Yes, I'm An English Major And No, That Doesn't Mean The Only Thing I Can Do Is Teach

Growing up, English was always my favorite subject. I always loved writing and once I got to middle school, I began to love reading too.

When senior year of high school came around and it was time for everyone to pick a college and a major, I chose English. Everyone thought I was crazy because I honestly just kind of picked the thing that I was really good at, but also the thing that I loved.

So, when people ask me what my major is, I tell them English. And 97% of the time, their response is "oh, so you're going to be a teacher?" No, I'm not planning on being a teacher.

Those who go on to become teachers are some of the best people. They are literally educating the ones who will grow up to run the country and they're grossly underpaid and rarely appreciated for their hard work. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a teacher, but just because I didn't choose nursing or accounting as a major doesn't mean I'm going to be a teacher.

At first, I had planned on taking my English degree to law school, but I finally decided against that. After about 2 years of college, I decided that I wanted to use my degree to do the things that I loved: reading and writing. I decided that I wanted to work in publishing because that would allow me to work in the field of creative writing.

Though these are the two career paths that I looked into, there's actually a thousand other things I can do with my English degree. While recently looking at internship opportunities, I came across the Nike website. Nike's headquarters was looking for an English major to intern in their editorial department. My English degree could land me a job with one of the top sports brands.

In my senior seminar class this past semester, we focused on jobs in literary tourism. With my English degree, I could be a director of literary tourist sites, such as famous author's houses. My professor for this class also mentioned the previous jobs he's had working for companies writing their instruction manuals.

There are literally a thousand things I can do as an English major. There's nothing wrong with being a teacher, but my choices aren't limited to teaching just because of my major.