CAREER LINKS
"So you're majoring in English? What are you going to do with that?"
The answer is: Just about anything you want to do!
You may have been asked these questions a hundred times, but you may have often lacked an immediate answer. An English major prepares you for a wide variety of professions, ranging from law to education, from medicine to business, and practically everything in between.
Marquette English graduates have pursued careers in
- advertising and public relations
- consulting, government and public service
- human resource management
- industry
- information systems
- insurance
- journalism
- marketing and sales
- publishing
- teaching
- telecommunications
Within each of these categories, multiple possibilities exist. Consider advertising, for example: if you like to write, you might want to be an advertising copywriter. If you are imaginative and persuasive, you might want to be a part of an advertising design team. If working with people and meeting deadlines are your strengths, perhaps the role of an account manager, the person responsible for planning the overall strategy of an ad campaign, might appeal to you.
In short, the critical thinking, analytical abilities, and writing skills you have acquired in your English classes will serve you well in nearly every job you pursue.
The key, of course, is deciding exactly what that job might be. William Zinsser, a writer, editor and teacher, claims that what we want to do, we will do well--and that what we don't want to do, we won't do well. The possible careers for English majors are truly limitless, so your first goal should be to put your research and analytical skills to work to determine what it is that you might want to do—and then learn to do it well.
Getting Started
Below are some steps to help you begin this process. But this is only a beginning. We encourage you to use the resources on campus and to consult the many guides available as you enter into this exciting new phase of your life!
(1) Assess your own likes and dislikes, strengths and goals.
(2) Explore possible careers for English majors using:
- Campus Resources
- Community Contacts
(3) Make yourself more marketable in your chosen career path:
-
Find a summer job in the field
- Sign up for an internship or take an internship class for 3 credit hours
- Write corporations about pre-professional /executive training programs Conduct informational interviews with community contacts
(4) Enroll in supplementary courses related to your career interests (e.g., business, communications, computer word-processing and design, education, government, journalism, marketing, technical writing, or writing for the professions)
(5) Minor in a career-related field
(6) Contact professional schools (law, education, medicine, journalism, business, etc.) about application procedures and admission requirements(7) Tutor in local schools
Free your imagination,
use your research skills, and trust your instincts.
Finally,
when you know what it is you want to do, go and do it well!
Campus Resources
- Career
Services: Provides career counseling,
workshops on how to write job letters and resumes, and
instruction on interviewing techniques. Also provides extensive
library resources.
- Counseling Center: Provides assessment exercises to determine your interests, skills,
and abilities. Also provides counseling and library materials.
- English
Department: Provides a list of former majors
and community contacts whom you may call for informational
interviews about careers in law, editing, teaching, publishing,
executive training, etc.
- Graduate School: Provides information about graduate school programs, application processes, fellowships and other financial aid, graduate entrance exam test dates, and deadlines. Consult with them ASAP, but no later than the early fall of your senior year.
For more about Marquette University's available, see our campus resources
General Career and Self-Assessment Guides
Search for these books from Marquette's Raynor Memorial Library home page:
- Anzalone, Joan, ed. Goodworks: A Guide to
Social Change Careers . NY: Dembner Books, 1994.
- Bauer,
Betsy. Getting Work Experience: The
Student's Directory of Professional Internship Programs .
NY: Dell, 1985.
- Bolles, Richard Nelson. What Color is Your
Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters & Career
Changers . Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2008.
- Career Directory
Series. Hawthorne, NJ: 1989/90. Contains eight volumes: Advertising, Book Publishing, Business
and Finance, Magazine Publishing, Marketing and Sales, Newspapers,
Public Relations, and Travel and Hospitality.
- Rushing, Brian C., ed. Internships: 50,000
On-the-Job Training Opportunities for Students and Adults.
Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides, published annually.
- Trashis, Lauren. Taking Off: Extraordinary Ways to Spend Your First Year Out of College . NY: Fireside, 1989.
Career Guides Specifically for English and Liberal Arts Majors
- De Galan, Julie and Stephen Lambert. Great Jobs for English Majors. Lincolnwood, IL: VGM Career Horizons, 2006.
- Gould, Christine A. Consider Your Options:
Business Opportunities for Liberal Arts Graduates.
Washington: Assn. of American Colleges, 1983.
- Guiley,
Rosemary. Career Opportunities for
Writers. NY: Facts on File Publications, 2000.
- Munschauer,
John L. Jobs for English Majors
and Other Smart People. Princeton: Peterson's Guides,
1991.
- O'Brien, Mark. High-Tech Jobs for Non-Tech
Grads. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc. 1986.
- Orange, Linwood E. English: The Pre-Professional
Major. New York: MLA, 1979.
- Peterson's Job Opportunities for Business
and Liberal Arts Graduates. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's
Guides, published annually.
- Shinkman, Christopher J. Public and Non-Profit
Sector Employment for Liberal Arts Graduates. Washington:
Assn. of American Colleges, 1982.
- Warren, Russell G. New Links between General Education and Business Careers. Washington: Assn. of American Colleges, 1983.
English Department
