CAREER INFORMATION FOR ENGLISH AND HUMANITIES GRADUATES 

    Teaching is what comes to mind when one thinks about a career for English/Humanities majors, and most of TROY-Dothan's  B.S. graduates with an English Language Arts major  do enter the teaching field.   Feedback from these alumni indicates that they enjoy this profession, which generates community respect,  a feeling of service and accomplishment, and security.  Furthermore, even in the area where some fault the field, teachers' salaries in Alabama and our neighboring states, Georgia and Florida, are  beginning to rise, as "demand" for teachers begins to overtake "supply."

    Furthermore, a bachelor's degree in  English provides one with skills for a variety of positions in business, research organizations, publishing companies, financial institutions, and  the cultural, entertainment, communications, and health care fields.  

    Written English, which was so long neglected in a society which principally communicated through the oral medium of the telephone, has assumed a professional importance in the email age.  At one time, a business office needed only one expert in written English--the grammar-know-it-all secretary--who corrected  all out-going written communication so that no-one was "embarrassed" by his or her English.  However, now, in the era of the internet,  everyone in an office must "know" English so that one's e-mails will not be filled with awkward and disconcerting communication which has the potential of turning off prospective clients.  

    An English major or minor is becoming a definite asset since computer programmers and online reporters need a firm base in English.  In addition, online journalism is a burgeoning field, which has begun to court actively the English major or minor.  See how frequently computer-related employment want ads contain this requisite:  "Must have excellent English."   

    Careers in more traditional journalism, book and magazine editing, publishing, speech writing, video-scripting, instructional manual preparation,  and creative or freelance writing  are also available to graduates with a major or minor in English.  Remuneration in these fields is not inconsequential:  The national average starting salaries for editors and publishers are about $30,000 per year.  With sufficient experience, salaries go to between $50,000 and $70,000 per year.  (Source: http://focuscareer.com/LoggedIn/ReportByOccP7.cfm)  

    Public relations and advertising firms, government agencies, consumer groups,  TV news organizations, and market research companies--in fact, all groups dealing with corporate communications--are also becoming interested in English majors and minors because of these graduates' training in the essentials of communication.  

    Social workers and criminal justice trainees, who must write many case study reports, also can benefit from upper-level courses in writing.  Finally, some graduate law and medical schools look favorably on applicants with English majors and minors, believing that future doctors and lawyers need a grounding in humanities to help them maintain their professional perspective.

    To sum up, the career prospects for English majors--realistically and alliteratively speaking--are multiple, manifold, and  measured in megabytes.  

Click picture to return to English and Humanities Page