Like any other major, pursuing an English degree has its pros and cons. The most obvious downside of being an English major is probably a tie between people’s doubting your ability to use your degree after graduation and everyone else’s assuming you want to become a teacher. Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons.
Even though an English degree might mean strained eyesight, endless essays and the occasional self-doubt about future employment, being an English major has its perks.
1. The enjoyable reading material.
No major is free from the more technical and tedious textbooks about that major’s foundation. However, the majority of English classes also require lighter and more enjoyable works. Since many students become English majors because of their loves for literature, it is only fair that the reading material remains interesting in school. Some classes offer only certain genres of literature, while others might even revolve the entire semester around one particular author. Two of my own favorite classes have taught only Caribbean literature and Oscar Wilde’s writing. As an English major, I am fortunate because so much of my homework involves reading and transporting myself to a literary world.
2. The painless reading price.
There are few college victories greater than buying a schoolbook online for only a penny. Yes, an actual though used schoolbook for only one cent. Even when you add in the shipping and handling, paying only a few dollars for a textbook is far from the norm, especially for students in more scientific or medical majors. However, since half of any English major’s books are likely classics or novels, which do not even have to be the latest editions, sellers are usually just trying to make more closet space instead of actual profits. We might not be able to sell these books back so easily, but most of these texts can become useful additions to our personal libraries.
3. The open assignments.
Every student probably likes at least one factor in assignments for his or her own major, but English majors, especially, can look forward to the freedom in our assignments. Many essays simply require a unique analysis of the context behind one of the poems, stories or plays discussed in class. Others even encourage personal voice and reflection. When these assignments allow almost complete literary freedom, English majors can insert their own literary preferences and become better writers by interpreting something we might actually read for fun. For example, one of my favorite academic essays I ever wrote involved analyzing the grammar in the Grimm’s fairy tale “Rumpelstiltskin,” a topic I picked and thoroughly enjoyed.
4. The extensive vocabulary.
It is no secret that excessive reading leads to an ever-expanding vocabulary, which means that English majors should rarely be at a loss for words. Having to constantly write different essays and responses also means desperately thinking of and learning new ways to say the same word or idea. It is no wonder that an English major should always have a thesaurus at hand, whether online or in the back of the student’s mind. Additionally, taking advanced grammar classes opens a new world of our language’s origins and supposed rules. For instance, there is actually a time and place for the double negative and fragment, just not in an academic essay. Words are our weapons, and English majors write and read to sharpen our tools.
5. The like-minded people.
Even though we surround ourselves with books, it is really the people who make pursuing an English degree worthwhile. Whether a fellow English major or even professor, discussing literature with a like-minded scholar guarantees a fun and intellectual conversation. Literary debates never disappoint because there is always a new interpretation of a classic or contemporary work to discover. This department claims some of the most creative and peculiar people in any university, starting from its chair and ending with the incoming freshmen. In smaller colleges, especially, the English department almost becomes a family filled with intellects, misfits and everyone in between.
