Job Opportunities for English Literature Degrees
If you enroll for an English Literature degree in university, at a certain point someone will ask you something along the lines of: “What do you actually study in English Literature?” & “Why do you study English Literature?”. The answer to that is that an English Literature degree focuses equally on the literature and language sides. Analyzing theories in literature such as books, prose, verse along with critiquing it, and taking a more critical look at the signs and words surrounding us every day. The goal is to get them to think creatively and analytically about the English language. An example of that is, you could read Shakespeare for one week and another for the next. Those will require you to study and analyze the texts to their cultural, social, historical and political context.
English language-focused degrees including English Literature will develop students to analyze the use of the English language outside of literature. That also includes communications in various forms and contexts. The common forms of those are spoken conversation in casual context, advertising methods, and the use of language in legal and medical context. Which leads to the question, “What can you do with an English Literature or English degree?”. Well, English graduates have a variety of roles in most industries, ranging from editorial to academics, and legal advisors to managers. Listed below by (What Can You Do With an English Literature Degree? | Top Universities) will be some common career paths for English Literature degree holders:
- Media and Publishing
English literature graduates, as stated by the word ‘literature’, are often found in the worlds of media and publishing, due to their strong communication and written English skills. If you are interested in involving yourself in publications in magazines, websites, newsletter, novels, etc., careers involving journalism and content creation might be in your interest. Though the environment will be highly competitive, thus a strong motivation and skill set will be required.
- Academic Careers
The word “academic” is the word that is most likely the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about an English degree career. Because an English Literature degree equally trains their students in both language and literature aspects It can be expected that graduates will have proficiency and a high skill set of the English language to a certain native level. Jobs that can be taken in these career paths are, as expected, English language teacher in various academic levels. Those levels range from primary to senior high level, and even college level specifically for those taking master’s degree in English.
- Advertising, Marketing, and PR Careers
Due to the English Literature major’s wide skill set in communication both written & spoken along with their critical thinking & creativity, this career path is highly sought as well. Jobs such as social media manager, HR specialists, etc., are the examples of this path.
Those are the three most common career paths that English Literature graduates are able to consider taking (Best Jobs for Graduates With an English Degree (thebalancecareers.com)). Though, all of it still comes down to what you think is best for yourself. If you are an English major or even considering enrolling in it, hopefully this would give you more insight on your future plans.
Editor: Handiko Wijaya & Clara Nathania
