Any English Majors Here?

[springmama]

Hi, I am starting college this summer and hoping to major in English. Are there any English majors here? For now my plan is to get credentialed and teach high school English. I would love to hear about what other English majors are planning to do/doing with their degree.

[onlyboys]

I'm an English graduate. I worked for a couple of years teaching, changed my plan, went to midwifery school, had a baby, stayed home for 8 years, am teaching middle grades English right now and am returning to midwifery school in June!

I appreciate the work I put into my English degree, as well as my masters work in writing. I don't regret it at all, even though I don't plan on teaching after this year.

[corrieoseal]

I have an English degree. After graduating, I got my provisional certification to teach in MA and found employment in an urban district that helped me get the education credits necessary for professional certification. Since graduating from college, I have successfully taught in MA, CA, and MT. I still haven't taken all of my education credits, so my certification remains provisional until I get three more education credits. (Which seems a little silly given all of my successful classroom experience, but there are state guidelines in place.)

If your plan is to teach, I would suggest getting into a program that also provides enough education credits for you to get your professional certification upon passing your state's teacher exam. I wish that I had considered this while I was in college. (But honestly, a teaching career wasn't my goal at the time.) Still, even if you think teaching might not be in your future, I think it is helpful to take a few education courses as a "just in case." It's a huge pain to go back and take them later.

I think, overall, that an English degree is a smarter choice than a degree in education. I know that in MA, they are placing a greater emphasis in subject specialties and someone with an English degree is sometimes a greater asset to a school than a person with an education degree. I would make certain that you are passionate about your subject, because you will probably need a master's degree in English down the line if you plan to teach at the secondary level.

I might also advise you to add a technical writing certificate to your degree if your school offers it. This increases your marketability and career options after graduation.

Currently, I am not using my degree much. I have left teaching to be a SAHM and I am slowly pursuing a master's in professional writing. However, my degree has opened the door for me to provide private tutoring and my teaching certification means that I can also be employed part time as a district tutor.

There are lots of options open to you with a degree in English. I would also check this book out of your local library.

[1jooj]

I majored in English. I had a second major in a foreign language, too, and I didn't go to college with a career goal in focus. I studied at a liberal arts college, volunteered after completing my degree, and eventually began my professional life in editorial work. Since then, I moved into marketing and marketing communications, and I've been a copywriter for an advertising, marketing and design agency for 4 years now.

If I could add another degree/diploma, I'd go back for at least a two-year degree in graphic design.

Overall, I do think it was the right path for me, even though I don't have huge earning potential. My field pays well enough, but the stat I caught today was that 37% of ad agencies have shuttered since the recession began. Breaking in was already a challenge before the recession. Copywriters can become creative directors, and that does pay quite well--for those with the ambition.

[Annie Mac]

I got my MA in English Lit in 1998. Since then, I've worked in administrative jobs, teaching in various capacities (but never in the public schools, as I do not have a teaching certificate -- a lot of ESL teaching, a stint teaching in a elementary school in a foreign country, and some tutoring of adult college students), the odd writing gig, and a variety of banking positions.

Personally, I found the English degree was NOT a job training program. If you want to do something specific, get a specific certificate. Like many humanities degrees, you don't come out with a hard and fast set of skills that are recognizable to employers. Of course, I do live in a very desirable area of the world, where PhDs are working in coffee shops (OK, not quite...but pretty close!). But really, if you are looking to make a lot of money, a humanities degree doesn't alway deliver, especially if you have to take loans to get it. (The most I EVER made was 40k/yr, and that was in banking, something I could have done without an English degree). I loved my time in school though, and I loved being exposed to all sorts of literature I might not have discovered on my own, and being surrounded by likeminded people.

[tommynomad]

I'm with 1jooj: IMO, university is no place to train for a career. It's about figuring out who you want to be, and having choices that stimulate you to make important choices toward becoming that person.

My M.A. was in English, after a first History degree. I used those to love English and History at a deep level, and my passion continues. English degrees are all about reading great literature and talking to other smart passionate people about them. To show how far I've flung, I'm now a teacher-trainer and working on a PhD in Education. But I still devour beautiful books.

After my M.A. I did a CELTA, which got me on my career path of teaching EFL, ESL, and eventually TESOL.

[oceane]

I have an M.A. in English and am now in school again for s.th. else but it does come in handy everyday because I use it all the time for reading, writing etc (but then I'm German and in Germany so it's a foreign language).
I really enjoyed studying it, too! have fun!

[Lit Chick]

I was an English major (BA only). After college I worked in admin jobs that led into the IT field. I never took a single computer science class, but I ended up in technology.

I was also a theology minor, and I'm atheist. lol

Even though I do not "use" my degree, I do not regret what I studied at all. My writing and organizational skills set me apart from many of my coworkers.

[Qestia]

My DH majored in English. After college he got a job working writing proposals for a company, which lead to learning web design on the job, he now works in marketing, has an MBA, and makes a good living. I agree the skills have served him well...

[faerydust]

I have a BA in English. I didn't have any firm career plans when I started university. I just loved literature and writing, and majoring in it would ensure I got to take all of the classes I wanted! I figured I would go to grad school and eventually teach at the university level. I ended up with a master's degree in counseling instead.

[chlaal]

I have a bachelor's in English. Like faerydust, I also didn't have any firm career plans - I just picked English because I loved reading and writing, and I thought that after a couple years of college I would figure out what I really wanted to do...LOL!

Anyway, it took a while to get here but I actually do use my degree! I work as a technical writer, writing software documentation. It's a lot to do with computers and technology, but it's also writing, so it's definitely making use of the English degree. I like it a lot and I think I'm pretty good at it too!

[zinemama]

I have an undergraduate degree in English. After college I worked in the editorial offices of a medical journal, then taught in the Peace Corps. Later I got my M.A.T. and taught HS English for 8 years before becoming a sahm. Currently I write, do freelance editing, and work as an editor for an online literary magazine about motherhood.

[eclipse]

I have my BA in English. I've never used the degree specifically - I was a bookkeeper/hr/payroll person for a healthfood store, and now I'm a homeschooling SAHM (which, I guess, uses my degree). I don't regret getting it, though.

[LittleBattleAxe]

If literature is your passion, then by all means, be an English major. The chance to parse, analyze, and revel in words under the watch of passionate professors and alongside peers who adore literature, that was, for me, priceless.

I have a BA in English -- our program actually had two routes, the literary route (which I took) and the creative writing path. Of course, I had to do a lot of writing to get the degree, but mostly literary analysis. During my senior year, I segued into the English Education program, which, at my uni, meant taking graduate classes in English as well as in Education (mostly pedagogy) while preparing for a career in teaching via various internships which led to student teaching in the final semester.

I LOVE teaching English (though I never set out to be an English major, much less a teacher -- planned to go into an altogether different field). Fifteen years after getting my teaching certificate, I still love literature and books and the chance to talk with others who do, too.

Last summer I took a job working with formerly homeless people, teaching ESL, though at the time I didn't have any certification for that; I did get my ESL endorsement and it looks like I will be working fulltime in the fall as an ESL teacher.

So -- if words, literature, are your love -- then I would really encourage you to indulge in that while you can. You may discover you want to write screen plays or movie reviews, or you may find that you have a knack for teaching and go into that; or, you may end up some completely unrelated job, or go to graduate school in some completely unrelated field. The time you invest in yourself and in your interests is, imo, a great investment in the long run.

(One of my friends who graduated with an English degree ended up as a Hollywood studio lobbyist and traveled all over the world, has met all sorts of famous people -- so you just never know!)

[lazzybee]

Four classes left for my BA (Eng.) and currently applying to MFA programs--planning to teach and write. My husband is finishing his PhD in Eng. Lit., so obviously we're an English-loving family!

[RollerCoasterMama]

Looks like an old thread but I'll answer anyway.

I have a BA in English Lit. Originally I was getting English/Secondary Ed, but dropped to just Lit and intended to get my PhD. I worked as an admin for a year after college.

When it came time for grad school, I discovered that there wasn't anything I wanted to focus on for long enough to get a PhD! That's an awful lot of effort for something I didn't really care about! So, I listened to my gut and looked at other options while trying to decide what to do for grad school. I took the LSAT on a dare from a family member, aced it and wandered off to law school! These days I work using my law degree in a large corporation and I'm also taking some accounting classes (pd for by work) in anticipation of applying for a PhD in Accounting. Sounds random, but I really want to teach and that field NEEDS teachers!