Studying English doesn’t mean you want to become a teacher

You grow up being told to become whatever you want in life. But unless you want to become a doctor, lawyer or genius mathematician, you’re also constantly told unemployment lurks on the horizon. This is especially this case if, like me, you study an Arts degree – and specifically English.

The sympathetic looks and questioning of your ambition are all just a part of the package as a Literature student. Arts students are saddled with the stigma that they’re destined to either wallow to a life of bankruptcy or be forced down a predictable career path. Telling people I study English Literature and Creative Writing almost always resulted in a reply of: “Oh, nice, so you want to be a teacher?”.

Stop telling me to be a teacher

Of course teaching is a good and respectable profession, but I can’t understand why people want to limit me to it and think everyone who studies the subject wants to go down that career path. It’s as if people feel more comfortable thinking Lit students aim for a job people know and understand, one that fits into a worn out narrative of what we should do.

The idea of a person writing for a living seems too unrealistic, so they presumptuously place us down a career path without even asking if it’s something we want. When I tell people I plan to write and become an author, they look at me sympathetically and ask: “But can you really find work with that?”

At first I was surprised by these reactions, yet look at what we read: lists of Top 10 Most Useless courses and articles with headlines like ‘These are the 20 worst subjects for job prospects.’  The Telegraph measures the worth of your degree according its employability rate. Everywhere students are told they won’t be able to pursue a degree that makes them happy because someone has decided it isn’t “employable” enough. But these people forget not everyone wants to pursue degrees like Medicine and Law that are top of these lists. Besides, without Arts subjects we wouldn’t have all the brilliant writers, poets, actors, historians, producers and all manner of other creative professions who make the art we love and enjoy. So why do people keep equainting worth with employability when something’s value is always subjective?

In any case, when you actually think about it any degree doesn’t limit your job opportunities. If you have a degree in French, you don’t have to become an interpreter. A degree in Sports Science can be used outside a career in physiotherapy, and a degree in History is equally applicable to archaeological work or the Civil Service. You aren’t restricted and can literally do anything – and that includes studying English Lit.

The argument over whether certain degrees are useless is ultimately down to what the individual does with it. J.K. Rowling studied French and Classics at the University of Exeter and became one of the most famous authors ever. Stephen Merchant graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in English Literature and Film Studies and he’s an Emmy-award winning writer. But even if you don’t win an Emmy or write a best-selling series, that’s absolutely fine. If you have the luxury of pursuing a higher education, make sure you pursue something you’re passionate about and that will make you feel fulfilled.