By Olivia Stover | Contributing Writer
The fate of the English major is often assumed to be an eternity of teaching or a career in law. However, many English majors apply their degrees to jobs and careers of all kinds.
Despite the stereotypes, writing skills are in demand across the board.
“I think students find it scary to know that there is no specific career attached to an English major,” said Deborah Weiss, an associate professor in the English Department. “But with this major, you learn transferable skills that you can apply in many ways, and this creates exciting flexibility and many varied opportunities.”
Weiss has had students work in the public health administration, the Fulbright teaching program in Brazil and in diplomacy, among other things.
Lauren Cardon, also an associate professor in the English Department, said the benefits of an English major go beyond writing skills.
“English majors are good at unpacking things and learning how to problem solve; they can write, edit and communicate while also knowing highly technical skills,” Cardon said. “Students who do more specialized majors may not be as well equipped to handle situations and problem solve.”
So what are English majors on the UA campus hoping to do with their degree? Alex Joyce, a freshman English major, wants to be a writer and an editor or publisher of other people’s works.
“I worked with someone who had gotten a book published and found that I really wanted to live that lifestyle,” Joyce said. “You get to see everyone else’s perspectives when they write and what they write about.”
Allison Mollenkamp, a senior English major, wants to work as a host and reporter on public radio, but did not begin with this path in mind.
“I started out in secondary education to become an English teacher, but after a summer working in Memphis as a teacher, I decided it wasn’t for me,” Mollenkamp said. “Then a big one for me was going to law school for non-profits and charities, but that still didn’t fit.”
Only after starting an internship at the Alabama Public Radio her second semester of sophomore year and then working at the Alaska Public Radio did Mollenkamp discover what she wanted to do with her major. Mollenkamp also had some words of wisdom for current and undecided English majors.
“English majors get a lot of flack for not having a set career path but it’s ok to not be on a professional track because you’re still learning basic, necessary skills,” she said. “English skills are more useful than they are given credit for.”
To anyone deciding on whether to be an English major, Cardon also offered some guidance on choosing the degree.
“I think what’s most valuable when deciding to choose an English major is paying attention to what draws you to it and to follow that, whether it be literature, writing or rhetoric,” Cardon said. “Being an English major requires being comfortable with a degree of ambiguity.”
