Studying English prepares you for a wide range of professions. One of the many plus points of having English as a major is that it makes you a smart and critical thinker. Your sense of creativity is strengthened since you are used to writing complex original works. Moreover, your command over the most popular language of the world, be it your vocabulary or your verbal skills, gives you an edge over the rest. English majors not only gives you an edge but also completely polishes your personality, you become someone who knows how to play with words, your interpretation of the world, owing to long hours of critical analysis, becomes unique and inclusive. These days employers in every field prefer people who speak and write well, and this very quality opens up extensive doors of opportunities for people who have studied English as an academic subject. Some of the best areas where English graduates can work in, are listed below.
1. Entertainment Industry
Studying literature makes one specialized in all aspects of fiction. You study American literature, British poetry and drama of various centuries, both classical and contemporary literature from various parts of the world and so much more. It makes you well aware of the philosophies and historical backgrounds of different parts of the world. Such knowledge is in great demand in the entertainment industry. Since you understand the style of writing and possess the art of composition and creativity, you can make it in the entertainment industry. You can work as a screenwriter, author, director, editor, script supervisor and what not. Those with English majors have a high success rate of making it in the entertainment industry as compared to people with other educational backgrounds.
2. Marketing and Advertising
With every brand indulging in vigorous marketing and every big and small firm advertising its product to imprint their product’s image in people’s heads, who better people to hire than people who are imaginative and have interpretation skills. Remember that movie, Wolf Of Wall Street, the idea of marketing and advertising is to sell goods and services to the people. People who have mastered the art of words and have ace communication power are the best at selling their ideas. People who write jingles or decide what has to be written at the packaging of the product etc are mostly from a humanities background. The world of marketing and advertising has a lot of English graduates working as marketing managers, content supervisors, heads of creative teams, etc.
3. Professional Writing
Many people use their qualification in English majors to become writers. You don’t necessarily have to pen down a 400-page novel with 6 sequels to become a successful writer. People are employed for content development for websites, publication houses and even promotion of goods and services through writing. Many start working as freelance writers, some become columnists. Copywriting has become one of the hottest and in-demand careers in 2020. You can even start a professional blog and combine other passions like cooking or traveling with writing. People also write short stories or autobiographies etc as part of their professional writing jobs. Just combine your skills in writing and add a dash of creativity.
4. Law
As part of Your English curriculum, you are required to have a critical and analytical approach. This very habit makes a lawyer successful, no wonder why a big number of people decide to pursue law after studying English. Why shouldn’t they? They have those crucial logical reasoning ability only second to their amazing communication skills. The power of language backs English graduates when in a debate. Yes, wordplay matters. This field primarily requires the ability to convince and put forward strong arguments which a person with an English background is good at. Moreover, after studying English, you don’t need to invest 5 years in the field of law. A 3 year LLB degree can be pursued right after graduation. Lawyers are not only needed in the court these days. Even the big multinational corporations or any company for that matter need a lawyer for consultation in a variety of matters like policies, mergers, taxes and so much more.
5. Entrepreneurship and Management
A lot of English graduates go on to become successful administrators, launch brilliant start-up ventures and what not. Some choose to pursue an MBA degree before starting up new ventures. Human Resources is a popular area of management that welcomes a lot of humanities students. Many people start working in event management companies or a public relations company only to start up their own venture later. These fields need people to put up their best face to the public, this is where you use your polished personality and your weapons of brilliant verbal skills and self-presentation skills. These are few fields that allow English graduates to combine their business acumen with their magical command over communication. You can effectively pitch ideas and the company’s vision to the prospective clients and target audience.
English majors can prove to be a strong ladder to your path of success and it is 2020, a time where people have started following this new rule called, “there is no rule”. So if you have something offbeat in mind, write your own path, pursue your unique dream job. Don’t restrict yourself to the traditional, teaching and civil services because wherever you decide to go, your degree in English will support you. It has got your back.
