English Literature Scholars

[lowradiation]

Did a quick search and couldn't really find any definitive threads on people studying English Lit at degree level. So apologies if I've missed the boat.

Just thought it would be nice to see how many on here are studying English? I'm guessing all the secondary school/college/high school whether you're English or American or other will be. But who's studying or has studied for their degree in it? Or even has a career in the field?

Well let this be the discussion for it.

I'm a 20 year old second year student at Northumbria University, studying English Literature and History currently.

Went for the joint honours degree as I thought by studying both fields, I wouldn't get bored or bogged down in one particular module! Although sometimes I wish I was doing sing honours literature as they have a more varied module option choice.

To those who are or have studied English, how did you find the degree? Do you feel that academic success at degree level means a good writer? Or do you think great writers can perform hoeplessy at the critical side of things? Essentially what the degree trains you as.

I have an obsession with the idea of studying english could be a deterrernt for writing. I know many many writers great and not-so great studied English prior to their writing careers. However, could it be argued that studying in depth the canon in all its forms, technicalities, deconstructions, techniques, genres could simply scare a person to write? 'How could I live up to that' I've thought to myself a million times having put down Joyce, or Conrad, or Shakespeare or more recently: Delillo.

Currently doing a module based on Modernism, having read all the critical essays on its form and purpose, such detailed deconstructions can't help make me think 'did these writers even intend so much that has been written about them?'

Or am I simply becoming disillusioned in my degree? Ok now I'm rambling.

[kelby_lake]

I think English joint honours is a good degree to do. It adds a different perspective to your study of literature and helps combat the hero-worship problem that people studying English alone can fall into.

[dfloyd]

and that is to read, read, read,.... read. And the worst place to read is school. And, by the way, Delilo, like most post modernists, is a mediocre writer, as is Johnathon Franzen.

[mayneverhave]

I graduated last May with a dual major in English and Philosophy, and although I do enjoy have a BA, I do recognize that the vast majority of my reading has occured outside the classroom on my own initiative.

That aside, far from being detrimental to my desire or ability to write, my university study and my own reading has, for the most part, been beneficial. Similiar to how watching something like Renoir's La regle du jeu makes me want to direct (I'm not going to), reading great literature usually has the effect of inspiring my to write. I don't generally suffer from the anxiety of influence.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

and that is to read, read, read,.... read.

You need to write, too.

I just graduated with a bachelors in English with a certification for secondary education. Going to start my masters this summer.

[lowradiation]

and that is to read, read, read,.... read. And the worst place to read is school. And, by the way, Delilo, like most post modernists, is a mediocre writer, as is Johnathon Franzen.

Subjective really though. Many consider Franzen to be the new defining American novelist.

What did people do their dissertation's/theses on?

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

My senior project was an in-depth literary analysis/comparison of Yeats's "The Second Coming" and Achebe's Things Fall Apart. It is not a piece of writing I'm particularly proud of. My "real" project was my student teaching, though, which I am proud of.

[JuniperWoolf]

I was an English major going into university, but I changed within a week because... well, the other students were pretentious douchebags and I didn't want to end up teaching pretentious douchebags for the rest of my life.

[cyberbob]

I was an English major going into university, but I changed within a week because... well, the other students were pretentious douchebags and I didn't want to end up teaching pretentious douchebags for the rest of my life.

Yet you'll chat with them on here? LOL.

I'm also an English/History major but I might switch to Economics/Biology since they're more practical. Every time I tell someone what my majors are they assume I want to be a teacher, which I doubt I'd ever want to be.

[JuniperWoolf]

Yet you'll chat with them on here? LOL.

Well, some of the early literature students here still have that distinct odour of douchebaggery about them, but for the most part everyone here is a bit older and a bit more disillusioned (which is always great). Also, we're not all in the faculty of English - we've got our science people, our engineer people, our cattle rancher people, our stay-at-home people, our army people, all in all a pretty good hodge-podge.

[OrphanPip]

And when you're one of those science people, it's hard to find people irl who actually read anything beyond food labels.

Edit: I've dated an English major though, so they aren't all douchebags.

[papayahed]

- we've got our science people, our engineer people, our cattle rancher people, our stay-at-home people, our army people, all in all a pretty good hodge-podge.

That should be our slogan.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I must've been lucky in my timing and location, as my English classes had barely any douchebags.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yet you'll chat with them on here? LOL.

I'm also an English/History major but I might switch to Economics/Biology since they're more practical. Every time I tell someone what my majors are they assume I want to be a teacher, which I doubt I'd ever want to be.


I was an English major going into university, but I changed within a week because... well, the other students were pretentious douchebags and I didn't want to end up teaching pretentious douchebags for the rest of my life.

With no offence intended, I could not in my wildest dreams imagine just switching like that. Maybe that's because I've spent the last seven years studying literature, but even so, in my book you're a student of literature (humanities) or you're not. Plus - it would not matter if I was in a room full of psychos; I would not change due to others - I cannot understand such flippancy. Maybe that's just a product of the American major/minor degree system, something else I don't really follow.

[papayahed]

With no offence intended, I could not in my wildest dreams imagine just switching like that. Maybe that's because I've spent the last seven years studying literature, but even so, in my book you're a student of literature (humanities) or you're not. Plus - it would not matter if I was in a room full of psychos; I would not change due to others - I cannot understand such flippancy. Maybe that's just a product of the American major/minor degree system, something else I don't really follow.

I guess, but that doesn't explain JW's change.

[JuniperWoolf]

Edit: I've dated an English major though, so they aren't all douchebags.

True, I got on well with most of them (especially the ones who honestly just wanted to teach or who were going to school for it's own sake). It was the ones who described themselves as "aspiring writers," virtually never smiled and used flowery and superfluous language when they were describing their trip to the dentist who's unoriginal kneecaps I usually wanted to bust (one kid that I had in a second year English course even had the audacity to wear a beret, seriously).


With no offence intended, I could not in my wildest dreams imagine just switching like that. Maybe that's because I've spent the last seven years studying literature, but even so, in my book you're a student of literature (humanities) or you're not. Plus - it would not matter if I was in a room full of psychos; I would not change due to others - I cannot understand such flippancy. Maybe that's just a product of the American major/minor degree system, something else I don't really follow.

Well, yeah undergrads are flippant. Most North American undergrads change their major an average of five times within the first year. My reasoning for changing was, first: you don't have to get a job in literature in order to love literature, and since the only job that you can really get by staying in the faculty of English is to teach these boring carbon-copy kids, this isn't for me, and second: the dissection process destroys the specimen (meaning that, by taking a book apart and examining it too closely as you would in a classroom, you're going to ruin your love of the work as a elegant functioning whole). I didn't like making books work, it felt like a perversion.

Also, yeah, what your "major" is on paper doesn't really matter when you're a Canadian first year because you're going to take pretty much all of the same courses anyway. I wasn't an "English" student anymore on the computer program that records such things, but I took as many English courses as I would have if I were to remain one. They do that so you get a whole year to just build up basic credits and test the waters so that you can decide what to study.

[OrphanPip]

True, I got on well with most of them (especially the ones who honestly just wanted to teach or who were going to school for it's own sake). It was the ones who described themselves as "aspiring writers," virtually never smiled and used flowery and superfluous language when they were describing their trip to the dentist who's unoriginal kneecaps I usually wanted to bust (one kid that I had in a second year English course even had the audacity to wear a beret, seriously).


That's not so bad, I once had a lab partner at McGill who used to fly to Paris on weekends to shop. I caught her on a walk of shame once in the metro though, which was entertaining. She seemed mortified, and unshowered.

Edit: Note that I also went to the top private college in Quebec, I never quite got used to being around the country club crowd.

[cyberbob]

Yeah, basically I enjoy literature and history but I don't need to get my formal education in them to enjoy them.

Studying literature in college is mainly for critical analysis or teaching and I'm not interested in doing either.

[L.M. The Third]

To those who are or have studied English, how did you find the degree? Do you feel that academic success at degree level means a good writer? Or do you think great writers can perform hoeplessy at the critical side of things? Essentially what the degree trains you as.

I have an obsession with the idea of studying english could be a deterrernt for writing. I know many many writers great and not-so great studied English prior to their writing careers. However, could it be argued that studying in depth the canon in all its forms, technicalities, deconstructions, techniques, genres could simply scare a person to write? 'How could I live up to that' I've thought to myself a million times having put down Joyce, or Conrad, or Shakespeare or more recently: Delillo.

Currently doing a module based on Modernism, having read all the critical essays on its form and purpose, such detailed deconstructions can't help make me think 'did these writers even intend so much that has been written about them?'

Or am I simply becoming disillusioned in my degree? Ok now I'm rambling.

Goodness! I wanted to start a thread on this very topic, referring to this ( http://dev.welltrainedmind.com/preparing-for-college/english-majors-and-the-writing-life/ ) blog by an author who studied English, but I felt that I didn't have enough to add to the topic, since I'm not an English major (yet). I don't know if I even want to primarily be a writer. The idea of "being paid to read" seems perfect, but teaching is highly competitive, and I wouldn't want to lose creativity in the process of reading books I could read on my own.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

(one kid that I had in a second year English course even had the audacity to wear a beret, seriously).

Who gives a **** if someone wears a beret? lol.




boring carbon-copy kids

Surely, another flippant comment (seems like a word common for this thread).




the dissection process destroys the specimen (meaning that, by taking a book apart and examining it too closely as you would in a classroom, you're going to ruin your love of the work as a elegant functioning whole). I didn't like making books work, it felt like a perversion.

Well, maybe you're going to lose your love of a piece of literature, but I find the more I understand a work, the more it becomes "an elegant functioning whole." Maybe you're doing it wrong?

[Lord Macbeth]

I'm an English major--a year away from my AA...

There's a core of six or eight or so of us on campus that took the same classes starting out together, now seeing each other every day as we're completing our AAs, the best on campus...

And as I find honesty a more valuably trait than modesty--and prize it more at that--I'll say, unashamedly, that I'm EXTREMELY adept with the classics, have an unmatched love and knowledge of Shakespeare on campus--hence the name--and my hroup and I comprise probably the best writers on campus.

English and Philosophy and Theatre are my LIFE...

All else is secondary at best, NOTHING is as important to me as finding the answers or the interpretations or reading and, hopefully, someday writing great works.

Writing great works--I aim high, to be sure, but then, if I'm going to value honesty over modesty it only makes sense to value ambition over humility.

I take off to soar high, and if I should fall in an Icarean manner, I'll be contented knowing that not only did I at least take my best shot at the prize, but I flew as high as I could to achieve it as well, adn that height may be enjoyed--even during The Fall. ;)

[JuniperWoolf]

Who gives a **** if someone wears a beret? lol.?

Come on, a beret? That's like the international symbol for "arrogant pseudo-liberal dick."



Well, maybe you're going to lose your love of a piece of literature, but I find the more I understand a work, the more it becomes "an elegant functioning whole." Maybe you're doing it wrong?

I'd think that if you spend at least fifteen hours of your life arguing with various people about whether Heart of Darkness was racist or not, or if the twins in Lord of the Flies represent the media or public opinion, you'll end up being bored with the book.

[cyberbob]

Come on, a beret? That's like the international symbol for "arrogant pseudo-liberal dick."

HAHA, you're my kind of guy.

I don't notice this as much in my lit classes, but theater is full of those hipsters.

I'm no cowboy, but I can relate to Cormac McCarthy being a right-winger in the world of the arts.

[LitNetIsGreat]

My reasoning for changing was, first: you don't have to get a job in literature in order to love literature, and since the only job that you can really get by staying in the faculty of English is to teach these boring carbon-copy kids, this isn't for me

Yes there is that. There's hardly much money around in it and even teaching at the moment in the UK is well over-subscribed and a questionable pursuit. I often forget the job/money factor; I just got sucked in to studying the subject I enjoy and never really though to look up.


and second: the dissection process destroys the specimen (meaning that, by taking a book apart and examining it too closely as you would in a classroom, you're going to ruin your love of the work as a elegant functioning whole). I didn't like making books work, it felt like a perversion.

Some people say that but I take the opposite view. I think that the more you look into a work and take the different perspectives of others into account the more it opens the work up for further discussion and contemplation. I'm not saying that you can't temporalily over-work a book, you can, but if they are of much worth, I find that you can return to them again at a later date refreshed.

[Jassy Melson]

I think one's "success or failure" in literature in college depends a lot on the teachers one has. In the early composition courses I took I was fortunate to have good teachers who made literature come alive without dissecting it. It also helps if one knows what direction he or she wants to go. I knew from the start of college what my direction was, so I was in a better position than a lot of my fellow literature students, who floundered from course to course. They were like lost souls wandering in a labyrinth.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Come on, a beret? That's like the international symbol for "arrogant pseudo-liberal dick."

Maybe. I don't tend to make much judgement of a person's character based on appearance.


I'd think that if you spend at least fifteen hours of your life arguing with various people about whether Heart of Darkness was racist or not, or if the twins in Lord of the Flies represent the media or public opinion, you'll end up being bored with the book.

I got bored with pretty much anything after doing it for 15 hours.

[Lokasenna]

Well, I have a BA and an MA in Literature under my belt, and I'm in the first year of my PhD. Whether that qualifies me for douchebaggery, I have no idea - I certainly hope not!

To return to the OP, when it comes to writing for pleasure, I sometimes wonder whether I've done the right thing. When I was in school, I dearly wanted to become an author. I still do, though professional academia has its temptations, and yet I have practically no time for writing at the moment. When I spend most of the day writing for work, it seems rather perverse to then write for pleasure in my odd free moments.

Maybe I'll feel better about it after I graduate. As soon as I have the PhD under my belt, I'll try to get my first serious novel out - heaven knows the job market is slow in my field, so I'll have the time.

[hanzklein]

Can you English majors tell me what jobs you are getting? That is my biggest problem with an English degree, it seems a bit useless unless you go on to the PhD degree.

It also seems a bit strange to get that degree. We can educate ourselves because we enjoy reading as a hobby, perhaps moreso than the school system (or atleast that was my entire highschool experience). So is it really a good idea to get an English degree? I'm just wondering what jobs would be available.

[OrphanPip]

Can you English majors tell me what jobs you are getting? That is my biggest problem with an English degree, it seems a bit useless unless you go on to the PhD degree.

It also seems a bit strange to get that degree. We can educate ourselves because we enjoy reading as a hobby, perhaps moreso than the school system (or atleast that was my entire highschool experience). So is it really a good idea to get an English degree? I'm just wondering what jobs would be available.

To be fair, the only degrees that get you actual jobs are professional degrees, like engineering, medicine, or accounting.

I have a degree in microbiology, but I don't work as a microbiologist. The fact that I actually do lab work alone is pretty rare amongst most of my fellow graduates. Usually, a bachelor's degree will get your foot in the door for any entry level job at any company, usually just as well as a business degree.

[hanzklein]

To be fair, the only degrees that get you actual jobs are professional degrees, like engineering, medicine, or accounting.

I have a degree in microbiology, but I don't work as a microbiologist. The fact that I actually do lab work alone is pretty rare amongst most of my fellow graduates. Usually, a bachelor's degree will get your foot in the door for any entry level job at any company, usually just as well as a business degree.

An entry job at a company doesn't even require a college degree, however. I'm just wondering what options an English major would have except teaching.

Even though you have a biology degree, I would guess you would have more options open to you than an English major.

[cyberbob]

Most commonly, English majors who don't go on to graduate school will get a teaching certification for grades # - #.

There's also professions that don't care what your BA is in as long as you have one (lawyers, some police departments, FBI which doesn't officially require a particular BA but prefers some).

[hanzklein]

^ Yup (@ OrphanPip).

Most commonly, English majors who don't go on to graduate school will get a teaching certification for grades # - #.

There's also professions that don't care what your BA is in as long as you have one (lawyers, some police departments, FBI which doesn't officially require a particular BA but prefers some).

I see. I would've thought the F.B.I. wanted Criminal Justice degrees.

[OrphanPip]

An entry job at a company doesn't even require a college degree, however. I'm just wondering what options an English major would have except teaching.


Actually they do, most sales jobs these days even require university degrees.

The only jobs that don't are wage labour stuff, like selling clothes or food, or factory work. (I suppose there are some clerkship and office jobs that don't though, but likely without any room for advancement).

[Wilde woman]

To those who are or have studied English, how did you find the degree? Do you feel that academic success at degree level means a good writer? Or do you think great writers can perform hoeplessy at the critical side of things? Essentially what the degree trains you as.

I'm a first year graduate student working towards my doctorate in English, but I am definitely more interested in the scholarly aspect of the work than the creative side. I honestly feel that students who come into departments of English literature wanting to become great writers are a bit deluded. In all of the literature departments I've seen, there is a much greater emphasis on the process of textual analysis and theory than on honing your own craft. I feel like that's why there are Creative Writing degrees (many of which are awarded through traditional English departments), but the point of an English literature degree is not to make you a writer. Your creativity only really figures in the originality of your arguments.

Having said that, I have a number of friends (mostly MA students) who do write their own original dramas and/or short stories. But they still have to do the same amount of scholarly work as the rest of us, who have purely academic ambitions. I really feel like creative output is secondary, sometimes even incidental, to your scholarly work.


Can you English majors tell me what jobs you are getting? That is my biggest problem with an English degree, it seems a bit useless unless you go on to the PhD degree.

Statements like this frustrate me, because if you look at all the various departments offered at most major universities, they don't have immediate career dividends. Do you think most people getting their BAs in biology end up becoming biologists? English departments just get the bad rap for it because they' tend to be the biggest of the "impractical" humanities departments. What about people who major in history or Classics or gender studies? My university had a legitimate "peace and conflicts" major. Do you think people who major in that are going on to become diplomats or four-star generals? The truth is that unless you have a very specific career in mind (like an engineer or medical doctor), your bachelor's degree has very little bearing on your actual career. Your job will most likely provide on-the-job training. Case in point: I have a friend, who is a masters student in English, who is applying for medical school this year. She sees her English MA as an enriching experience which will simply make her a more well-rounded person and candidate for medical school. Granted, her case is atypical, but it reinforces my point that a humanities degree does not limit your job opportunities.

[hanzklein]

Statements like this frustrate me, because if you look at all the various departments offered at most major universities, they don't have immediate career dividends. Do you think most people getting their BAs in biology end up becoming biologists? English departments just get the bad rap for it because they' tend to be the biggest of the "impractical" humanities departments. What about people who major in history or Classics or gender studies? My university had a legitimate "peace and conflicts" major. Do you think people who major in that are going on to become diplomats or four-star generals? The truth is that unless you have a very specific career in mind (like an engineer or medical doctor), your bachelor's degree has very little bearing on your actual career. Your job will most likely provide on-the-job training. Case in point: I have a friend, who is a masters student in English, who is applying for medical school this year. She sees her English MA as an enriching experience which will simply make her a more well-rounded person and candidate for medical school. Granted, her case is atypical, but it reinforces my point that a humanities degree does not limit your job opportunities.
The argument you used was that because some other degrees are less attractive, an English one is therefore good.
An English degree will do nothing for medical school compared to, you know, a biology or chemistry one. I'm being a realist. Because English is basically an academic subject based on a hobby, it can be taught to oneself after or during high school, as was the case for me.
I asked an earnest question, because I really was confused with what people could do with English degrees. A humanities degree does not limit opportunities, but it doesn't significantly enhance them either which for some people may be a deterrent to study in college considering the costs and time involved.

[JBI]

The argument you used was that because some other degrees are less attractive, an English one is therefore good.
An English degree will do nothing for medical school compared to, you know, a biology or chemistry one. I'm being a realist. Because English is basically an academic subject based on a hobby, it can be taught to oneself after or during high school, as was the case for me.
I asked an earnest question, because I really was confused with what people could do with English degrees. A humanities degree does not limit opportunities, but it doesn't significantly enhance them either which for some people may be a deterrent to study in college considering the costs and time involved.

No, his argument was it does not matter what you study in undergraduate. To be honest, whether you have pre-med, or Biology, or Chemistry, it won't matter on your medschool application as much as your test scores and how you present yourself - the knowledge of English will help get you in, as, well, a) in some universities, such as the ones in Western Canada, English coursework is required, and b) a large section of the MCAT exam is VERBAL REASONING, how well you right then becomes 1/4 or so of the actual exam! Being a doctor isn't just about being a brain you know - most medical schools now are looking for someone who can interact with people and be professional - perhaps English will not help you with that, but it certainly will give you a sort of eloquence in formal writing that a science degree won't.



But beyond that, it does not matter for most things - I could, for instance, apply for an MBA, or Law School, or whatever - the point is, you study what you enjoy, because it is all about maturity. I started off in English, then moved to a double major in English and East Asian studies - the reason for my choice - well, I simply had interest to study what it is I am studying.

English, like any humanities degree, or the vast majority of bachelors degrees, is just one option - you simply choose based on what you like, and you think forward based on limits - someone who studies English, for instance, will probably have an easier time getting into Law School over somebody who studies biology - it isn't science, but the idea of one being well versed in written argument seems to be important.

If you came on here to find somebody to tell you what to do with your life, it would perhaps be better to not insult people's intelligence or opinions when they offer sound logical responses.


Either way, everyone's choice of what to study is personal, I study literature because I like the look of my own opinions on paper, and, well, I kind of enjoy reading stuff, and have fun playing the "game" of seeing how arguments develop in scholarship. As for English, well, the problem to me there is that the department is so saturated on the graduate level that it turns out 8-9year Bachelor to Ph.D. students in rapid succession, meaning there are way to many people floating around with big heads and mediocre ideas - other departments are different, and other countries different. You merely need to figure out the game, and what you want to do with it.

[hanzklein]

It's an undergrad degree though. It sounds like you just advocate getting an English degree to pursue even more school later, though on an unrelated subject, as Wilde woman did. I was just wondering what an English degree will get you out of pure curiosity, not what other subjects an English degree can help you study.
I've heard stories of people getting a liberal arts degree and they end up going to a job they could have had without ever having went to college. I asked here in part to try to clarify if it was true, though it doesn't appear there was a straight answer.

[JuniperWoolf]

Well, I have a BA and an MA in Literature under my belt, and I'm in the first year of my PhD. Whether that qualifies me for douchebaggery, I have no idea - I certainly hope not!

Nah, academia fits you well. There's nothing fake or hipster about it, thus no douchebaggery.


HAHA, you're my kind of guy.

I don't notice this as much in my lit classes, but theater is full of those hipsters.

I'm no cowboy, but I can relate to Cormac McCarthy being a right-winger in the world of the arts.

Well, for posterity's sake, I'm technically your kind of girl. And yeah, I was pretty shocked when I got to the U of A and was considered the class redneck because I was cool with hunting and had never been to a Starbucks.

[Lokasenna]

In terms of employment possibilities, this website (http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/afterenglish/) is advertised in my department. I've had a bit of glance at it, and it seems somewhat reasonable in helping English graduates find a direction.

[Wilde woman]

The argument you used was that because some other degrees are less attractive, an English one is therefore good.

No, I didn't imply that other degrees are less attractive. I simply said that English departments get the brunt of the the stereotype that their degrees are "useless", simply because English departments tend to be the biggest of the humanities departments.


It's an undergrad degree though. It sounds like you just advocate getting an English degree to pursue even more school later, though on an unrelated subject, as Wilde woman did.

JBI pretty much summarized my point. Bachelor's degrees are beginning to matter less. Many people just choose what they like to study and worry about jobs after graduation. Or they find an internship/research opportunity related to their interests during undergrad and go in full-time after they graduate. From my experience, it's more important to potential employers that you have a bachelor's degree; they don't tend to care so much what you majored in because chances are they'll train you for your specific job.

By the way, I did not get an English degree in my undergrad, nor did I switch over to something "unrelated" for grad school. I don't know where you read that. I did a double major as an undergraduate - Comparative Literature and Linguistics, and then switched over to English as a graduate student.


I was just wondering what an English degree will get you out of pure curiosity, not what other subjects an English degree can help you study.

Unless you're looking for a job as an English teacher, you're right that there is no straight answer. But again, I feel that's true for pretty much all the humanities/social science BAs. That doesn't mean you cannot find a job, though. I have friends who graduated with English BAs, didn't continue in academia, and are doing perfectly fine in the "real world" of the job market. They're managers, HR reps, counselors, lawyers, consultants, teachers, etc. Like any other field, you don't HAVE to go on to the graduate level with English to get paid...in fact, I wouldn't recommend it unless you really love what you're doing.

[JBI]

It's true for almost all degrees, not just Social Sciences and Humanities. People with bachelor degrees in math do not become mathematicians, nor do ones in Biology become renown biologists, nor Zoology degrees become zoologists. Simply put, the bachelor's degree is a stepping stone, you study what you want. With the exception perhaps of Engineering and Computer science, few degrees actually lead directly into a career, and the list is becoming fewer yet.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Do what makes you happy. Study what makes you happy. If that makes you a douchebag, hipster, or snob in some people's eyes, **** them. Simple as that.

[kelby_lake]

I was just wondering what an English degree will get you out of pure curiosity, not what other subjects an English degree can help you study.

No degree guarantees you a job. People with Science degrees don't just sit around and find that there are magically jobs for them. You have to get your own job.

[JBI]

Meh, the English major is depressing.
That's why I switched to Chinese, completely different game. English attracts the most mediocre students imaginable, that's its biggest problem. It has no gatekeeping until people start writing ph.d.s, and even then the gatekeeping isn't as enforced.

Gatekeeping is the only way to ensure quality in the humanities - it in most fields is done with ideas of fieldwork and qualifications, but for English, the simple truth is anybody can read. So in humanities, you need usually 4 to 5 masters students every year than Ph.D. students to keep the department afloat - so people get praised, go do a masters, and end up being where they left off - it's encouraged everywhere where there is private education, it's the means that the department sustains itself, but it drags in so much unwanted crap.

Take another discourse for instance, area studies. If you want to study Arabic literature, first you need language requirements - At least English to write in since you are writing in an English university, and then you will need fluent Arabic to read. Next you will need background, which ends up translating to time in the field to get anywhere - academically that is the biggest gatekeeper of them all - time in the field is actual time out of one's life, and only the most dedicated can pursue it.

The result is that the truly dedicated get shown early on, and the department becomes less obsessed with processing students.


As for the undergraduate level of classes, well, everyone takes English because they think it is easy and fun, and don't know what to do with their lives. Alas though, it is like taking commerce and thinking you will be some CEO and then realizing you are working at McDonalds since nobody cares about your educational background, other than as an indicator that you have one.

[Prairie]

There aren't any jobs. Anyone who studies literature should do it for the love of it, and learn a marketable skill on the side.

[cafolini]

There aren't any jobs. Anyone who studies literature should do it for the love of it, and learn a marketable skill on the side.

Agree, so long as teaching is not your aim.

[JBI]

Agree, so long as teaching is not your aim.

You don't need a degree to appreciate literature. To study something formally and to enjoy it are two different things. From my experience, most people seem to lose much of their joy of literature after studying it formally.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

You don't need a degree to appreciate literature. To study something formally and to enjoy it are two different things. From my experience, most people seem to lose much of their joy of literature after studying it formally.

Complete opposite reaction for me, and a lot of people I know.

[Darcy88]

Complete opposite reaction for me, and a lot of people I know.

Indeed, some of my greatest experiences with literature happened with books I had to read for class. I found discussing them and hearing lectures on them let in a lot more light and allowed me to better appreciate and understand the works being studied.

[Kafka's Crow]

I am someone who studied English for my BA then went on to do an MA and by the age of 24 I was teaching English at college level. Went back to the university again at the age of 30 and did another MA, gave up day-time jobs when kids started coming along (as I wanted to spend more time with my children) and tried to make something of a career working nights. It was a struggle but now I am a manager earning decent money and, more importantly, in a position to help people develop and be happy. This is what humanities are all about: bring about a positive change to people's lives either by developing them as a teacher or help them achieve job satisfaction as a boss. I am on the radar as the future leader in my organisation (a 350 years old company employing in excess of 200,000 people). Is the life easy? No it is not. I have to face office politics and watch my every step because I have powerful enemies including my immediate boss. They hate me for being different, humane and qualified. But I am the idea whose time is come. What can be stronger than that?

What you need to go higher in life? An obsession, a goal and a fire in your heart. Yes it was a long, hard struggle but I can see light at the distant end of it. Humanities is the new big thing in management and HR. Diversify into that direction. Aim to develop your critical judgement, empathy and communication skills. Major businesses around the world have realised the importance of these attributes and nothing helps you develop these essential 'business/ leadership skills' than an education in humanities, specially an education in literature which is all about critical analysis, empathy and communication skills. Study leadership and a bit of psychology and present yourself with confidence- confidence in your abilities as superior communicator and a humanist. The world is crying for these skills.