Career Options for English Majors

The old joke is that English majors have two career options: teaching high school, and teaching college. Although many English majors do eventually teach or attend graduate school, there is no reason someone with an English degree can't find a good job in the private sector.

As mentioned elsewhere, many employers much more about skills than they do degrees. While some careers obviously require specific training, many other require general skills, including problem-solving, writing, and general flexibility. One of the main complaints from employers is poor writing skills, and literate graduates are in high demand.

Career Resources

There is a lot of career advice for English majors on the Internet. Here are just a few sources:

Careers for English Majors (UNC Wilmington)

A short description of career opportunities with a good bibliography of print sources. The editions listed are out of date, but most of them have later editions. There is also a list of careers and a list of related web sites.

Career English Options (Ohio State)

Advice on career options suggests publishing, reporting, advertising and public relations, among other fields.

Careers for English Majors (Furman University)

More suggestions for careers, including blurbs from various Furman English graduates on how their degree has helped.

The Chronicle of Higher Education

has a weekly section on jobs. Beyond the Ivory Tower is a monthly column about finding jobs in the real world. April's column was about e-careers for liberal arts majors.

TESL/ESL Job Opportunities

Teaching English abroad is a popular way of seeing the world. This site is a list of global web sites for teaching English abroad. Also look at ESL Cafe, a well-organized list of links, forums, and advice for TESL.

To Humanities 347 Pathfinders Homepage

This page created by Christopher Ryland 25 August 2000. Last updated 25 August 2000.