What Do You Do with a BA in English? How I Have Used My College Degree

"What do you do, with a BA in English?" I guess it is ironic that this song, in the hit musical Avenue Q, is paired together with the jaunty melody "It sucks to be me!" Though perhaps I am being overly dramatic, I have a Master's degree in English Literature, and a BA in English Literature and Theatre, and sometimes I can't help but think that that song was written for me. Seriously folks, I have been able to use my degree in some pretty interesting ways so far, and I think that a Liberal Arts education is still incredibly valuable.

I currently have two jobs, I do technical support/customer service for a major window and door manufacturer, and I am also (obviously) a freelance writer. I find writing far more satisfying, but I've found that my English degrees have helped me along in my career.

Obviously, being well read, and having to write enormous papers for any number of classes has helped me in preparation for a freelance writing career (though you wouldn't think it looking at my grammar), but it is more the critical thinking and research skills that have proven themselves to be useful so far in my life outside of college.

The theatre portion of my degree has helped me be comfortable in crowds, big and small, and has helped me to think quickly on my feet. It has also helped tremendously with my sense of humor, charm, and winning smile (and did I mention my ego?). In other words, both in written and verbal communication, I am relatively skilled.

I never expected to write for pay, but I love it. I could not have done it without my Liberal Arts degrees, because of the skills I have mentioned, so never let anyone tell you it is a waste of your time or money.

Big business hires Liberal arts majors because they are critical thinkers, and tend to have a vastly different point of view than your typical accounting major, and are trained to think critically, and to research... both incredibly important skills for any field in any industry.

Though I poked fun of myself and my field of study at the beginning of this article, I would not be the person I am today without the schooling I have had. The skills I have learned are much greater than the sum of my classes, or the text of my curriculum vitae.