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Not all English majors get to be writers
English majors can't expect to graduate and become 'writers.' There are too many good writers and a lot of great writers. If you're lucky enough to land in the right place at the right time, an employer may find you to be a very creative and talented writer, but as good as you are, you only got the job because hundreds of thousands of other writers who are better than you didn’t bother to apply. Though pessimistic as it sounds, it’s the only way an English major can remain in reality.
There are practical careers for English majors, something you'll easily find with Google. It's not farfetched to pursue editing, copywriting, or even creative advertising positions, all of which involve writing. You can be some sort of writer, but don't be too sad if it's the kind of writing that doesn't have your name on it.
An English degree isn't useless, but it's not the solution for instant fame and fortune either. It's a degree that happens to be more versatile than others. Just because a chemical engineer major will likely become a chemical engineer or some other closely related profession does not necessarily mean that creative writing majors are limited to creative writing. It's a whole different type of education, and it must be treated that way. Employers want English majors for their communication skills along with various other qualities such as researching, analyzing, and yes, even writing.
If you have realistic plans, you can consider yourself above the rest of your fellow classmates, as an alarming amount of them really do think they'll be writers, the famous kind. The problem is that most of these 'writers' have yet to enter the real world where their writing is not just critiqued by their teachers and peers, but rather by a boss or an editor, or even a publisher.
As much as I long to be a housewife/unpublished novelist, being a male disqualifies me and forces me to deal with the reality of graduating and desperately looking for a job that pays the rent and my heap of English major student loans. It’s not a lovely picture to look at. I mean, a poor man with an English degree; who’s ever heard of that? We’re all supposed to write for The New Yorker, start our own publications, or write the next Gatsby, right?
All of my classmates and I want to be writers, so one would assume that getting real world experience would be damn near impossible with all the competition. So, why was it so easy for me to get a job at my school paper? Why am I able to hold two writing jobs at the same time, though I only immediately aspire to pay the bills while others dream of becoming gods of literature?
Sadly, I believe it’s because no one wants the jobs I hold. For my school paper, I am the technology columnist, writing articles about computers and giving technology-related advice. Does that sound boring enough? My second job is for a publication that’s read only by business executives in the digital media industry. I am a technical writer, and my job is to report on deals and moves with Intel, AMD, and Microsoft, explaining what it means for both businesses and consumers.
But wait; didn’t I just say I was a creative writing major? Yes, but I was shocked to find that there were no openings for novelist or screenwriting internships. I want to do those things just as much as everyone else, but maybe my classmates already filled the available positions.
I suppose the point of my rambling is to say that getting the 'dream job' that an English major so desires takes talent, work, and oftentimes a lot of luck. While I wouldn't say count yourself out of the running, please don't resign yourself to be with the rest of the dreamers, and be prepared to look for a job.
English majors can't expect to graduate and become 'writers.' There are too many good writers and a lot of great writers. If you're lucky enough to land in the right place at the right time, an employer may find you to be a very creative and talented writer, but as good as you are, you only got the job because hundreds of thousands of other writers who are better than you didn’t bother to apply. Though pessimistic as it sounds, it’s the only way an English major can remain in reality.
There are practical careers for English majors, something you'll easily find with Google. It's not farfetched to pursue editing, copywriting, or even creative advertising positions, all of which involve writing. You can be some sort of writer, but don't be too sad if it's the kind of writing that doesn't have your name on it.
An English degree isn't useless, but it's not the solution for instant fame and fortune either. It's a degree that happens to be more versatile than others. Just because a chemical engineer major will likely become a chemical engineer or some other closely related profession does not necessarily mean that creative writing majors are limited to creative writing. It's a whole different type of education, and it must be treated that way. Employers want English majors for their communication skills along with various other qualities such as researching, analyzing, and yes, even writing.
If you have realistic plans, you can consider yourself above the rest of your fellow classmates, as an alarming amount of them really do think they'll be writers, the famous kind. The problem is that most of these 'writers' have yet to enter the real world where their writing is not just critiqued by their teachers and peers, but rather by a boss or an editor, or even a publisher.
As much as I long to be a housewife/unpublished novelist, being a male disqualifies me and forces me to deal with the reality of graduating and desperately looking for a job that pays the rent and my heap of English major student loans. It’s not a lovely picture to look at. I mean, a poor man with an English degree; who’s ever heard of that? We’re all supposed to write for The New Yorker, start our own publications, or write the next Gatsby, right?
All of my classmates and I want to be writers, so one would assume that getting real world experience would be damn near impossible with all the competition. So, why was it so easy for me to get a job at my school paper? Why am I able to hold two writing jobs at the same time, though I only immediately aspire to pay the bills while others dream of becoming gods of literature?
Sadly, I believe it’s because no one wants the jobs I hold. For my school paper, I am the technology columnist, writing articles about computers and giving technology-related advice. Does that sound boring enough? My second job is for a publication that’s read only by business executives in the digital media industry. I am a technical writer, and my job is to report on deals and moves with Intel, AMD, and Microsoft, explaining what it means for both businesses and consumers.
But wait; didn’t I just say I was a creative writing major? Yes, but I was shocked to find that there were no openings for novelist or screenwriting internships. I want to do those things just as much as everyone else, but maybe my classmates already filled the available positions.
I suppose the point of my rambling is to say that getting the 'dream job' that an English major so desires takes talent, work, and oftentimes a lot of luck. While I wouldn't say count yourself out of the running, please don't resign yourself to be with the rest of the dreamers, and be prepared to look for a job.