# English majors, what are you doing now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875 "2002-07-26T03:40:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/1 "2002-07-26T03:40:37Z")
We’ve all heard about how English - pretty much regardless of emphasis - is one of the “worthless” majors. Well, we’re showing them all wrong, right? I mean, um, the rest of you. I, of course, am gainfully unemployed so as to help uphold the image of the starving artist. After all, if everybody knew how successful we _really_ are, the field would be filled with hacks and other undesirables, right? So, tell me, what are you folks up to today? And for those of you who are working “in the field,” did you ever have to take jobs that were totally unrelated to English? ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/2 "2002-07-26T04:35:01Z")
My undergrad major was English (modern lit), and my MA major was English with a double specialization (rhetoric/comp and cultural criticism). I’ve been teaching English, both writing and ESL, since I finished my BA. Had numerous other jobs before, but no jobs outside teaching English since graduating. Though it won’t likely make me rich, I consider my major quite useful, at least for my “career.” Well, maybe not the cultural criticism part. It improved my writing and critical thinking skills, but it also made me even more insufferably critical and judgemental than I already was. (I’m starting to mellow in my old age, though.) ---
**Author:** ![p\_cific\_812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@p\_cific\_812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/p_cific_812)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/3 "2002-07-26T05:06:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KKBattousai \ ***We’ve all heard about how English - pretty much regardless of emphasis - is one of the “worthless” majors.** Don’t get sensitive now… This is mostly rhetoric on the part of math/science-oriented undergrads (like me) who often perceive a lack of math as a lack of work. Either that, or they are envious of people who are blissfully ignorant of things like Lagrange multipliers, fluid dynamics, magnetic flux, ect. I know you guys work hard though-- playing frisbee is _almost_ a form of aerobic excercise! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/4 "2002-07-26T05:15:09Z")
I’m a librarian. Well, actually, I’m a practically-unemployed librarian, since I mostly stay home with BabyG. But I have a useful occupation lined up! ---
**Author:** ![MrO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@MrO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrO)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/5 "2002-07-26T05:15:18Z")
Hey, who invited the math/science majors? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/6 "2002-07-26T05:27:40Z")
I got my degree in English Teaching in 99’. At the moment I’m doing nothing, since my summer job didn’t get the contracts that it thought it would…but I _was_ doing academic testing this summer.( [http://www.measuredprogress.org/](http://www.measuredprogress.org/) ) Maybe they’ll get another contract or two, who knows? For my real job this past school year I worked with kids with developmental delays and/or autism in a special needs preschool-K program. Unfortunately, my position might or might not be funded this year, so back to the classifieds…Before that, I coordinated a preschool literacy program for AmeriCorps\*VISTA so that was probably a good use of my degree… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/7 "2002-07-26T05:34:42Z")
I’m a respiratory therapist and lovin’ it. I get very creative with my charting! 😃 Quasi ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/8 "2002-07-26T06:12:36Z")
Law school. Oh, and I have a quasi-regular column on a comic book website. Nota Bene: My major technically wasn’t English, but Secondary Ed. specializing in English. Still, 3 extra classes and I could have applied for an English major (but I didn’t want to stay an extra semester). ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/9 "2002-07-26T06:12:36Z")
Law school. Oh, and I have a quasi-regular column on a comic book website. Nota Bene: My major technically wasn’t English, but Secondary Ed. specializing in English. Still, 3 extra classes and I could have applied for an English major (but I didn’t want to stay an extra semester). ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/10 "2002-07-26T06:12:36Z")
Law school. Oh, and I have a quasi-regular column on a comic book website. Nota Bene: My major technically wasn’t English, but Secondary Ed. specializing in English. Still, 3 extra classes and I could have applied for an English major (but I didn’t want to stay an extra semester). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/11 "2002-07-26T11:30:14Z")
I was an English & Film double major. Film was my key interest but I did English too because (1) I loved it, and (2) it made my resume a little more marketable and not overly-specialized (i.e. “He can write”) I’m running a film archive now, so the English thing doesn’t emerge too much professionally speaking. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/12 "2002-07-26T12:16:46Z")
I’m doing public relations all summer before I go back to school for my master’s in Professional Writing. I was a double major in English and Professional Writing, but spoke at my English degree ceremony. I wouldn’t trade being an English major for anything else in the world–there’s a huge bias against liberal arts majors at my heavily engineering/computer science school, but eventually you just learn to roll your eyes and get on with your life. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/13 "2002-07-26T12:33:46Z")
I have my B.A. in English and M.A. in English lit, with a focus on medieval and Renaissance literature. I got my second Master’s degree in Library Science with an eye toward working in the preservation of books and historical documents, perhaps at some place like the Folger Library. I manage a Web site for a small Federal agency. Life’s a funny thing. Actually, I came into Web-work in the early '90’s through more traditional library jobs, and my language skills did play a part in the agency’s decision to hire me; they wanted someone who could proof and edit text as well as code documents in html. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/14 "2002-07-26T12:38:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by p@cific@812 \* > \*\* > Don’t get sensitive now… This is mostly rhetoric on the part of math/science-oriented undergrads (like me) who often perceive a lack of math as a lack of work. \*\* Actually, English is considered a “worthless” major because it doesn’t fit into an easily employable category, such as Biologist or Registered Nurse. It’s a lot like Philosophy, in that sense. People graduate with an English major and their friends and family ask them, “Whatcha gonna do now?” and they dunno. 🙂 After a dazzling eight-year collegiate career, I did editorial work, which I’m still doing. Tough to get into this kind of stuff, tho. ---
**Author:** ![PublicBlast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/779978/32.png) [@PublicBlast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PublicBlast)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/15 "2002-07-26T13:03:05Z")
B.A. English Lit. and Medieval Studies (go **Miss Mapp**!) I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. Sadly, I was a dumbass, and allowed my family/father to talk me into 1) pre-med (spent one year out of college on academic suspension for failing pre-med courses) and 2) law school (recently dropped out after 1.2 years). Now that I have brains again, I’m going to Harvard Grad. School of Education in 5 weeks for an M.Ed. I’m hoping to teach ESL/Adult Ed. for a few years and then get myself into administration or consulting somewhere. Hey, **ResIpsa** , where do you go to law school, if you don’t mind me asking? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/16 "2002-07-26T13:09:24Z")
I double majored in English and Elementary Ed., and then did an MAT program (Master of Arts in Teaching). I teach Kindergarten part-time at a private school. I’m very happy with what I’m doing. I’ll have two Special Needs kids this year, one mild Down’s Syndrome and one with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. THAT I’m not prepared for, but we’ll just have to see how it works out. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/17 "2002-07-26T13:16:39Z")
I have mostly been overseeing troop movements, ensuring we have sufficient supplies in the Quartermasters Stores, and strategising our next mode of attack, sah! Oh, I thought you mean English Majors. Beg pardon. Move along now, as you were. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/18 "2002-07-26T13:26:56Z")
I’m not an official English major either. Mine was actually “Visual and Written Media”, which was a planned program heavy on English, but with art and journalism thrown in for good measure. Right now, I’m doing editing, technical writing, and statistics–of all things–for a biomedical research company. I’m not thrilled with the job, and have been considering returning to school for a Library Sciences degree. Surrounded by books all day, every day…I think I could do that. 🙂 bella ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/19 "2002-07-26T14:03:46Z")
I had a double major in Anthropology and English. I’m most of the way through a degree in Professional Writing (an English degree for those of us who hate literary criticism and don’t want to hang out with those lame creative writers 🙂 ). As one would expect, I’m now working as a webmaster and network administrator. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875/20 "2002-07-26T14:58:23Z")
BA English / Literary and Cultural Studies, MA English, now halfway (I hope) through the PhD. Have taught freshman comp for two years, reasonably confident I could continue to teach it at a community college or something even if I don’t finish grad school. It may not be the most lucrative career path, but it’s what I like, and I doubt that I’ll ever regret it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-majors-what-are-you-doing-now/120875.md?page=2)