Imagine you’re sitting around with the family, it’s a typical birthday barbecue, Fourth of July get together or Labor Day party. The dreaded what-are-you-doing-with-your-life conversation pops up. Usually there’s something minuscule going on, maybe new college classes or a well paying lunch money job. Of course college folk constantly get grilled on where their degree is taking them. For those of us studying literature and writing, or really any liberal arts degree, we’ve heard this a lot when revealing our degree path: “So, like … what are you gonna do with that?” or the assumption, “Oooh so you’re going to be a teacher.”
If I could get a dollar for every time I’ve heard these, I’d be rich enough to not need a career at all.
For everyone wondering what else there could be, here are 20 great career paths us bookworms are good for.
1. Copy writing
The field of marketing is huge and booming, and there is a place for everyone -- including English majors. Copy writing encompasses all written material for a product or service a company is selling. Promotional video scripts? Created by a copywriter. Content on a restaurant’s web homepage? Copywriter. The slogan on a bottle of Coca-Cola? A copywriter does that. See, writing is useful.
2. Author
Of course for most of us this is a far-fetched dream, but some writers do make it and earn a great living writing anything from children’s books to self-help novels to cheesy romance books. Just think: JK Rowling reached billionaire status. If she can do it, so can you. Self publishing is popular on websites like Amazon and many publishers are taking in young writers or poets from all over. With lots of dedication, this can be a legitimate career.
3. Grant Writing
Businesses need money, and sometimes they need to ask for it outright. This is where us modern Churchills come in to persuade and woo these potential donors into giving some funding. Grant and proposal writing takes some skill because it’s a much different style than writing for a newspaper, blog or research paper, but this is a career where your work is valuable to the company and you get to speak directly to government institutions and sponsoring corporations.
4. ESL Overseas
I know I was trying to stay away from the topic of teaching, but to be fair English as a Second Language is something any native English speaker with a bachelor’s degree can do, although related degrees may give you a pay bump. English is the business language of the world. Tons of countries are looking for private tutors or class instructors to help them learn this second language. It’s a great way to travel and get paid to do it!
5. Copy Editing
This is much different than copy writing. Copy editing refers to the part of the editorial process for a print or online publication where content is checked for formatting and style consistency. Checking that grammar is correct and names are referred to the same way each time could fall under this category. Seasoned English majors have written so many papers in so many different formats that we have a great eye for this kind of detail. Look for these jobs in the publishing industry.
6. Typesetting
This is the part of the editorial process where the text block and images are arranged on a page or double checked to be published. These jobs also go to graphic designers and techies with html or other coding experience because it comes in handy when all of a sudden you have to create your own image or tinker with the CMS.
7. Proofreading
Yes, this is what it sounds like. You check the actual proof of a publication just before it is sent to the publisher. You’ll make sure page numbers are correct, publisher guidelines are being followed and that tables and charts aren’t split between two pages awkwardly. It’s the final step before the printers (or the publish button online). Sometimes employers chunk career number five, number six and tasks for this job together with varying responsibilities.
8. Fast Food Worker
Haha, just kidding. Bet you were waiting for that one.
9. Technical writing
Instruction manuals don’t write themselves, right? As a technical writer you can be that person. You also draft any mechanical, computational or regulatory materials for a company that produces something that requires some guidelines for their consumer. Medical procedures, how to glue on fake nails and car manuals fall under this category. It’s not the most exciting career, but you could make a median wage of $70,000 a year doing it.
10. Bookseller
Combine the fast-paced life of a salesperson and the quiet life of a bookworm and book selling is what you get. Actual day to day work can include typical retail tasks like stocking shelves and talking to customers, but you also get the opportunity to assess sales activity and create trend strategies for your store. Best of all, you're surrounded by awesome books all day.
11. Public Relations
This career deals with making sure the public doesn’t have a problem with the folks you work for and that their reputation remains a positive one. PR is the one who answers phone and email questions from the press and other organizations, but who also writes press for their own company, usually for their website or for submission to other media outlets. If there's a bad rumor, you fix it. A lot of writing, researching and editing work is done when creating brochures, pamphlets, photo galleries, promotional videos and the like. You make sure the public remembers you and thinks of you when they need something done well.
12. Librarian
Of course this requires an additional Library Sciences degree, but a bachelor’s degree of any kind is a great place to start and would be totally useful on your path to becoming a librarian. There are multiple types: public, academic, schoolhouse and specialized librarians. With any of these choices you’ll be making important decisions about informational resources available to people using your library and keeping up to date on where to find the best or most accurate texts. Becoming a librarian lets you make super specific choices about where you’ll be at and what you’ll be looking into each day.
13. News Reporter
Journalism isn’t just for journalism majors. I know I took my fair share of JASS classes in school even though it wasn’t exactly the career I was looking for. Truth is, it’s pretty fun, always needed and constantly evolving. Getting into this field requires a lot of patience and free work. Normally you can submit stories to local papers and they pay you based on what they choose to accept. You can also start writing news content online and post it publicly for employers to see. Start at home or travel abroad for world news. If you’re a catch, you could be hired as a full time reporter.
14. Blogger
Cheers to more writing. Millions of people already blog personally for free and that’s great. But you could also get paid. It takes a few years to amass a decent following unless you go viral with a post, but those with the title "blogger" make on average $24,000 a year or $33,000 if you're a corporate blogger. That's not too shabby. Many places offer incentives for writing on their platform based on how many people view your post. Exposure is important here, so you'll have to know how to market yourself.
15. Social Media Manager
Yup, in this line of work you'll be sitting on Facebook all day and getting paid for it. In fact, you get paid about $50k for it, give or take. Every business needs a social media presence now. How weird is it when you want to look up a place to shop and they don't have a page, an Instagram, anything? Heck, I can tweet at RadioShack right now and they'd respond within an hour or two. As a social media manager, you'll decide what content goes on which site and when to release it. This is becoming very important in our day and age and ties closely with PR because these sites are the face of the company.
16. Brand Manager
Do you have great communication skills with a dab of creativity? You can be a bigwig in the marketing sphere by making sure the labels speak to the buyer. Business is all about following trends and giving the customer what they want on a grand scale. You have to have awesome communication skills to choreograph marketing campaigns and drive market growth with this title on your badge.
17. Freelance Editor
Freelance anything sounds pretty scary, but this one is actually a career worth pursuing. Many people are writing online independently or doing research outside of an organization that they want to bring into the world, but they have no one qualified to look it over for them. Editing websites hire freelance editors to provide this type of service to writers in need. Working from home in your pajamas can be a dreamlike reality and you can read a variety of texts all day. If you're interested, check out sites like Upwork, Indeed and Freelancer to get started.
18. Event Planner
For this you'll have to be mega organized. Weddings, birthdays, fundraisers, book signings, art shows and any other kind of event going on could have your name on it and bring in the cash flow. Event planning is great for English majors because as always communication is key. Keeping in touch with your clients on what exactly they need or want and keeping connections with venues, flower shops and bakeries will help you immensely. If you've got a planner filled with when to read which books, color coded and all, this could be your dream career.
19. Scriptwriter
Welcome to Hollywood! Write for the radio, TV shows and movies. There is really a writer behind everything that you see on television. Why did Cersei Lannister say what she did last season? A writer wrote that for her lines. Glamour doesn't always show its face, and being behind the scenes never looked better.
20. Songwriter
Much like a scriptwriter, but for those of us with musical interest and talent. Any poets out there? This could be your big break (take any rap song and tell me that’s not poetry). The average songwriter makes 40,000 in salary, but if you create a one hit wonder it could be more.
21. Lawyer
Number 21 is added because let’s get real--number eight didn’t really count. When I was reaching the end of my college career I was surprised at how many of my graduating English friends were planning their transition into law school. I had personally never thought of it as an interesting option, but it’s truly a great fit. The wording in legal documents and the language of law is extremely specific. One word can change the meaning of an entire clause and impact the law’s effect or who it reaches. Having a wide understanding of terminology is absolutely necessary here.
