English Degrees
>> Friday, January 21, 2011
With a degree like an English degree, it's all too common to have heard the refrain that it's a "useless" degree or that you'll never be able to find a job. Let me be the first person to tell you that's actually a complete load of malarkey - an English degree is one of the best degrees you can earn.
English degrees are four-year bachelor degrees in English. You can have multiple specialties in your English degree, however. Some students decide to focus on writing and rhetoric; other students may pursue their degree down a creative writing path. No matter which direction you decide to focus on, graduating with this honor is going to leave you in a successful spot for future professional endeavors.
All of the stereotypes about earning such a degree and it being useless are simply untrue. First and foremost, having a degree in today's economy makes you a more attractive job prospect, no matter what your degree is in. In fact, simply having a degree is becoming more and more the bare minimum for being employed at a pay rate higher than minimum wage - degree in English or not.
Part of the reason why English majors are actually great employees is because of what they learn in college. Those who major in this spend the vast majority of their academic careers analyzing text - poems, short stories, novels, essays and all other types of literary works - and find ways to effectively understand them from new points of view. This analytic skill can be invaluable in any career field.
Another skill that English majors are especially famous for is their writing skills. These students spend a lot of time writing throughout the course of their academic careers, and gain the ability to be clear and concise, as well as creative. Writing can be very difficult for many people, and employers are often looking for graduates with exactly that skill to hire.
Another part of the reason why these graduates are hired is based simply in the fact that they are, indeed, English majors. These employees may not have the experience or skill required for a particular industry, but that's part of their charm. They can bring a fresh, clear mind to new situations and possibly provide solutions other people might not have seen.
Being able to demonstrate mastery of such a difficult language makes you a target for hire. Those who understand the language well enough to even teach it are in particularly high demand across the world.
