what to do with an english major?

teach

I've put my English B.A. and M.A. to wonderful use as first a corporate technical writer, then a corporate promotional writer, then a freelance medical writer, and now also an instructor of online English courses.

The U.S. Naval Academy's "What to do with an English Major?" page answers your question as deftly as I've ever seen:

http://www.usna.edu/EnglishDept/WhyBeAMajor.htm

Frankly, the more technology-based our lives become, the more the technology companies need to communicate clearly with their customers AND employees.

For that reason, if you have the time and resources, you should consider adding a minor (or better yet, a major) in a science field.

And look for a college that has a good record of placing students in internships before graduation. You can check with the school's Communications department to see if they place qualified English majors in the internships that come their way.

Follow your heart, and good luck!

Dorian

A lot of employers are starting to recognise the skills English majors have... eg. textual analysis, critical thinking, etc.

I'm an English major, and many of my classmates have gone into publishing. You could also work towards becoming a literary agent. If you want to distance yourself from the book industry, you could look at becoming a copywriter (writing ads / slogans / catalogues / website content, etc). Marketing companies are often keen to hire English majors too, because we are trained to understand written messages (including ads).

Use your in-class essays to steer yourself towards your interests. For example, if you want to work in marketing, you could write essays examining advertisements and how they convey messages. Then you can use these to create a portfolio to supplement your CV later on.

Good luck!

Speech writer, public speaking, editor, teacher, writer, communications executive, marketing executive, technical writer, public relations representative. You will find that beginning your career based upon your formal education will lead to experience in other areas that will make you even more valuable in your position as time goes by, perhaps causing you to find a career that you never even considered, that may or may not be based upon your formal educational experience alone - Good luck to you!

Its good you have chosen your career. Apart from teaching and journalism you have a lot of job opportunities.Your excellence in your language will help you out.

Do your major in english. Get a good score. Then you will know where you stand....

AUTHOR!!!!:)