This evening I was eating dinner at Panda Express when I ran into the parent of a former member of the tutoring center I work at. We started talking and things got to what I was going to do with my future. She asked me what I was majoring in, and I replied, “English”, and what did she do? She laughed at me! :mad: then she had the nerve to ask, "Well, what kind of job do you get with an English degree?
I explained to her that I planned on working as a manger at the tutoring center I work at. I really enjoy the job and would like to continue to work there full-time. It is similar to teaching, though with the advantage of working year-round. She then had the gall to comment, “That position doesn’t pay well. It might be okay for a woman, but for a guy, it is setting the bar pretty low” :smack:
WTF?! Aside from the incredibly sexist remark (coming from a woman, no less), she is essentially telling me that what I am doing is a dead-end and a worthless pursuit. It probably doesn’t help the fact that this woman is a huge control freak when it comes to her kids, which has given them obsessive-compulsive qualities. They are no longer members (she canceled her membership because we wouldn’t bend over backwards to make exceptions for her kids, and since the word ‘comprimise’ doesn’t exist in her brain, that was that).
Maybe I’m being a little thin-skinned about it, but I think it is colossally rude to laugh at someone for their academic and occupational pursuit. There was no ‘constructive criticism’ or any redeeming remark about what she said. Later, when I got home, I had a moment of Espirit de escaleur and realized I should have told her I’m not obsessed with making a six-figure salary, I plan on living a modest bachelor lifestyle, and majored in English because I LOVE studying the subject, and never cared if I did or did not get a job tied to my field of study.
Sheesh, imagine if I told her I was a Liberal Arts major, she might have keeled over from a heart attack! :eek:
You’re majoring in English, huh?
So…how are the benefits at Barnes & Noble?
Seriously, though, what an asshole she was. Maybe you should have said, “You’re right. I’m going to change my major to Minding My Own Fucking Business - it seems to be working out for you.”
Not only that, but there are about a billion different ways to major in English. Some students focus on any given literary period or style, others go for film criticism, still others focus on fiction writing or poetry.
Only some English majors focus on the intricacies of grammar and style.
If every writer in the world had perfect English, copyeditors would all be out of their jobs!
When I told people I was an English major, the always assumed I wanted to be a teacher. Because, you know, that’s the only useful thing to do with an English degree. I wouldn’t want to be a writer, or an editor, or work for a publishing company, Og forbid.
Totally rude - she seems like the type of person that does that with everyone, from what you’ve said, so I wouldn’t take it too seriously if I were you.
That having been said…what a presumptuous, nosy, rude bitch! I think it’s pretty noble to want to be at a higher position at your tutoring center.
A little lax, perhaps. Still I don’t think this is anything to point fingers over in an informal context. Educated speakers of English often relax the rules a bit to avoid sounding stilted.
Incubus, I got the same thing for majoring in anthropology. When asked why he was majoring in anthropology, a friend of mine gave the best answer I’ve heard: “Because I love it.”
I would have done the Miss Manners standard: give a weak smile and say, “Well, I am certainly surprised to hear such a sexist remark coming from YOU of all people but I do appreciate your concern for my future well-being.” And then you stare her straight in the eye while continuing to smile weakly.
When I read your post I figured you must be from around here (Chicagoland) since making money, and displaying the proceeds ostentatiously, seems to be the ONLY thing that matters in these parts. Disgusting. That woman is an idiot - no wonder her kids were having trouble both with school AND extra tutoring!
And you know, I read about a recent study that found there isn’t a strong correlation between wealth and happiness. Being able to meet one’s basic needs w/a bit left over is essential, but doubling that income doesn’t make one proportionally happier. Not by a long piece.
My sister studied Music Composition as an undergrad and was almost ready to graduate, but decided she wouldn’t be able to make any money. So she switched to psychology and earned her PsyD a couple of years ago and is a Doctor. What’s she doing for a living? Playing piano and writing scores - she’s a very successful musician in the theatre community (only she still has to pay off all those extra school loans)!
Good luck with your teaching, that’s a truly noble profession.
This all reminds me while I was in school for applied math, doing research in electrical engineering, and heavily into computers, my father in law used to ask, “what the hell can you do with that?”
He’s a lawyer, and I think that he thinks there are 3 real jobs in the world: doctor, lawyer and business owner.
I’m not saying that like he thinks I’m a failure. I’m saying it like he’s a little clueless – some people just really don’t know what’s out there. Now that I make real money, he gets that I have a real job. . .it’s just one he doesn’t understand.
I’m suprised that about to graduate with an English degree, you haven’t heard snarky comments like that enough over the years to have developed a stock witty retort.
I’ve got a degree in Speech & Communication Studies. You can imagine how much shit I get about it. I switch back and forth between the “because I love it” and “what can I say, I love to run my mouth!” retorts.
My brother and a friend of mine both have degrees in history (which neither of them have found any use for) and they too embrace the comments. Their favorite retort is “well, I was looking for the most useless degree possible and I figured history was the safest bet!”
Don’t take yourself so seriously and you’ll be a lot happier in the long run.
Sounds like the lady was going to take shots at you no matter what you said. (If I were you I would be pissed more about the fact that the bitch was taking shots at you than her choice of targets)
That said, you have to realize that the perception of the value of you vocation has a lot to do with the large number of clueless people who major in English because they can accomplish it after realizing that they couldn’t make it in science or business.
Its unfortunate that the clueless muck up the job market for the people who really care.
I was just thinking recently about this, actually. I have a BA in anthropology, and I work for a bank. Wasted degree, right? No way! Anthropology is the study of human culture, and I use my knowledge all the time! Studying other cultures taught me to be more sensitive than I might otherwise be to people of various backgrounds, something that I personally find useful. I’d eventually like to get into a career that’s more obviously related to my degree (I studied it because I liked it, after all, and I’ll eventually have to commit hara kiri if I spend too much more time in finance) but just because I didn’t become a teacher or go to grad school immediately doesn’t mean I wasted my time.
I’d imagine that psychology, sociology, philosophy, and literature majors have had similar thoughts from time to time. Those are all useful windows into human behavior.
