It's the eternal question. After you do all that work in the end you have your shiny new major in...what? Pick your poison: sociology, anthropology, post-colonial studies, pre-Socratic philosophy, classics, women's studies, Austrian economics and...not English literature. Don't tell me you did English literature as you major. Did you?
Well, whatever, don't worry about it: what's done is done. So there you stand, proud graduate, nervously grasping that diploma which consumed so much of your life, with late nights, burning the midnight oil, as you crammed for exams, losing yourself for hours in the library, all stretching back behind you like a trail of shattered dreams. It suddenly strikes you. Heck, what am I going to do now? What can I do with this major? Ah, yes, the proverbial real world is suddenly knocking at the window of your dorm room. But don't panic, help is here.
Having said all that, though, a little ounce of prevention might be in order to get us started. It is possible of course that you may be thinking about this before registering for a major. Well, aren't you clever? If that's the case, here are some tips to get you headed in the right direction.
1. First, figure out what major would interest you. If you haven't done that, do it immediately. Peruse the offerings at your college of choice and write yourself a list in hierarchical priority.
2. Once you've decided, talk to people. Ask around for connections who studied the same major. What are they doing, now?
3. Talk to someone whose job is to know the ropes of just such matters. If you're still in high school, or even colleges to which you've been accepted (or even those you are considering for application), they have counselors and advisers. Providing you advice on just such matters is what they're paid to do. Make the best use of the resources at your disposal.
4. Heck, just try a focused Google search: what in darn can I do with this English lit major? (You might actually find something.)
If it's too late for preventative action, don't despair, remedial action is possible. In fact all points 2 through 4 above remain perfectly relevant, even if you already have your degree. What are others with that major doing? Your college adviser has heard it all before. Don't squander a valuable resource. And it's quite common these days for larger universities to have career centers. You're not the first major in Renaissance poetry to wander in looking for a few career tips.
However, whatever else you do, make sure to dedicate some serious time to that Google search. You can find some pretty groovy stuff. For instance, it turns out that lots of colleges have publicly available online resources for researching just this sort of thing. As an example, check out the University of California career center online resources.
They provide data on the career options for those with dozens of majors - including some pretty obscure ones. They probably even have yours!
Groove on this all you English majors out there. It turns out with that wildly impractical English major you can still score an average salary of $43,589. (You can buy a lot of copies of Chaucer for those smackeroos.) And, better still, consider the actual occupations open to you: you can be an analyst, an editorial assistant, a product development coordinator or even...wait for it...a college adviser! Just imagine the poetic justice, as you get to lean back in your chair, with an air of confident bemusement, feet perched on your desk, with hands folded behind your head and smile knowingly each time another petrified grad comes stumbling into your office and nervously asks: uh, what can I do with this major?
So heads up all you grads, regardless of your major. There is hope and even a future. Possibly even a pay check!
Well, whatever, don't worry about it: what's done is done. So there you stand, proud graduate, nervously grasping that diploma which consumed so much of your life, with late nights, burning the midnight oil, as you crammed for exams, losing yourself for hours in the library, all stretching back behind you like a trail of shattered dreams. It suddenly strikes you. Heck, what am I going to do now? What can I do with this major? Ah, yes, the proverbial real world is suddenly knocking at the window of your dorm room. But don't panic, help is here.
Having said all that, though, a little ounce of prevention might be in order to get us started. It is possible of course that you may be thinking about this before registering for a major. Well, aren't you clever? If that's the case, here are some tips to get you headed in the right direction.
1. First, figure out what major would interest you. If you haven't done that, do it immediately. Peruse the offerings at your college of choice and write yourself a list in hierarchical priority.
2. Once you've decided, talk to people. Ask around for connections who studied the same major. What are they doing, now?
3. Talk to someone whose job is to know the ropes of just such matters. If you're still in high school, or even colleges to which you've been accepted (or even those you are considering for application), they have counselors and advisers. Providing you advice on just such matters is what they're paid to do. Make the best use of the resources at your disposal.
4. Heck, just try a focused Google search: what in darn can I do with this English lit major? (You might actually find something.)
If it's too late for preventative action, don't despair, remedial action is possible. In fact all points 2 through 4 above remain perfectly relevant, even if you already have your degree. What are others with that major doing? Your college adviser has heard it all before. Don't squander a valuable resource. And it's quite common these days for larger universities to have career centers. You're not the first major in Renaissance poetry to wander in looking for a few career tips.
However, whatever else you do, make sure to dedicate some serious time to that Google search. You can find some pretty groovy stuff. For instance, it turns out that lots of colleges have publicly available online resources for researching just this sort of thing. As an example, check out the University of California career center online resources.
They provide data on the career options for those with dozens of majors - including some pretty obscure ones. They probably even have yours!
Groove on this all you English majors out there. It turns out with that wildly impractical English major you can still score an average salary of $43,589. (You can buy a lot of copies of Chaucer for those smackeroos.) And, better still, consider the actual occupations open to you: you can be an analyst, an editorial assistant, a product development coordinator or even...wait for it...a college adviser! Just imagine the poetic justice, as you get to lean back in your chair, with an air of confident bemusement, feet perched on your desk, with hands folded behind your head and smile knowingly each time another petrified grad comes stumbling into your office and nervously asks: uh, what can I do with this major?
So heads up all you grads, regardless of your major. There is hope and even a future. Possibly even a pay check!
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