do With This Degree? http://www.uis.edu/english/about/degree.html
Famous English Majors http://english.illinoisstate.edu/prospective/famousMajors.shtml