Why I decided to become an English major
People have an idea that with an English major you are bound to be a teacher or a struggling writer trying to get their one hit wonder published
It’s always seemed strange to me that as English majors, we have to justify our decision or answer the question “so what do you want to do?” I want to do lots of things. Then again, I don’t really know what I want to do.
But, honestly, that’s the majority of college students. I decided to pick a major that I could enjoy, one where work could be not only bearable, but interesting, eye-opening, and challenging. So what do I want to do? I can’t really answer that. But why did I pick my major? That I can answer.
You can do literally anything
English majors can go on to work in politics, law, non-profit work, teaching, Public Relations, editing, publishing, anything in communications, and those are just some off the top of my head.
People have an idea that with an English major you are bound to be a teacher or a struggling writer trying to get their one hit wonder published. But from what I’ve found, a lot of people who major in English go on to graduate school for business, law, communications, etc.
It’s also important to remember that whatever your major is, you may not not even end up working in that field, so might as well major in something you truly like!
PS. 9% of English majors are unemployed after graduation, compared to 10% of economics majors (What’s a practical major?)
Your ideas may be amazing, but you need to be able to communicate them
Communicating with the people around you may be one of the most fundamental skills people have. If you have found the cure to a disease, you must be able to explain it to other people, you must be able to do write ups and articles about the disease and the cure. Knowing how to write is not a skill hoarded by writers, it is something that anyone in any career field should know how to do.
UVA English professors are interesting, weird, supportive, and full of knowledge
Even if you’re not an English major, take an English class with Levenson. He’s the best.
UVA’s English department is ranked #6 in the country
That’s above Yale and Columbia!
Numbers are hard
Like, really hard
If you like to read (like me) you get to do one of your favorite pastimes as a major
And you can read on the lawn!
You get to hear about different POVs and interpretations
One of my favorite things about being an English major is the discussions I have a chance to attend. I can listen to how differently people may interpret a text based on their life experiences and share my own beliefs with a group of people who care about my ideas.
It’s also incredibly validating to have a teacher or TA acknowledge your fresh perspective on a work since many things in the major are not black and white.
Because there’s so much variability, you have so many chances to explore ideas- much more so than if you were to be a math major, for example.
I don’t like math
In case you didn’t notice.