When telling people you're an English major, you'll always get mixed reactions. Some are supportive, while others act as though you told them their cat died.
1. “Are you English Education?”
To many people, English majors are only seen as future educators, but in reality, our major is so diverse and versatile. We are lawyers, editors, journalists, and even sometimes doctors. We are not limited to the realm of education and deserve to treated with the same respect as stem majors.
2. “You’re not going to make a decent living”
Oh no! I had no idea humanities and arts majors were underpaid and underappreciated in today's society. Thanks for the advice, but I'm not choosing my major on how much money I'll make. Call me a starving artist or whatever, but this is where my happiness lies.
3. “You’re so smart; why don’t you do STEM?”
First off, English is no joke. From analyzing texts to reading Shakespeare plays, my major is more than set answers and numbers. We may not be researching how to cure cancer, but we're just as relevant to society. Imagine going a day without art, music, TV, etc.
4. Finding a job will be hard
Okay, so if you're not an English major yourself then how would you know? Like I said before, an English degree is worth much more than people think. Everything we do is communicated through writings and words. So basically, I have faith that we'll be around for a while.
5. Can you edit my papers? (For free?)
Just because I am an English major does not mean I'm your personal spellcheck and grammar police. If you want me to edit a paper I'd happy to, but I need compensation for my time and energy. Please and thank you.