English major careers and jobs

What can you do with a major in English? The English major prepares you for a wide variety of professions, ranging from law to education, from medicine to business, and practically everything in between. Consider advertising, for example. If you like to write, you might want to be an advertising copy writer. 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 as an English major 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.

Jobs for English majors

A solid writing background is key for any job. When it comes to authors, writers and editors, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects an 8 percent growth in employment between now and 2018. In addition, with technology developing at such a rapid pace, many organizations are looking to hire people who can write in different electronic formats.

Marquette's English majors have pursued careers in:

• Advertising and public relations
• Consulting, government and public service
• Human resources management
• Industry
• Information systems
• Insurance
• Journalism
• Marketing and sales
• Publishing
• Teaching
• Telecommunications