What can you do with a Bachelors in English?

[mominwestlake]

My D is in her 2nd year of college and double majoring in English and Spanish. She can graduate next spring (2015). She doesn't really want to continue for her Masters. I don't think there is much she can do with a Bachelors in English and Spanish. Does anyone have experience with those 2 majors and securing a satisfying career where you can support yourself?

 

[bananasplitkids]

I had many friends that studied English in college. It was a very popular major for students who wanted to go on to law school without majoring in Political science. It was also popular with students who wanted to do PR work. Of my friends who graduated with an English degree, 1 is working at a PR firm, 3 went to law school, and the other is teaching English over seas.

 

[Partridge]

Well, what does she want to do as a career? That's the most important question. A lot of jobs really don't require a specific degree, just a degree. I'm a high-ranking Adminstrative Assistant at a university and am able to support my family. There is room for growth, and there is an ability to transfer to other departments on campus (like the Registrar, Admissions, etc.), and the job itself is immensely satisfying because it's what I wanted to do. However, I was able to get this job because of my experience, not because of what I majored in. Experience is absolutely vital.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Usually those go along with a degree in education. There are probably other areas that work, but that's the only thing right off the top of my head. I don't know if she wants a career in education or not.

 

[southlakejr]

I have a BA in English with an emphasis in Literature. I often joke that there are two things you can do with an English degree: teach and bag groceries.

The degree doesn't translate directly into many fields, and is not frequently a suggested degree for many things other than teaching or eventually entering law school. Even pursuing a masters does not necessarily improve this. However, most jobs in this era are searching for A degree, and they don't care too much what it is in. (I work as an account manager for a commercial painting company. )

Her Spanish degree will be a lot more useful, particularly if she is fluent in Spanish. There are a lot of places where bilingual skills can be a huge bonus. What career field is she interested in?

 

[crisi]

A friend of mine is the VP of a company whose degree was in English - he went into IT, eventually into management and rose through the ranks that way. I knew lots of English majors in IT. I was an IT manager with a degree in Art History.

 

[mrslur]

Two of our three kids have English degrees. One is a missionary(doing mostly IT work) and the other is an officer in the Air Force. The joke in our family is that the third child never finished his degree. The University he attended offered him a full time job doing web design/development before he graduated. He makes more than the other two combined.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Sometimes you can do lateral entry into a school system,especially in Spanish, if she would want to teach. Hospitals use a ton of English/Spanish interpreters and they tend to pay very well. Most require a degree, but like someone said, they really don't care what degree.

 

[QVCshopper]

I was a Creative Writing/English major in college, with a minor in secondary education. I completed a semester of student teaching in high school English, but I was so miserable. So, I started working for bigger companies and have been employed ever since--about 15 years.

I've held at least one job at a time consistenly since I was 14 years old. That's 23 years of working with an English degree, although I did get a masters degree later on because my company paid for it. I'm currently a part-time copywriter, but I could be full-time if I wanted to be. I am a stay at home mom the rest of the time.

 

[Cindy B]

I am a teacher, with an additional bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. I also tutor 1:1 for ESL/ELL students.

Many of my high school friends wound up with English degrees: One was a waitress at a very high end restaurant for many years and is now a certified massage therapist. Another friend also got a Master's degree in Education, went through student teaching and hated it! This friend is now a senior copywriter for a medical company. One more friend also got a dual English/Education degree and is now a communications director at an advertising firm.

 

[klacey1]

I have a BA in English and am a magazine editor/writer. I took my last final on a Thursday and started my full-time job the following Monday; I've been gainfully employed (three different jobs) ever since. I make a very comfortable living in a high COL area.

ETA: I don't have a MA, and don't plan to get one. I simply don't need one for this career.

 

[MrsPooh]

Another English major here. When I decided that was what I hoped to major in I went to my favorite professor and told him I wanted to major in English but not be a teacher. I said if he could show me another possible use for an English degree I would go for it. He gave me two large documents with info and I have been very grateful for that.

I have been employed since graduation except when ill and during times I choose to be a stay-at-home mom.

The background was excellent prep for marketing/communications type jobs - I even earned a national marketing award many years ago.

I current work in the non-profit area in volunteer management which involves a great deal of communication.

Also, as said before, English is an excellent pre-Law degree.

All that being said, I've never earned huge amounts of money but for the most part I have enjoyed my jobs. However, I have been well qualified for a number freelance writing positions I've picked up over the years.

 

[3boymthr]

I have my BA in English Lit. I was an Underwriter for 17 years. Because the job wasn't family friendly (great money, crappy hours) I'm now a bookkeeper. I put that degree to good use .

ETA - I had a friend whose degree was english and who now works as a freelance copy editor. She started out working for Houghton Miflin. She contracts for TV studios and works on editing the scripts for programs like NOVA.

 

[mickeyboat]

I majored in English and went to law school.

 

[angierae]

I have an associate's degree with a paralegal certification, and I am currently taking classes to finish an English bachelor's because a lot of paralegal jobs want someone with "a degree", which has been mentioned before. Since reading/writing are something I am interested in, I decided to go with the English degree.

My cousin has an English degree, she went to law school.

If she is interested in law but doesn't want to go to law school, she can probably get a paralegal certification with only one year post-bachelor's (I did it backwards because I was a single mom and needed to get a degree quickly.)

 

[msmama]

I'm a stay at home mom with an English degree, but what her English degree will translate into is someone with good written communication skills.

The question isn't necessarily what does one do with an English degree, the question is more, what does she want to do and how will the English degree help her - and answering questions like that is something one learns with an English degree, lol!!

 

[Narnia_girl]

Another English degree here... Most of my adult life I have concentrated on being at home with my children. During that time I worked as a freelance writer and editor.
I've also worked as a copywriter, reporter and public relations writer. Currently work part-time for a non-profit symphony and spend a great deal of time writing press releases, updating social media and writing TV and radio scripts.

 

[holden]

After I graduated with my BA in English (with a concentration in writing) I was hired as a paralegal at a law firm in Philly (no paralegal certificate). I worked there for 7 years. During the last 3 years of that job I went to grad school at night to earn my Masters in Education (MA). I then taught high school English for 7 years. Now I'm a SAHM.

I think a degree in English provides a great "foot in the door" to many different kinds of work - law, PR, marketing (writing copy, for example), and writing (lots of online magazines, etc) to name a few.

 

[mjkacmom]

I have a BA in English with a writing concentration. After college, I got a job in HR (the goal was to get a job), and then got another HR job in another company, and then went back to school full time to get a MA in Special Education (2 classes short - did get my certification).

There are many positions that require a college degree - I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was in college.

 

[jdh008]

Marketing may be a viable avenue for her. In marketing now, we are seeing a push away from traditional outbound marketing (commercials, billboards, print ads) and a push toward what they call content marketing, which is focused on creating helpful content for the customer to learn from.

Because of this, there is a huge need in marketing for people that can not only put a sentence together, but can also think more like a writer or journalist and less like a marketer. I know lots of people working in content marketing that have degrees in English, Journalism, Political Science, etc.