Jobs for English Majors (that don't involve English majors.)
May 10, 2010 5:28 PM Subscribe
A question on behalf of my wife. She wants to change careers.
Her text begins below the cut.
I'm sure there are lots of questions similar to mine here, and I've looked at previous questions similar to mine, but because I'm a special snowflake I felt the need to badger my husband into posting one for me.
Specifically, I'm looking for information, suggestions, and guidance regarding a career change. Educational needs, fields with high demand, and so on. I'm currently working as a phone monkey at a compliance hotline, and while the work is interesting I don't see much in the way of potential advancement. As a result I've been thinking about what is out there that I could feasibly do that would be interesting and at least vaguely profitable - in the neighborhood of $30,000/year.
Unfortunately, I'm at a loss because I have a BA in English Literature, which doesn't exactly open a lot of doors. Recently I've been considering going overseas to teach English while learning Mandarin. I've also considered becoming a foreign service officer - or perhaps teaching/learning Mandarin first and then becoming a FSO when I have actual desirable skills. I'm also somewhat wistful about career paths not taken because I had previously wanted to go into forensic pathology or epidemiology for years... until I developed a rather severe needle phobia and opted not to go into anything related to medicine. This would probably require a second BA in addition to additional training, and I'm not sure what the demand for forensic scientists/pathologists or public health workers would be anyway. (Also I'm concerned the needle phobia would still pose a problem...)
And a bit about me in case there are other possibilities out there - I'm shy and introverted, too smart for my own good but not brilliant, and rather averse to conflict. I like solitary tasks, late nights, and organizing or editing things. And unfortunately, I do not currently speak any languages other than English. I'm working on that, but translation work is not an option at this time.
SO... give all of that random info, what would the hivemind recommend I take a look into? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I'm sure there are lots of questions similar to mine here, and I've looked at previous questions similar to mine, but because I'm a special snowflake I felt the need to badger my husband into posting one for me.
Specifically, I'm looking for information, suggestions, and guidance regarding a career change. Educational needs, fields with high demand, and so on. I'm currently working as a phone monkey at a compliance hotline, and while the work is interesting I don't see much in the way of potential advancement. As a result I've been thinking about what is out there that I could feasibly do that would be interesting and at least vaguely profitable - in the neighborhood of $30,000/year.
Unfortunately, I'm at a loss because I have a BA in English Literature, which doesn't exactly open a lot of doors. Recently I've been considering going overseas to teach English while learning Mandarin. I've also considered becoming a foreign service officer - or perhaps teaching/learning Mandarin first and then becoming a FSO when I have actual desirable skills. I'm also somewhat wistful about career paths not taken because I had previously wanted to go into forensic pathology or epidemiology for years... until I developed a rather severe needle phobia and opted not to go into anything related to medicine. This would probably require a second BA in addition to additional training, and I'm not sure what the demand for forensic scientists/pathologists or public health workers would be anyway. (Also I'm concerned the needle phobia would still pose a problem...)
And a bit about me in case there are other possibilities out there - I'm shy and introverted, too smart for my own good but not brilliant, and rather averse to conflict. I like solitary tasks, late nights, and organizing or editing things. And unfortunately, I do not currently speak any languages other than English. I'm working on that, but translation work is not an option at this time.
SO... give all of that random info, what would the hivemind recommend I take a look into? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
It is not clear from your question whether you would be open to pursuing an advanced degree.
If you have looked into going into bioscience careers, you must have taken quite a few basic science classes. How would you feel about a position in health policy & advocacy? Excellent writing skills are always in huge demand at health-oriented non-profits. You would most likely be starting out as someone's assistant with just a bachelor degree, but you can always go back to school if it's the right career for you (example listing). Also, your location would be helpful; for instance, there are many jobs in health for English majors in Seattle and Washington, DC, but you'd probably have a hard time finding anything similar in a small town.
posted by halogen at 5:50 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you have looked into going into bioscience careers, you must have taken quite a few basic science classes. How would you feel about a position in health policy & advocacy? Excellent writing skills are always in huge demand at health-oriented non-profits. You would most likely be starting out as someone's assistant with just a bachelor degree, but you can always go back to school if it's the right career for you (example listing). Also, your location would be helpful; for instance, there are many jobs in health for English majors in Seattle and Washington, DC, but you'd probably have a hard time finding anything similar in a small town.
posted by halogen at 5:50 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
It will take you many years to learn enough Mandarin even to have a conversation without great difficultly. Reading and writing proficiently will take much longer. Teaching English in China will distract you from learning the language, and it won't pay much. It won't do much for your employment prospects back home, either. If you want to do it for its own sake, great, but don't expect it to be easy or profitable.
posted by smorange at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by smorange at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
jrockway, what you're missing is that there's an oversupply of people who can do copyediting, magazine editing, journalism, technical writing, and so on, especially in an environment with 10+ percent unemployment rates and magazines/newspapers/publishing all in the tank. My bright idea was "librarian" and that crashed and burned, so not that. I'll be watching this one for any good ideas.
posted by Daily Alice at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Daily Alice at 5:55 PM on May 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
I had previously wanted to go into forensic pathology or epidemiology for years... until I developed a rather severe needle phobia and opted not to go into anything related to medicine
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think epidemiology involves any needles. If you get an MPH you'll have a skill that's in demand and you'll be directly helping people and communities. You might want to look into getting an MPH and going down that route - my college roommate is an epidemiologist and he seems to be very happy with his current career path.
I've also considered becoming a foreign service officer - or perhaps teaching/learning Mandarin first and then becoming a FSO when I have actual desirable skills
Unfortunately, I don't see this as a viable option for you. Careers in the foreign service are highly desirable and the competition is intense. I considered becoming a FSO right after college, and I found out quickly that Uncle Sam is pretty selective. You'll be up against Ivy Grads and people who already speak several languages. Age is probably a factor, as well, so if you've been out of college for a while now that's working against you as well.
If you go overseas, either with the Foreign Service or as an English teacher, will you bring your husband? If you don't, you'll have to make adjustments to your relationship, and those can suck. China is a interesting place to live, but if you don't know any Mandarin, you may have some trouble. It's a difficult language to learn, and unlike a Romance language, a few months with Rosetta Stone or another program isn't going to teach you much of value. You must learn the characters, or you'll be illiterate, and trust me, the characters can be challenging for a native English speaker to pick up.
I don't want to throw cold water on the FSO / overseas English teacher dreams, but I think you might be better suited to looking for careers here. Could you consider law? Writing and the nuances of language are a huge part of law, and with your background and some effort I think you could succeed. There are many fields of law and you can choose one you like. I would also consider accounting - you mention you like solitary tasks and organizing things. Accountants are always in demand, and I find it interesting. It has a reputation for being boring which I feel is undeserved.
posted by Despondent_Monkey at 5:57 PM on May 10, 2010
Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think epidemiology involves any needles. If you get an MPH you'll have a skill that's in demand and you'll be directly helping people and communities. You might want to look into getting an MPH and going down that route - my college roommate is an epidemiologist and he seems to be very happy with his current career path.
I've also considered becoming a foreign service officer - or perhaps teaching/learning Mandarin first and then becoming a FSO when I have actual desirable skills
Unfortunately, I don't see this as a viable option for you. Careers in the foreign service are highly desirable and the competition is intense. I considered becoming a FSO right after college, and I found out quickly that Uncle Sam is pretty selective. You'll be up against Ivy Grads and people who already speak several languages. Age is probably a factor, as well, so if you've been out of college for a while now that's working against you as well.
If you go overseas, either with the Foreign Service or as an English teacher, will you bring your husband? If you don't, you'll have to make adjustments to your relationship, and those can suck. China is a interesting place to live, but if you don't know any Mandarin, you may have some trouble. It's a difficult language to learn, and unlike a Romance language, a few months with Rosetta Stone or another program isn't going to teach you much of value. You must learn the characters, or you'll be illiterate, and trust me, the characters can be challenging for a native English speaker to pick up.
I don't want to throw cold water on the FSO / overseas English teacher dreams, but I think you might be better suited to looking for careers here. Could you consider law? Writing and the nuances of language are a huge part of law, and with your background and some effort I think you could succeed. There are many fields of law and you can choose one you like. I would also consider accounting - you mention you like solitary tasks and organizing things. Accountants are always in demand, and I find it interesting. It has a reputation for being boring which I feel is undeserved.
posted by Despondent_Monkey at 5:57 PM on May 10, 2010
Despondent_Monkey, MPH programs aren't easy to get into, especially for someone who appears to have zero experience in health-related topics. Most programs won't even let you apply if you haven't been in the field for a while – keep in mind that grades and test scores aren't nearly as important in MPH programs as career direction and experience (even more so when compared to typical graduate programs).
posted by halogen at 6:09 PM on May 10, 2010
posted by halogen at 6:09 PM on May 10, 2010
Fellow English B.A. here. Large medical centers (hospitals, schools, research, pharmaceutical companies) hire technical writers, proposal writers, marketing writers, corporate communications writers, and publication editors. To give you an idea of what the job descriptions look like for these jobs, here are some very different positions within the medical industry:
- Proposal writer for MD Anderson
- Software technical writer/testing for US Oncology
- Medical writer for Cyberonics
Someone has a blog called "Medical Writer" which lists lots of similar jobs, so you can see more descriptions. STC has an older, 2-page article titled "Medical Technical Writing" that describes the different types of medical writing, and typical pay for those positions.
posted by Houstonian at 6:25 PM on May 10, 2010 [4 favorites]
- Proposal writer for MD Anderson
- Software technical writer/testing for US Oncology
- Medical writer for Cyberonics
Someone has a blog called "Medical Writer" which lists lots of similar jobs, so you can see more descriptions. STC has an older, 2-page article titled "Medical Technical Writing" that describes the different types of medical writing, and typical pay for those positions.
posted by Houstonian at 6:25 PM on May 10, 2010 [4 favorites]
Court reporting and Captioned Audio in Real Time (discussed on AskMe previously here and here) might be of interest.
posted by sueinnyc at 6:47 PM on May 10, 2010
posted by sueinnyc at 6:47 PM on May 10, 2010
I'm not a FSO, but I know at least a dozen, so the advice that follows is based on what I've seen them go through: I actually don't know that learning Mandarin would make you any better-qualified for a career as a FSO, for a few reasons:
1. The State Department wants people they can send anywhere. You would be switching country assignments every 2-5 years, especially early in your career, so a language spoken only in one country, even an enormous one like China, probably doesn't give you a definitive leg up. A language spoken in many countries, like Spanish, French or Arabic would probably be more useful. None of my FSO friends speak Mandarin.
2. The State Department has a whole language training program in DC to train FSOs in the language they'll need for their next post. I've had friends who spent a whole year doing nothing but learning a new language.
If you really think you would like being a FSO, I'd recommend going ahead and taking the exam. It certainly can't hurt. It is a long and involved process, but you can always pursue other options at the same time, and drop out of the application process if you find something else you'd rather do. FWIW, my friends have told me that there was a wide variety of ages and experiences in their training classes, so ignore the people who say you need to be 22.
The one thing I will say though, is that I'm not sure if it's the best career for a hard-core introvert. You would probably spend a lot of time meeting with people, whether it's local political leaders or people applying for visas.
posted by wholebroad at 6:54 PM on May 10, 2010 [5 favorites]
1. The State Department wants people they can send anywhere. You would be switching country assignments every 2-5 years, especially early in your career, so a language spoken only in one country, even an enormous one like China, probably doesn't give you a definitive leg up. A language spoken in many countries, like Spanish, French or Arabic would probably be more useful. None of my FSO friends speak Mandarin.
2. The State Department has a whole language training program in DC to train FSOs in the language they'll need for their next post. I've had friends who spent a whole year doing nothing but learning a new language.
If you really think you would like being a FSO, I'd recommend going ahead and taking the exam. It certainly can't hurt. It is a long and involved process, but you can always pursue other options at the same time, and drop out of the application process if you find something else you'd rather do. FWIW, my friends have told me that there was a wide variety of ages and experiences in their training classes, so ignore the people who say you need to be 22.
The one thing I will say though, is that I'm not sure if it's the best career for a hard-core introvert. You would probably spend a lot of time meeting with people, whether it's local political leaders or people applying for visas.
posted by wholebroad at 6:54 PM on May 10, 2010 [5 favorites]
<wholehearted endorsement of and vigorous nodding at what wholebroad said />
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 7:57 PM on May 10, 2010
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 7:57 PM on May 10, 2010
I hate it when people put down English degrees. I have a degree in English with a concentration in composition and my husband has a degree in English with a concentration in British literature. My husband is a commercial mortgage loan analyst. I was a marketing manager before taking time off to care for our kids. We have also owned rental property as well as a small consumer-goods business.
If you think that you can't do much because you have an English degree you're only limiting yourself. Follow your interests! You can work in almost any field. I am introverted, and I enjoyed my marketing position a great deal. I enjoyed being a landlord, but not showing the property (being alone in the house while waiting for prospective tenants was a little spooky). I have also been a production manager and a circulation manager for a magazine. Right now I do freelance writing and graphic design.
You have skills that are in demand and a lot of flexibility. Don't talk yourself out of being awesome.
posted by Ostara at 8:12 PM on May 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
If you think that you can't do much because you have an English degree you're only limiting yourself. Follow your interests! You can work in almost any field. I am introverted, and I enjoyed my marketing position a great deal. I enjoyed being a landlord, but not showing the property (being alone in the house while waiting for prospective tenants was a little spooky). I have also been a production manager and a circulation manager for a magazine. Right now I do freelance writing and graphic design.
You have skills that are in demand and a lot of flexibility. Don't talk yourself out of being awesome.
posted by Ostara at 8:12 PM on May 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
Ditto the Masters of Public Health suggestion. So what if you need to take a few catch-up science courses in night school to qualify for admission?
posted by salvia at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2010
posted by salvia at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2010
Nth on going the MPH/epi route. I'm not sure what halogen is talking about - I have a friend working on his masters in the field and another working on her phd and both had liberal arts degrees as undergrads.
posted by MillMan at 8:55 PM on May 10, 2010
posted by MillMan at 8:55 PM on May 10, 2010
Response by poster: Clarifications as Per the Woman Too Introverted to Get Her Own Account:
1) We'll be traveling together, and I'm exceedingly easygoing as long as I have an Internet connection and time to write. She's the one who's a little unfulfilled right now.
2) Going overseas isn't exactly a "dream" per se but more a "What can we do with English degrees that would also be fun and possibly gain skills we can use later on?"
3) How hard is it to get an MPH with zero educational background in science? Functionally starting from scratch in the science/math department, as neither of us took much beyond the basics.
posted by Scattercat at 10:47 PM on May 10, 2010
1) We'll be traveling together, and I'm exceedingly easygoing as long as I have an Internet connection and time to write. She's the one who's a little unfulfilled right now.
2) Going overseas isn't exactly a "dream" per se but more a "What can we do with English degrees that would also be fun and possibly gain skills we can use later on?"
3) How hard is it to get an MPH with zero educational background in science? Functionally starting from scratch in the science/math department, as neither of us took much beyond the basics.
posted by Scattercat at 10:47 PM on May 10, 2010
I don't mean this response as an answer per-say but as a re-questioning of the underlying premise of your question.
I know 3 people with English Undergrad Degrees:
1) My Brother (Dual major English and Philosophy): Worked for Anderson consulting and then quit to start his own business and work from home. He does Database work for Power companies, app development, scripting and such.
2) My Co worker (English BA... not sure what his minor was): He graduated HS and sold cars, then got a job working at my company now, first as Customer Support and now he is the head of the data team. He does database work for School districts, app development, scripting and such.
3) My good friend (English BA, and Masters and PHD in Literature--critical lit studies I guess?). Her goal in life was to get a PHD in literature. She has done a lot of stuff but now is effectively working as a database developer for a company that does anthropology software and writes grants on the side, she is thinking of going back to school to get a certification in C++ programming so she can advance in the data side of things, do app development, scripting and such.
Now statistically I would say that all English majors end up doing Computer IT and Database type work. However, that is silly, the REAL lesson is that you do whatever you are interested in. I happen to like computers and know a bunch of people who like computers, including the English Majors I know.
But I would say that English is a great degree because you should know how to write and communicate with people... literally EVERY business needs that. It just so happens that often Tech people especially cannot communicate with people, yet English majors understand syntax AND can have a conversation with a real person. But don't feel constrained to databases, do what you want.
I would also add that I know for a fact all 3 of those people make more than 30,000$ a year (well maybe not my friend with the PHD, I'm not sure what she makes).
posted by DetonatedManiac at 11:14 PM on May 10, 2010
I know 3 people with English Undergrad Degrees:
1) My Brother (Dual major English and Philosophy): Worked for Anderson consulting and then quit to start his own business and work from home. He does Database work for Power companies, app development, scripting and such.
2) My Co worker (English BA... not sure what his minor was): He graduated HS and sold cars, then got a job working at my company now, first as Customer Support and now he is the head of the data team. He does database work for School districts, app development, scripting and such.
3) My good friend (English BA, and Masters and PHD in Literature--critical lit studies I guess?). Her goal in life was to get a PHD in literature. She has done a lot of stuff but now is effectively working as a database developer for a company that does anthropology software and writes grants on the side, she is thinking of going back to school to get a certification in C++ programming so she can advance in the data side of things, do app development, scripting and such.
Now statistically I would say that all English majors end up doing Computer IT and Database type work. However, that is silly, the REAL lesson is that you do whatever you are interested in. I happen to like computers and know a bunch of people who like computers, including the English Majors I know.
But I would say that English is a great degree because you should know how to write and communicate with people... literally EVERY business needs that. It just so happens that often Tech people especially cannot communicate with people, yet English majors understand syntax AND can have a conversation with a real person. But don't feel constrained to databases, do what you want.
I would also add that I know for a fact all 3 of those people make more than 30,000$ a year (well maybe not my friend with the PHD, I'm not sure what she makes).
posted by DetonatedManiac at 11:14 PM on May 10, 2010
Grant writing seems like it night be a goof fit and would give you an idea of whether or not you'd like to go back to school to get another degree as you'd be working with technical folks
posted by fshgrl at 12:36 AM on May 11, 2010
posted by fshgrl at 12:36 AM on May 11, 2010
Colleges and universities love hiring English majors and other liberal-arts types for a variety of administrative tasks. Maybe look into a support position in one of the departments/areas you find interesting? You'd learn a lot by proxy and it might help you clarify your goals a bit. You might be able to use the tuition benefit to explore some career options as well.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 3:07 AM on May 11, 2010
posted by Sweetie Darling at 3:07 AM on May 11, 2010
I was accepted into a number of MPH programs and had a fairly weak science background. However, I was applying into health education / health communication programs, which seemed to emphasize critical thinking and the ability to write well, over scientific/technical knowledge - which it sounds like could be a great fit for your wife. Just something to consider before you close off that route. Also, it's true that many MPH programs require a certain number of years of experience in the field, but there are also many programs that don't - there are plenty of folks who do proceed to get their MPH straight out of undergrad. In the meanwhile, could your wife volunteer in some kind of health related context? It doesn't have to involve needles - think more general. For example, my local health department is involved in trying to get locally grown food into local school cafeterias - it's an epidemiological problem if you think about it, and doesn't involve needles. Have your wife MeMail me if she wants. I graduated from college with an cultural anthropology BA and also felt it was kind of worthless without travel or learning a foreign language - but that's false.
posted by pants at 4:49 AM on May 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by pants at 4:49 AM on May 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
I just graduated with a BA in English 4 days ago. AND I used to be premed, before I realized that I was no good at chemistry.
English is definitely my forte. Because I want to make a career out of teaching at the university level, I applied to an MFA (Creative Writing) program, which I'll be starting in the fall.
As many people have stated here, you can definitely get a good job with a BA in English. However, if you want to teach, I think it's advisable that you consider pursing a higher degree. I'm not sure what the requirements in your state are, but where I live, a BA in English will only allow you to teach elementary and high school levels. A Masters is good only up to the community college level and a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) / PhD will allow you teach at the university level. (The MFA applies to Creative Writing only.)
posted by joyeuxamelie at 5:49 AM on May 11, 2010
English is definitely my forte. Because I want to make a career out of teaching at the university level, I applied to an MFA (Creative Writing) program, which I'll be starting in the fall.
As many people have stated here, you can definitely get a good job with a BA in English. However, if you want to teach, I think it's advisable that you consider pursing a higher degree. I'm not sure what the requirements in your state are, but where I live, a BA in English will only allow you to teach elementary and high school levels. A Masters is good only up to the community college level and a Masters in Fine Arts (MFA) / PhD will allow you teach at the university level. (The MFA applies to Creative Writing only.)
posted by joyeuxamelie at 5:49 AM on May 11, 2010
Hey! I'm the person who originally asked the question; I thought it might be better if I actually made my own appearance in-thread, and really should have signed up for an account years ago anyway.
I do want to stress that I'm actually quite happy with my degree, even if few employers explicitly request said degree. And I'm also interested in technical writing, copyediting &c. but that seems like a logical course of action for a lot of people with my background who aren't interested in teaching so I wanted to try to think outside the box as it were.
Re: Mandarin - I'm actually genuinely interested in the language, and I'm quite aware that it is something that's going to take a lot of work. Same for any language really, but Mandarin happened to catch my fancy.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that the idea of the MPH actually appeals quite a lot, and I'm definitely not averse to re-educating myself. In fact, I had been considering a return to college classes for some time now, and mostly it's just been instability and indecisiveness that's prevented me from acting on that. I'll be looking into this - and it's not something I had really considered so thank you for pointing me in that direction. And thank you to everybody who responded! Your answers have been very helpful. Seriously. I'm definitely going to give them some thought.
posted by daikaisho at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2010
I do want to stress that I'm actually quite happy with my degree, even if few employers explicitly request said degree. And I'm also interested in technical writing, copyediting &c. but that seems like a logical course of action for a lot of people with my background who aren't interested in teaching so I wanted to try to think outside the box as it were.
Re: Mandarin - I'm actually genuinely interested in the language, and I'm quite aware that it is something that's going to take a lot of work. Same for any language really, but Mandarin happened to catch my fancy.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that the idea of the MPH actually appeals quite a lot, and I'm definitely not averse to re-educating myself. In fact, I had been considering a return to college classes for some time now, and mostly it's just been instability and indecisiveness that's prevented me from acting on that. I'll be looking into this - and it's not something I had really considered so thank you for pointing me in that direction. And thank you to everybody who responded! Your answers have been very helpful. Seriously. I'm definitely going to give them some thought.
posted by daikaisho at 7:03 AM on May 11, 2010
If all you're looking for is 30k, then you can probably get an admin assistant job in most industries at close to that---my husband was able to work for a bank for that much and he didn't even go to college. He got in by going through a temp agency; once they realized he had a brain and was a fast typist, he was in.
But that's really just a "job" so, what you should do is decide what you want. Having a BA in English is not an obstacle if you're willing to get whatever additional training you need.
If your needle phobia is getting in the way of your dream...why not go to a therapist for it? Are you going to let a phobia keep you from doing what you love?
If you can do that, your only real obstacles are money and time. Provided you can come up with enough of both to get your education, you should do so.
posted by emjaybee at 7:35 AM on May 11, 2010
But that's really just a "job" so, what you should do is decide what you want. Having a BA in English is not an obstacle if you're willing to get whatever additional training you need.
If your needle phobia is getting in the way of your dream...why not go to a therapist for it? Are you going to let a phobia keep you from doing what you love?
If you can do that, your only real obstacles are money and time. Provided you can come up with enough of both to get your education, you should do so.
posted by emjaybee at 7:35 AM on May 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, $30k should be no problem with a college degree. I am a little confused by your question and feel like I am missing something.
posted by jrockway at 5:38 PM on May 10, 2010