What can I do with my English degree?
It’s a difficult time to be a student or graduate. The current pandemic has brought around economic uncertainty and there are fewer jobs out there. However, it’s important to remember that this will pass. A successful career is still very much achievable.
If you studied English at university, it can be difficult to know what career to pursue. While you learn and develop a number of useful skills studying English, your career path might not be as obvious as someone studying business or medicine, for example. Here are some ideas if you’re feeling a little stuck.
Marketing
Marketing is a growing industry with plenty of career options. It’s a great career for an English graduate as plenty of roles rely on good writing abilities. You might be crafting email campaigns, writing social media posts or creating slogans. This means that marketing companies are often looking for graduates with excellent written abilities and an understanding of English language. There are plenty of entry-level roles or internships in marketing companies where you’ll be working on a range of digital marketing services. You could find that you become a marketing guru.
Teaching
There are many benefits to becoming an educator. Teaching can be an extremely rewarding profession. You get to meet bright and enthusiastic young people and influence the way they think. Most of us can remember at least one of our school teachers and the way they encouraged us to think differently. Teachers need to have good written abilities and an understanding of grammar – especially if they’re teaching English. Your English degree will put you in good stead to go into do a PGCE or other teaching course.
Writing
If you studied English, you probably enjoy writing, right? Becoming a writer might be the most obvious career path for an English graduate. But it can also be the hardest, too. You might want to become a professional freelance writer, writing your own novels, screenplays or poetry. It’s a great career choice with the option of being incredibly creative, but you’ll need to work hard. Freelance writers have to find their own work and network widely to ensure they can make a living. However, as an English graduate you probably love writing and have the motivation to follow this exciting career path.
Law
All lawyers need to have some kind of law degree. However, English graduates are well suited to do law conversion courses, as studying English teaches them the right transferable skills. Lawyers need to be excellent linguists; knowing how to use words to persuade and convince. They need to analyse information and rely on numerous sources to get information. And they need to work hard and know how to study. Most English graduates understand this. They will have spent their degree reading, analysing, writing and gaining an understanding of language. So, if you want to take on interesting cases, meet new people and become and expert in your field, a career in law might be just the ticket.
