How to Tell Your Parents that You've Chosen an English Major

Your parents worked hard to give you the best educational opportunities that they could afford. They provided for you and sacrificed and dreamed for you what they could never have had for themselves, all for you to come home one day and proudly announce that you had chosen to become....a starving artist? Well, that's not quite how you'll put it, but chances are that's how they'll accept it. Because liberal arts degrees have traditionally been associated with low paying stints and scant job opportunities, students choosing English majors often have a hard time coming clean about their intentions to their parents. However, technology and the increasing importance of art and authorship in our culture have provided opportunities for liberal arts students that didn't exist just a generation ago. To make the announcement a bit easier for both yourself and the for the people who poured their lives into your potential success, consider the following tips on how to tell your parents that you've chosen to pursue an English major.

Step #1: Don't blow off the financial questions. Young students (as well as adult students) often have a tendency to become quite defensive when parents suggest that choosing an English major will lead to a lack of sufficient funds. However, it's important for both yourself and them to accept that choosing an English major is almost never a ticket to instant financial freedom. Denying that will only fan the flame during any potential arguments you may have with your mother and father about your chosen major. Instead, take the more reasonable and mature route and make it known that you are willing, assuming that you are, to exchange art and fulfillment for extra cash, and that you're willing to work hard to succeed.

Step #2: Be prepared for the "real job" questions. Many English majors plan to pursue writing careers full time upon graduation from college, and many end up coming back to the same parents who tried to warn them to ask for cash to live on. The problem here is a lack of serious planning. There is no field in which a student can specialize in and expect instant demand and success upon graduation. We all start from the bottom, regardless of our choice of major. Writing and other artistic careers are no different. It's not degrading to elect to work in a particular area for a few years until you are established in your ideal field, nor does doing so diminish your talent. While you may indeed become successful in your preferred career rather quickly, go ahead and prepare a back-up plan in case it takes a little longer than expected. Your parents will appreciate knowing they are sending you to college with an idea as to how you'll survive when you graduate.

Step #3: Be prepared to list for your parents the job fields that are available to English majors (other than your first preference), and explain how your degree will help. Traditional jobs for students graduating with English degrees might include writing novels, editing, grant writing, journalism, writing ad copy, teaching, etc. However, you might be surprised to learn just how many nontraditional careers students earning English degrees often take on with a great deal of satisfaction that have a demand for their skills. Areas such as sales, counseling, human resources, management, hospitality, etc., have a need for those who excel in communication skills, both written and verbal. Help your parents view an English degree as more of an enhancement for your natural talents than as a technical career-related degree, and they may be able to understand more easily why you will be a desirable candidate for hire in many different fields of expertise.

Step #4: Acknowledge the new opportunities that technology has created for English majors. The need for Internet content creation is crucial, and growing. Online magazines need trained and entertaining writers. News organizations need journalists who understand online media. Small businesses need writers to create search engine optimized articles to attract web surfers out of oblivion and onto their sites. The need for writers who specialize in their craft and take it very seriously as a career is sky rocketing. While there are many individuals who write as a hobby and make a little extra cash on the side doing so, serious writers who can focus on an area of expertise are desperately needed.

Step #5: Explain your pre-graduation plan for resume enhancement. Graduating college with an English degree and no prior experience in your preferred concentration is a great way to end up in your parents' basement. Your parents know this, and it may drive a few heated arguments your way if you aren't prepared to counter their valid concerns with any concrete goals. Taking your future seriously means participating in internships, clubs, and also seeking out entry level work in your field well before you don a cap and gown. Planning to take part in these activities now will help your parents see just how serious you are about your endeavors.

Step #6: Let your parents know that you understand their concerns. Again, one of the best ways to make choosing an English major even more difficult is to place a divide between yourself and the ones who are very likely helping to put you through college. Even if they aren't, their support is still important for your happiness. While you cannot base your decisions on how your parents will accept them, you can do your part to help them see that you do understand and appreciate their concerns. Listen without interrupting, address any of the issues mentioned above thoroughly, and be prepared to repeat your intentions over and over again with patience. In the end, you will still have the ability to do what's right for you, regardless of any opposition.

Finally, try not to go into your conversation with your parents with a defensive attitude and a preconceived image of their responses. Remain calm, upbeat, and happy about your future while helping them see that you truly are grounded in your expectations concerning what an English major has to offer. Consider their advice carefully, and then make your plans with all elements factored in.