Here is a long, exhaustive list of the best jobs for English majors and other humanities degrees (BA, MA, and PhD).
Also, you will find details about my new e-book, How to Find a Career With Your English Degree in 126 Days at the end of this post.
It was April. My last month at graduate school. I was walking through the bright library searching for books to help me find a career with my English degrees (BA and MA in English). It seemed grim. Where do English majors end up after graduation? Teach? A proofreader? Teach?
English BAs, MAs, and PhDs really end up in a bunch of different places. We struggle for a bit after graduation. We complain to each other. And then we disperse.
The hard part, though, involves knowing where to begin. And to be honest, that day in the library when I discovered that English majors could do many different jobs, I was a little excited, even though I knew that my real dream job was being a professor.
As this list of the best English major jobs will show, there is a real sense of freedom in doing an English degree. You can be so many things, work in so many industries, and find a rewarding career in an industry you may have never expected.
Also, these jobs are not just for English majors—PhD’s in social sciences, history majors, and basically any humanities degree has a shot at these jobs.
It’s a big list. Enjoy.
Also, if you have a career to add or some advice for breaking into any of these industries, please leave a comment.
The first 20 comments will be entered to win a copy of my new e-book How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days.
Writing Jobs for English Majors
Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing is a growing industry, which has attracted many English and humanities majors. It requires a combination of analytical ability and creativity, making English degrees often desired. As this industry is so young, you can’t learn this stuff in university, making it wide-open for motivated people with strong analytical skills.
What do search engine marketers do? They help companies use digital channels to market their products. This includes online advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), and the use of web analytics to study how visitors interact with websites. You don’t need to be a programmer to work in search engine marketing. But, the thought of learning about the architecture of the web should excite you.
How to break in? Start learning about the industry and then get an entry-level job in a search engine marketing agency. A great place to begin is to take the Google Certification Courses. Google offers certifications in all major areas of online marketing an after you are ‘Google Certified,’ employers will take you more seriously. This is inexpensive as well with each test only costing $50 and you can learn online for free.
There are also a zillion blogs, books, and online courses to take. Read some!
Direct Response Copywriting
Lots of English majors have become direct response copywriters. Fundraising letters, offers from cable and cell-phone companies, and other mail-based marketing are probably the work of some humanities major turned direct response copywriter.
One of the most famous direct response copywriters, Michael Masterson, has a PhD in the humanities. He worked as a college professor before leaving the academic life to become a millionaire.
I work in direct response, although in the digital marketing space. This industry requires an understanding of human psychology (why people buy), creativity, and the ability to use words in a way that inspires trust and an emotional connection between writer and reader.
Direct response is a great path if you want to sell out like I did. Tons of writers, old humanities majors, and closet intellectuals are hiding out in the direct response industry.
Digital Copywriter
Banner ads, creative social media campaigns, blog posts, whitepapers, e-books, online strategies, landing pages, website copy, and viral promotion ideas—you’ll be writing all that fun stuff if you decide to work as a digital copywriter. Great job. Tons of humanities majors work as digital copywriters.
How to break in? Write a funny, charming, intelligent letter to an agency and try to get an internship.
B2B Content Marketing
With the rise of digital marketing, the need for content online has exploded. This is the age of the writer. B2B (business-to-business) sales involves long, complicated sales processes. People don’t just buy, for example, a $60,000 software suite for a corporation in an afternoon. They research different solutions online, check out reviews, and search for whitepapers. Content marketing responds to the age of Google and is one digital marketing channel that has grown in the past 10 years.
There is a big demand for smart researchers and intelligent writers.
Breaking into content marketing requires you to understand the basics of marketing and to have writing samples. Lost? My book, How to Find a Career with Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days, offers a complete program to help you break down a big career move like this into manageable, daily actions.
News Reporter
It’s a myth that you need to take broadcasting or communications in college to get a job as a news reporter. Many humanities majors work at news stations. This industry values excellent writing abilities and a fast ability to analyze and produce quality work. You also need to be able to spot grammar slips and be able to write concisely. Research skills, of course, are needed as well.
If you want to break into this industry you need to, at least, understand what content is news worthy and know the principles of journalism. Buy a few books. Most people break in as an intern. However, if you can demonstrate that you have the skills needed, then somebody will give you a chance.
Technical Writer
Many English majors become technical writers. Technical writing involves writing user manuals for consumer products, instruction manuals, and other technical, complex documents that products need. It is quite high-paying, although can involve a lot of contract work.
Thomas Pynchon, the author of the famous novel Gravity’s Rainbow, worked as a technical writer, creating user manuals for a space rocket company.
This industry is relatively hard to break into as most jobs advertised ask for a few years of experience (I guess nobody wants a rocket-ship manual written by an amateur).
However, Rober Nagle, a humanities M.A. turned technical writer, offers some advice for getting around the ‘must have 5 years experience in technical writing’ dilemma. If this field interests you, head over to Robert Nagle’s very cool blog called IdiotProgrammer.com.
It’s also a myth that all journalists went to journalism school. Roy Peter Clark, for example, a very famous journalist, did a PhD in Medieval Culture before taking this industry by storm.
However, before getting a job you need to understand the principles of journalism. And being a smart writer with interesting ideas for articles helps. Be sure to get some writing samples together.
Public Relations
Many English majors end up in public relations. In the past decade, public relations has seen quite a bit of growth (compared to traditional advertising agencies) and even though the decline of traditional media has complicated things, private companies and governments will always need writers to help get their messages out to the public.
What will you do in a PR firm? Junior staff will be given tasks such as writing news releases, pitch letters, crafting newsletters, finding content to send out on social media accounts, and writing web copy or brochures. As you move up the ranks, you will learn more about the strategic side of things. PR strategies are generally aimed at helping companies get PR coverage and using the media to shape the public’s perception of a company.
Governments also hire PR writers to work in-house. Often called Press Secretaries, your job would be to keep the public informed about the activity of different governmental agencies, explain policy, and work on political campaigns.
Do you need a degree in public relations to get a job in the industry? No. Many PR professionals come from various backgrounds. However, you should be a strong writer with a keen sense of detail (no typos! And front-page news is no place to mix up the details about your client’s company!) That said, practical experience in the industry helps and so internships and contract positions are a common way to break into PR.
As one English major turned PR pro describes writing a news release: “I need to do what I did for every essay I wrote for an English class, [such as] figure out the main point, extract the important information and compile it into a coherent document,” she says.
Also, don’t overlook temp agencies and temporary positions as you try to break into PR. “Temporary positions,” says an English major-turned Communications Coordinator, “can help students and recent graduates gain additional experience and try out positions in a variety of fields. The experience can help them obtain a full-time job.”
And remember that PR is a very, very big field. Most colleges and universities, government agencies, medical institutions, and professional organizations have their own internal PR departments. There are a ton of jobs and opportunities for people who take the time to develop this skill-set.
Other careers related: Public Relations Specialist; Public Relations Assistant.
Corporate Blogger
Big companies like IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Dell often require corporate bloggers. In the past ten years, the need for content has exploded with the internet, making the demand for writers increase. These corporate blogs are used as ‘branding’ tools, offering free and helpful content to their customers.
Even smaller corporations (for example, Mint.com) have company blogs and require a vast amount of content each day. Many English majors, of course, end up writing these corporate blogs.
A corporate blogger plans content schedules, comes up with new ideas for articles and whitepapers, runs social media accounts, monitors traffic and feedback, and of course writes a lot of blog posts.
To break into this job, you would benefit from having some experience writing for an audience (for example, a newspaper or magazine) and must be proficient in the basic blogging platforms and online writing techniques.
However, there are junior positions out there (as writing a blog can be tedious and extra help is needed).
An excellent way to break into the industry would be to email a fairly well-known blog and to volunteer your services as an editor or proofreader. Even massive blogs are often run by a handful of people and so it is relatively easy to get in touch with those in charge. Working for free for a few months will get you some experience and if the blog is fairly well-known it will be a nice resume item. They will most likely let you write a post as well—and then you have a published writing sample.
While strong writing skills are required, don’t forget to learn about the basic principles of online writing. These can be learned quite quickly.
Here is a short guide to online writing principles and blogging that I wrote. It covers essential tools online writers need to know, how to build an audience, and major mistakes to avoid when making the switch from traditional print writing to digital content.
Nonacademic Research Jobs
Marketing Researcher
A former PhD in History that I interviewed on my blog left academia to become a market researcher. This industry is high-paying and involves detailed research as well as the ability to spot larger trends and come up with creative solutions to marketing problems.
Typically, you’ll need to know statistics. History majors do well in marketing research as they are able to analyze data.
So what do market researchers actually do? Market researchers run or develop studies to gauge how consumers think and act. Often psychology or social science PhDs can get jobs outside of academia as market researchers as they have been trained in statistics and research methodologies. As mentioned, history PhD’s can also find work as market researchers.
Job growth is robust for those in this industry with advanced degrees, including PhDs. The average wage for a market researcher is $61,580 (as reported by national labor surveys in 2009.)
You can read my interview with this History PhD turned market researcher here.
Other careers similar to marketing researcher, which require similar skill-sets are: Market Research Analyst.
Policy Analyst
Philosophy PhD’s and history majors often end up as policy analysts for governments. This job involves gathering and analyzing information to help plan, develop, and interpret new policies—both in the government and industry.
Most policy analysts have advanced education and may hold a masters and doctorate degree. The typical degrees are in the social sciences, political sciences, history, economics, resource management and law.
Here’s some advice about becoming a policy analyst:
“Gain experience by working in the private or government sector where you will be constantly exposed to policy making. Working for a congressional or a senatorial official will also be an advantage as well as working for nonprofit organizations such as charitable institutions and other philanthropic organizations where company policies are very essential.”
High Paying Jobs for English Majors
Sales
Forget about the image of the out-going sleazy sales person. Modern selling is about nuance and understatement. Even quiet people can become excellent sales people as they disarm buyers.
After grad school I began dabbling into the industry. It really is a cool industry filled with bright, talented, interesting people. Plus, you can make a ton of money.
Sales involves a continual analysis of psychology and it is a vast, complex subject. Listen to this podcast (the Advanced Selling Podcast)—to get a taste.
Best of all, most innovative sales companies hire on attitude. You don’t need 10 years of experience for a smart manager to see some potential in you. Selling is a special art and from what I’ve read, most of the really successful sales gurus come from very diverse backgrounds.
Sales requires excellent communication skills, analysis, sensitivity, and empathy—all skills that most bright English Majors have developed.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is the technical process of helping search engines properly analyze and ‘rank’ web pages. It is a relatively new industry. And humanities majors can do very well in SEO as they have the ability to perform excellent research and to see larger patterns in data. SEO also requires content production and humanities majors can put their writing skills to work.
How to break in? Start studying. As I work in the SEO industry, I wrote an introduction guide for humanities majors. You can read a free chapter of that book here.
SEO is also fast-changing and so there are no colleges that really offer a degree in it. Good news for you! Motivated, smart self-learners thrive in this space.
Lobbyist
In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan tempts Eve with a distinct set of classical rhetorical devices. Clearly, Satan is trained as a humanities major and also would make an excellent lobbyist.
I have no idea what exactly lobbyists do or how to break into this industry. However, this job requires you to be articulate, intelligent, and cunning. If you are smart enough to become a lobbyist, you are smart enough to find a way to break into this industry.
Money and power? An English major turned lobbyist is definitely a career endorsed by SellOutYourSoul.com.
Inside Sales
Large corporations often have complicated sales cycles. This means that selling isn’t as easy as ‘pitching a new client’ and involve complicated processes and structures. There are sales people who travel and give presentations to potential new clients. And then there are inside sales people. These sales people prepare quotes, find supporting documentation, and execute sales campaigns.
Strong communication skills, social intelligence, and knowledge of ‘job-specific’ office software (like Excel) is needed. Break into this industry through a temp agency. Some people begin in an administrative position and then move up in the company.
Stock Broker
I don’t know exactly how you might get a job on Wall Street. But I do know that humanities majors have become stockbrokers. As one PhD in English who now works on Wall Street put it, “making the switch from analyzing literature to analyzing stock was easy. They both involve analyzing fiction.”
eCommerce Analyst
Online marketing requires analysis. Over the past decade, tracking technology has really evolved and most complex marketing campaigns will test, track, and measure just about every dollar they spend online. Humanities majors can find work as eCommerce analysts.
In this job, you will be tasked with figuring out why certain campaigns are working, why people aren’t buying from a client’s website, and how to help online marketing budgets bring back more profit. Flint McGlaughlin has a PhD in philosophy and is a world-known eCommerce analyst.
This job requires intimate knowledge analytic and tracking software. You will also need to understand the principles of online conversion (which can be learned by reading the millions of blogs dedicated to the topic).
This is a fast-paced industry and many analysts come from various educational backgrounds. Hard-core analysts will need mathematical ability and knowledge of statistics. But if the thought of digging into a spreadsheet excites you, maybe this job is for you.
Pick up a web analytics guide from O’Reilly, a publishing company respected in the space.
Marketing Jobs for English Majors
Social Media Manager
Social media is here to stay. Governments, sports teams, brands, and companies need people to run their social media programs, develop strategies, and come up with ways of engaging customers, citizens, and fans. As humanities majors have strong communication skills, many of us end up in these types of jobs.
How to break in? First, you need to know something about social media. So read some blogs and books, play with the tools, and learn about the strategic side of social media and how it fits into marketing.
Bonus! Social media is new. Better yet, many companies still hire interns and entry-level hires to manage their social media programs. This is stupid on the side of companies, but a great opportunity for new grads to break into the communication sector via new online channels.
Plus, governments and universities are typically slow moving and have little expertise in social media. So take advantage of this opportunity.
Brand Strategist
Brand strategists typically work in marketing agencies, helping to guide big brands forward in their markets. MBA’s are favored in this job; however, experience, talent, and strategic brilliance rule the marketing industry.
How to break in? Work your way up.
* * * * * * (Commercial Break) * * * * * *
Psst! How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days. That is all!
Onwards!
Brand Manager
Large companies hire ‘brand managers,’ which are essentially creative people with communication skills. The job involves overseeing the promotion and development of different brand products. This is a fun, creative role and involves strategic thinking and marketing talent.
You need to have an understanding of marketing to be a brand manager. However, many English Majors have found jobs working for big brands.
Government Jobs for English Majors
Communications Officer
Governments require in-house writers and communication specialists to do things like write press releases, develop key messaging, and write speeches for government officials. I know one writer, a published author, who works as a Communications Officer. He has a BA in English and seems to earn a comfortable middle-class wage.
Look for temporary positions in your local government as these are a great way to start moving up in the government. Great pay and government connections—what more could you want?
Editing Jobs For English Majors
Editor
Yes, English majors can be editors. If helping to create a best-selling book appeals to you then editing might be a good choice. There is also a lot of editing work in education. Luckily, in editing, university degrees are required. Here is an interview on my blog with a former Amazon.com Music Editor. It covers all you need to know about getting that first editing job.
Freelance Editor
This is an easy fit for English majors. Want to break into freelance editing? You, sir, are in luck. I have an interview about getting freelance editing jobs right here.
Publishing
Yep. English majors can work in publishing. In fact, creativity, and attention to detail are highly desired skills in publishing and English majors find work in this industry every year.
Getting your foot in the door? There are about a zillion articles online about breaking into publishing. Here’s one about how to break into publishing.
Communication Jobs
Non-Profit Communication Departments
Non-profits require communication specialists and many English majors build careers working for non-profits. And yes, you will be paid. Positions vary by the size of the organization. For example, large non-profits like the American Cancer Society or World Wildlife Federation are basically giant corporations with million-dollar operating budgets. There are different roles and divisions within them.
Smaller non-profits require communication help with press strategies, fundraising, donor retention, and enlisting the help of volunteers.
In my book, I list non-profits as an excellent way to gain that essential first few months of work experience. This is because most non-profits are under-funded and under-staffed, making them easy places to get your first resume item.
Grant and Proposal Writer
Grants and proposals are an essential part of winning new business and keeping money flowing through the door for most companies and non-profits. Humanities BAs, MAs, and PhDs in English have strong research skills, an aptitude for analysis, and the stomach for digging through dense content, making grant and proposal writing an easy fit.
While vast sums of money are usually at stake, most positions prefer some experience. However, graduate students in English have usually written and won grants during the course of their degree and so you should leverage this. Also, smaller non-profits will gladly let you write a grant or two for them, which can help land larger jobs.
Even if you do not remain in this job for your entire career, the ability to win new business and money is always a valuable and highly employable skill.
Corporate Communications Manager/Director
As the manager or director of corporate communications, your job would be to oversee teams that write newsletters, email campaigns, reports, press releases, articles, web content, and other communication pieces. In recent years, having a basic understanding of how search engines work is also often necessary as digital content is spread by search engines and people. Expect high salaries (above $100,000 according to Spring Associates, Inc). And to break in? You’ll need to work your way up. Start with an internship or entry-level job in a communications department. This can be a great job for an English PhD, although advanced degrees are not necessary.
In-house Marketing Department
Most successful companies have some sort of in-house marketing department. While typically TV ads and large campaigns are sent to ad agencies, the in-house marketing department also helps to plan and execute the company’s marketing and communication strategy.
These jobs are pretty cushy, I hear. You don’t have the constant deadlines found in traditional ad agencies and the work is steady. Tasks include writing press releases, coming up with ideas to get the company press coverage, writing brochures and whitepapers, planning and executing ideas to generate leads and sales, working on product launches, and other marketing-related tasks.
To break in? Look for temporary positions to start. Or start in an administrative role and then apply internally. Don’t overlook temp agencies as they often will help you get your foot in the door.
Creative Jobs For English Majors
Advertising Creative
Humanities majors find jobs in advertising every year. Creative advertising involves writing 30-second commercial scripts, taglines, copy for print ads, coming up with ideas for product launches, and other creative ways to market products.
And you don’t need to go to ad school to become an advertising creative. All that matters in this industry is the ability to come up with strong ideas.
How to get your first job in advertising? Read some books. Develop some samples. And be ready to show an agency some cool ideas. You can read about how I broke into advertising, as well as other career advice, in my e-book How to Find a Career With Your Humanities Degree in 126 Days.
Event Planner
Not planning birthday parties for the drunken wives of the Beverly Hills, but working on high-profile events such as product launches or political campaigns. This job requires communication, social intelligence, attention to detail, and strong creative abilities. Event planning is big business and always requires smart, new talent.
To break into this industry? You will have to work from the ground-up. Actually, I have no idea. But send some emails to prominent companies and find out. Industries like this typically hire more on personality than the subject you studied in school. So if it sounds like fun to you, then go for it.
Television, radio, Hollywood writer
If you are an English major, then you probably deep down want to be a writer. Many English majors end up writing Hollywood scripts, working in broadcast, or working at radio stations.
How to break in? Be a good writer and have great writing samples. As Stephen King says, “If you lift weights 15 minutes a day, you are going to get muscles. If you write 15 minutes a day, you are going to become a good writer.” So write.
Boutique Agency
Boutique agencies are small companies that typically do world-class work for big brands. They often have a specialist product. These can be branding agencies, graphic design agencies, viral marketing agencies, or PR firms. They are creative places with bright people working there.
Thunderdog, for example, is a L.A. agency that creates street-art inspired designs and products for brands like Pepsi and Puma. They also sell their own limited edition books and toys. Or, IWearYourShirt.com is a social media advertising company that uses viral tactics to gain publicity for product launches. LaunchRock is a small marketing agency that helps tech start-ups with their pre-launch hype.
Boutique agencies are cool. They hire for skill—not for the degree you have. So while your English degree can help you get the job, these places are more looking for creativity, technical skill in the area they work in, and the right attitude to fit their unique culture.
To get a job at a boutique agency, simply write an email and sell yourself to the boss. Make sure you research their agency, though. And make sure that you have the skills that they are looking for.
Excited about what you can actually do with an English degree?
Now here is the complete guide to getting that dream job.
Universities do not properly educate their grads about how to land that job outside of academy with a humanities degree. That’s why I wrote my ebook How to Find a Career With Your Humanities in 126 Days. This is not a traditional career guide–it is one of the most practical, step-by-step guides to moving from ‘liberal arts career limbo’ into a weekly course of action.
Over the course of 18 weeks (126 Days), the ebook takes you through the necessary lessons, shows you what to avoid, and teaches you how to turn your humanities degree into a profitable skill-set.
You’ll learn:
- The five best ways to apply for a job
- Weekly actions to accelerate your career search
- Resume advice, cover letter templates, how to market your humanities degree.
Find out more about the book here
Thank-you for this informative list, James. Even though I had a non-academic job as an event planner/coordinator for a community multiplex before grad school, finding a list of other fields I can get into post-MA other than ‘get into publishing’ or ‘be a writer’ is heartening. Granted, some of the jobs you’ve mentioned DO of course involve writing or publishing, but they’re concrete sub-fields that I can understand and appreciate.
Plus, it’s nice to hear about fields for humanities majors that are growing, what with all the doom and gloom about both the economy and the humanities.
Hi Jacques,
Thanks–I know what you mean. I’ll try to think of some more and add them to the list. I know that English majors get into many different jobs other than writing and publishing–hopefully, some readers share their experiences and paths as well. It would be nice to get this list to 50 or 60 jobs. Thanks so much for the comment–and you are entered to win the book!
–All the best,
James from Selloutyoursoul
Thanks -.for effective networking I’m learning that it’s important to sound focused in your search even if you are qualified for and open to many positions, so a list like this is a good place to start narrowing your search. And many job search aids are organized within professions, so it gives you an idea of what types of job boards to be watching.
Hi Elle,
That’s definitely good advice–an employer will be much more receptive if you tell them “I’m an aspiring PR professional rather than ‘I’m an English major open to any job really!” But that doesn’t mean you cant try out different things. Thanks for that tip. And you are entered to win the book, of course!
James from Selloutyoursoul
I teach in the Humanities and this looks like it may be a great book to recommend to my students. Thanks!
Hi Sherry,
Thanks!
James from sellloutyoursoul
I’m going to need to bookmark this and review the list several times, I think. Many good ideas here that will guide me in choosing jobs. The book must be an interesting expansion to look into, as well.
Hi Alexis,
Thanks–good luck with your career choosing. Let me know if you have any questions.
James from Selloutyoursoul
I love this article! Great advice to think outside-the-box and get creative. Humanities for the win!
Thanks Emily. I will continue to add more jobs here in the coming weeks.
James
I really like the list. So often people have no idea what jobs are available for a humanitities major. Your list was quite extensive. Thanks for giving me more careers to suggest!
James,
It appears to me that you have identified a specific audience (humanities majors) with a need (direction in getting a job) and then used skills you’ve developed to meet that need. I haven’t read your book, but if it’s as helpful as your blog, you may well genuinely help someone improve their lives – and make a few bucks in the process for your time and effort (not a bad thing!). To get to where you are now requires an independence and work ethic that I think are admirable, and the use of modern technology to make the process possible shows adaptability – I’m assuming this wasn’t something you learned in your graduate work.
So, you’re pretty much my hero. I’d love to find out, a year from now, how it all works out.
Wish you the best,
Mr. NotAHumanitiesMajor
Thanks Kyle
Having a really supportive, engaged audience makes it a pleasure to write this blog. So thanks for the support and kind words.
–James from Selloutyoursoul.com
Thanks for this list – it actually fleshes out a few jobs that I have come across in job searches so that I now know what they actually are! I think a great addiction to this list (another book?) would be to look ay positions that are transnational and/or offer ‘working from home’. Being outside of the US means that many of these positions are not as readily available for me as they are for someone in the US as the companies (and their communication needs) are based inside the US. So while a gov’t comms officer position is certainly within my geographical reach, how do some of these other, more lucrative positions line up in an international playing field?
Hi Deb,
Most of these jobs for English majors have a North American focus (you’d have to work in an office or agency), but some of the online ones could be done internationally. For example, freelance editing, SEO, digital marketing, and those type of jobs. Here’s an interview with a freelance editor, an American that runs his business from Vietnam http://www.selloutyoursoul.com/2011/03/04/how-to-get-freelance-editing-jobs—an-interview-with-michael-larocca/
Thanks,
James from Selloutyoursoul.com
I have a Bachelors in English and an Associates in Paralegal, and, therefore, would like a job using one of my degrees. Thank you so much for the list of jobs out there for English majors. Although it has been many years since I obtained my BA, I been considering getting my Masters to teach in one of the local colleges.
I just got my Ph.D. in English a couple weeks ago, and as I’m looking for nonacademic work, it was great to come across a site like yours. Thank you!
This is very interesting to me, as I entered the academic job market very late and am watching the job prospects evaporate before my very eyes. I am a Ph.D. student in Spanish literature, so of course, everyone just tells you to be a translator without understanding the complexities of such a job (specialized vocabulary, for example). The other difficulty is the fact that there are many people who will do it for free, although the work may be of dubious quality, and many US companies do not seem to care about the quality of the translations they provide. Some of your suggestions here helped me to refine my ideas of where I might look for translation work, such as in technical writing or editing, where the quality of the translation is essential. I feel much less panicked about what I will do next year if I don’t get any interviews this spring. So… thanks for that.
I am a Ph.D. student in Spanish Linguistics, and I live in a non-Spanish speaking country. Despite my academic experience in my country of origin, I do not find any job in this field, and I feel really disappointed. This list allows me to think about other job possibilities, but most of them are related to the mastery of language. I’ve spent years studying the official language of this country, and I don’t speak and write it so good to get a writing job over the native speakers. I have tried to get a job as a teacher in my mother tongue, and employers prefer a non-native Spanish speaker with a national degree than a native speaker who hasn’t studied here. Everyone who is getting those jobs in which I am interested are younger and less-experienced than me. I am really desperate, and I am afraid that getting that Ph.D. won’t make my situation any better. Do you have any recommendation for people whose working language is not the spoken language in their country of residence (apart from teaching and translating)?
Hi Cleo,
I don’t have much knowledge or experience with what you are asking. Can anybody else reading this article add a comment and suggest something?
James from Selloutyoursoul
Melissa, just some thoughts for you… accurate translation services are needed in hospitals (translating to patients and healthcare staff, and translating hospital documents), also in courts for non-English speaking petitioners and litigants, etc. I work for a telecom company which has made no attempts to provide translation services, so I have struggled on the phone with spanish speakers trying to buy services… maybe you could approach companies you would like to work for and sell your skills in that area – ask if they have translation services and if they don’t, you could essentially get a position created for you if you can make a strong case for how their customer base could grow with translation services… you could work in their Marketing Dept, translating their brochures, technical documents, contracts, etc, and translating on the phone, emails, etc…
[...] 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors [...]
Awesome article, contains a lot of great career ideas! I have one to add as well. I have a BA in English and part of my current job that I love is doing transcription.I think of it as writing a script that’s already been acted out, and it’s a different story every time. Although it’s written verbatim, proper grammar and spelling is an important aspect of the job. Just wanted to add in another idea for a career!
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for the transcription suggestion–I’ll add that to the list. Any tips on breaking into the industry?
–James from Selloutyoursoul.com
WORD to this list, James. I went to grad study to study intellectual history and realized I could probably be an awesome market researcher (if I pick up some stats skills) while reading Bourdieu’s magnum opus, “Distinction”. The book just looked like turbocharged market research, directed toward different ends.
Now I’m writing my dissertation, in part, on the history of market research. When I finish up, I should at least be able to get my foot in the door with that!
Keep up the good work. Your blog is the best out there.
ah, and what I meant to say as well was: an intellectual historian or certain times of literary scholars (like, people who work in a more ‘cultural studies’ vein) are basically doing something quite similar to market research, only more speculatively: We think about who reads/watches what and why.
Thanks Eric. That’s awesome you are blending practical and theoretical and going into market research. There is a growing demand with the internet for market researchers as there simply is a huge volume of data now that marketers can use. Sounds like you got a rock-solid direction. I’m impressed! Best of luck.
James from Selloutyoursoul
[...] Selloutyoursoul.com has 35 Jobs for English Majors. [...]
Thank you so much for this list and for actually explaining each career and how to break in. I found it very helpful and encouraging, I am currently writing a paper on what jobs are available to english/humanities majors and have been discouraged by what I’ve found thus far. Your’s was the first article I’ve read that has not made me rethink my choice to major in english. Thank You!!!
Hi Nichole,
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the list. I will try to add some more when I get time.
James from Selloutyoursoul
This is a helpful list. I am actually in my fourth year of “living the dream” as a professor in the humanities, but I am thinking about jumping ship for a living wage instead. It’s hard to think outside the box after spending twelve years cramming myself into it as a graduate student and then spending the next four years trying to repay student loans and feed my family simultaneously on the meager rations public universities are paying adjunct faculty these days. Your blog in general and this list in particular are helping me to imagine life reinvented.
It’s very refreshing to see positive career advice about English degrees. I’m so used to the doomsday references on most news websites! Thank you for your hard work. And English degrees do get work. I have a B.A. in English with an Editing minor, and I’m doing just fine as a freelance writer.
I’m putting your site in my “favorites” folder to revisit when I have more time. I just visited my alma mater (University of Memphis, Memphis State when I attended) thinking I might go back for a doctorate. I got my MA in English with concentrations in technical writing from there in the early 90s. I love your list, but it depresses me that I’ve done just about every job on it and feel completely unfulfilled realtive to my current employment and income needs. I’m a part-time contractor for a BIG Wall Street financial firm, editing and proofreading quarterly fact sheets for roughly two weeks every quarter. My love is editing and I enjoy teaching others that they can write and that they usually can write much better than they do if they just pay attention to certain problems with their communication.
There’s the rub. People love for me to help them improve their writing, but a smile and a “thank-you” won’t buy an 89-cent cup of coffee at McDonald’s; forget Starbuck’s! By rights, I’ve earned an MBA and half a PhD in Education through writing and editing for high-level university students, yet the most I’ve gotten in return is a good meal and about a pound of Gevalia coffee over the past three years.
The money’s good from the contracting job, but the hours are extremely limited. I’ve got a couple of books (some really good fiction) in the works and have written lots of children’s material, but I fall short when it comes to self marketing. I need a manager who’s willing to work for crackers until I get a break-through or a new career altogether.
Go humanities majors…but don’t neglect the garden spot you keep planning every year and neglect to plant until harvest! Thanks for “listening.” This just might have saved my mind, not to mention the bit of soul I have left!!
I really appreciate d listin of d jobs an Eng grad can do,bcos sometyms wen i am asked,wat kind of job can i do wit d certificate of Eng,i just list few and it sonds somhow 2 dem…..but nw i can confidently name best jobs in d world…..THANK U VERY MUCH…
I graduated with a BA in English two years ago and have been working in the social work field since then. I have enjoyed my job, but I feel like there isn’t a lot of room for growth where I work, so I have been trying to decide whether to go back to school or try and find a different job and if I wanted to go back to school what to go back into school for. I have already contemplated selling my soul by going to get an MBA. This list has really helped me continue thinking about what I want to do and helped me to not feel the need to limit my options to something that seems directly related to English. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks.
Hi, there, nice to see this list. It’s very good. I would add the Job “Business Analyst” to it. A very good field that involves a lot of process analysis, user surveying and project management.
Here are two great articles about breaking into technical writing. I and several other people were interviewed for it and we gave a lot of inside tips.
http://professionalwritersofaustin.com/2011/12/05/how-to-break-into-technical-writing-part-1/ and
http://professionalwritersofaustin.com/2011/12/08/how-to-break-into-technical-writing-part-2/
Hey Robert,
Thanks for stopping by. Those are some good suggestions and thanks for the articles (they look really helpful).
–James from selloutyoursoul
What a relief! Being an English major I thought I would have to teach evil children in order to make money in the future, but it turns out I have other options. Thank goodness I found this site.
I am in the process of finding employment. I have been looking since I got my English degree in 2007. I have tried online applications, employment agencies, career centers…all to exhausted efforts. I am so overwhelmed and have no idea how to land in the right career for me. I am looking for something that uses my writing and organizational skills and a position with room for growth. Any advice?
[...] 35 Awesome Non-Academic Jobs for English Majors [...]
[...] 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors by James Mulvey at TheSellOut. This article has a lot of overlap with what I have written here, but there are some additional job areas as well as links for such things as “breaking into publishing.” Not all of these jobs really apply to PhDs, but overall it’s a lot of useful information. He also wrote PhD in English? What the F%$@#K! have you been doing for the last ten years? on the same blog. It’s well-written, motivational, somewhat cynical, and ultimately trying to sell his book, but it gives some good advice on how to market yourself (not your degree!) to nonacademic employers. [...]
you are doing good thing keep it up……..
[...] 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors [...]
[...] much more lucrative and stable alternative. The same author from above has another article called 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors, which I also found interesting. After reading it, I started searching job boards and I noticed [...]
Hey, love the article. I was just wondering… is it possible to get some of these jobs (editing, copywriting, etc) without a BA? I have my AA in Liberal Arts and I am a talented writer (WHAT, it’s true! It’s my only skill!), but how can you get your foot in the door without at least a Bachelor’s? I DO have a few years’ experience writing content for an online business… but where do I look for some of these opportunities without the BA?
Hi Molly,
While most job listings say that a BA is required, it is of my view that all employers really care about is whether you can actually do the job. It’s not like being a doctor or lawyer where you are required by law to have the degree–it is up to the employer.
So I would say yes–don’t let not having a degree hold you back–you can get any of these jobs with out a BA.
That said, the BA does signal to an employer:
1. You can spell and use proper grammar.
2. You have learned basic research, computing, and logical skills.
3. You are reasonably intelligent.
So my advice would be to make sure you “prove” the above in your application. The best way (for the writing jobs) would be to give some links to some writing samples. This will show all of the above.
Employers hire people for their knowledge–not their degree. So focus on demonstrating the knowledge necessary for the job rather than obsessing about a degree.
That means, I would apply to any position that says they “require a BA” as many employers could really care less so long as you can do the job.
–Good Luck!
James
Great list, James! When I was working as a contractor/consultant back in the day, I could have used all these — and then some.
One interesting job that other people might consider? Social work. We get a lot of students at our school who graduated with a degree in journalism, political science, international studies, etc., convinced they want to do something related to social justice or humanitarian work. Good writers are always needed to write grants (which is on your list), but they also serve as highly regarded communications experts (if they can speak more than one language). International social work is huge these days … with globalization a big trend, you can’t go wrong. Also, folks who have knowledge about issues related to aging can land a job fairly quickly. As the boomers age, this is a field where there is huge demand. (Again, a specialized field or trend, so to speak.)
So can you add an item to the list that says “follow the trends?” Because that’s what people are doing to stay gainfully employed, at least in my view.
Hi Maria,
Thanks for the addition. Social work and the other jobs you listed are great options. I’m thinking about doing another similar post and will include the “trends” angle.
thanks!
James
[...] 9. This article I wrote about 35 jobs for English majors. [...]
[...] year ago, I would Google “jobs for English majors” and find a list like this. While this is a somewhat useful list, I still can’t help but feel a little [...]
This list is awesome!
[...] Officer & Engineer in Tata Memorial HospitalSeveral Jobs in Tata Memorial Hospital MumbaiJobs for English Majors Selloutyoursoul.com .recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 [...]
[...] Originally Posted by Elle Oh Elle I was suggested to go to the LA Times by a friend. She only does business-related situations, so I'm not sure how trustworthy she is. At that point, I was desperate and she told me, "Everyone does need to start somewhere. Try going to newspapers or something, like LA Times." However, she also gave me tips and tricks for applications and interviews. I remember mentioning that she was a hiring manager in the employment section of this site and one other woman wrote back, "Well, maybe that's how it works where your friend has been employed. BUT those codes aren't a universal thing. Some places check and some don't." Are we required to have samples to submit? What are some good topics to write about? Also, you never really answered the question of what to do about college. I want to go back but I visited the other day and I was instantly reminded me of the dangers of sitting in a classroom. I was concerned about failing the course. Additionally, I couldn't find one class I was interested in that wasn't full. I'd spend that time doing some research. Nothing wrong with sitting out a semester: Jobs for English Majors Selloutyoursoul.com [...]
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[...] much more lucrative and stable alternative. The same author from above has another article called 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors, which I also found interesting. After reading it, I started searching job boards and I noticed [...]
[...] much more lucrative and stable alternative. The same author from above has another article called 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors, which I also found interesting. After reading it, I started searching job boards and I noticed [...]
Excellent post. I absolutely appreciate this website. Continue the good work!
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I today dont’ think I want to invest because much doing what I use to do, I might be a bit more fashion mindful or merely go to more girls yet still learn to balance being a bit.
Thanks for your article. I’m a smart researcher and writer, but I’m baffled on how people get jobs in these fields. I read a lot of content on Yahoo and review sites and I always end up asking, ‘how the heck did this person get their job?’ I must be able to make a living with a BA from a first rate Liberal Arts school, but I’m obviously a bit frustrated right now. Actually the comment above about social work is a good one and I’m looking at that option. I need to just throw myself out there as a writer though. I am interested to look at the links you provided. I keep hearing about someone that just gets jobs writing for content for a major search engine from home and I have no clue how to get that work. Thanks for the site and I’m going to go through it to see what I can learn.
[...] 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors 59 comment(s) [...]
Look up wage slavery.
“Did you know that before the Industrial Revolution, the average person worked for about two or three hours a day? Studies from a wide range of pre-industrial civilisations show similar data– it takes only about fifteen hours a week to provide for all of our basic human needs. And that’s using hand tools.”
~ Walden Effect
“Using the data provided by the United State Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erik Rauch has estimated productivity to have increased by nearly 400%. Says, Rauch:
‘… if productivity means anything at all, a worker should be able to earn the same standard of living as a 1950 worker in only 11 hours per week.’
…Since the 1960s, the consensus among researchers (anthropologists, historians, sociologists), has been that early hunter-gatherer societies enjoyed much more leisure time than is permitted by capitalist and agricultural societies…”
~ Wikipedia
“The important thing to understand about collapse is that it’s brought on by overreach and overstretch, and people being zealots and trying too hard. It’s not brought on by people being laid back and doing the absolute minimum. Americans could very easily feed themselves and clothe themselves and have a place to live, working maybe 100 days a year. You know, it’s a rich country in terms of resources. There’s really no reason to work more than maybe a third of your time. And that’s sort of a standard pattern in the world. But if you want to build a huge empire and have endless economic growth, and have the largest number of billionaires on the planet, then you have to work over 40 hours a week all the time, and if you don’t, then you’re in danger of going bankrupt. So that’s the predicament that people have ended up in. Now, the cure of course is not to do the same thing even harder… what people have to get used to is the idea that most things aren’t worth doing anyway…”
~ Dmitry Orlov
“We live in an economy which takes 80% of our each new generation and educates that 80% to obey orders and to endure boredom, and stifles their creativity, and stifles their capacities, and curtails them. They’re systematically crushed by a system which does what? Which fills slots, and 80% of the slots need people who just do rote tedious repetitive labour at least at work, and therefore are acclimated to doing that…
If you’re callous to the effects on others, you have a potential to rise. The odds are that you can ‘compete’ your way up. If you care and are socially concerned about others, you’re at a tremendous disadvantage. So I think the competitive dynamic that we have does sort of weed out a set of people for success. But I would say that what it weeds out for success is not competence, not creativity, not intelligence, but callousness far more often.”
~ Michael Albert
“Anarchism is participatory… it’s based on the assumption that any authoritarian or any structure of authority and domination has to justify itself– none of them are self-justifying– whether they’re in individual relations, or international affairs or the workplace or whatever… They have a burden of proof to bear, and if they can’t bear that burden– which they usually can’t– they’re illegitimate and should be dismantled and replaced by alternative structures which are free and participatory and are not based on authoritarian systems…
Go back 150 years… beginnings of the industrial revolution… At that time, the mills were being formed around Boston. They were bringing in working people, what were called factory-girls– young women from farms. Irish workmen from Downtown Boston… had a very free and lively press at the time, which they, themselves, ran. This was before the period of commercial press-domination and the general press was much more diverse, and much more free and much more lively than it’s ever been since. Quite the peak period of freedom-of-the-press in the US and also in England. And the press is quite interesting. It was written by the participants- their assumptions are what are relevant here- they just took for granted that wage labour was virtually the same as slavery. They had no influence from European radicalism– never heard of Marx, nothing of this– it’s just the ordinary assumptions of people who think reasonably about the world. Wage labour is illegitimate, it’s like slavery. This is right around the time of the civil war. Northern workers in the American Civil War fought under that banner; that wage slavery is like chattel slavery. In fact it was even the position of the Republican Party. It was a fairly mainstream position. You’ve even got editorials in the NY Times about it, believe it or not. And they also took for granted that the industrial system is totally illegitimate. It’s just a form of feudalism to which people are driven by essentially violence or starvation, and has to be overcome. Those who work in the mills should own them is taken for granted. The feudalistic industrial system was destroying their culture… These are understandings about the nature of freedom and domination that have been lost. So it’s not pure progress. How far they’ve been lost is an interesting question. My suspicion is that they’re right below the surface. And when the issues arise– right now– working people in the counterpart of the mills will recognize the relevance and accuracy of these, basically anarchist, positions…”
~ Noam Chomsky
“The pupil is thereby “schooled” to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new. His imagination is “schooled” to accept service in place of value. Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat race for productive work. Health, learning, dignity, independence, and creative endeavour are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating more resources to the management of hospitals, schools, and other agencies in question.”
~ Ivan Illich, Deschooling Society
Scary School Nightmare
[...] kidding. Click HERE and HERE for real articles that give you actual suggestions to what you can do as an English major. P.s. [...]
[...] course, the reality is there is a whole host of interesting, meaningful jobs outside of academia, jobs where people might actually make eye contact with you, and you [...]
Hi James – Plenty of great jobs to choose from, great article. I’d like to add one if I may – these days there are lots of people choosing to take a year or so out and teach English abroad. A good chance to see the world and spread the language to those who need it
A couple of examples of countries looking specifically for English grads:
Saudi Arabia – http://goldstarteachers.com/esl-jobs-in-china/view/esl-tefl-teaching-jobs-saudi-arabia/
Indonesia – http://goldstarteachers.com/esl-jobs-in-china/view/esl-tefl-teaching-jobs-indonesia/
Thanks–that would be a nice way to decompress after grad school.
I had an interview last week for our internship and then the interviewer asked us about what are the job opportunities for us-English language majors but unfortunately, I don’t know really know that time.
so now after I red your article, I already know that there are a varied career opportunities for us. Thank you!
Hi Amin,
That’s great. My pleasure. I’ll try to post some more jobs for English majors when I have time.
All the best,
James
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[...] 35 Awesome Jobs for English Majors 75 comment(s) [...]
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Thank you for this article, it’s blowing my mind. I’m finishing my Bachelor’s degree in music this year, and I have to admit I’ve been freaked out by the thought of “what next?” It sucks when you reach your fourth and final year of studying and you realize the reasons you started studying in a specific direction in the first place isn’t quite applicable anymore. The one thing that has stayed constant throughout the journey though has been my writing! I plan on doing my Master’s degree in musicology next year while doing another degree in theory of literature. The great thing is, I can combine my musicology with literature, and get special permission to do my PhD in either field. Thank you again for this great post!