There are many stereotypes about English majors, and most of them are based on people’s assumptions about what English majors do. As a senior English major graduating from Radford University in May, I can say that over the years I have had to deal with these stereotypes, and will firmly say that these assumptions people have are rather annoying.

So in this article, I will put these assumptions and stereotypes to rest by talking about why English major stereotypes are offensive and stupid, what skills and capabilities I learned as an English major at Radford, and some careers you can do with an English degree and what I want to do once I graduate.

English Major Stereotypes and Assumptions

“Are you going to be a teacher?”

“Writing papers isn’t that hard”

“You can’t make good money with an English degree”

Blah Blah Blah blah.

I know for a fact I am not the only English major who has heard these types of comments from someone who obviously doesn’t know much about the English major and what we are capable of.

The stereotype that all English majors want to be teachers is not only putting us in a box we don’t belong in but it disregards our individual skills and aspirations. You’re telling me I read thousands of books, write thousands of essays, and develop skill after skill after skill so that I can achieve my passions, and you think all that work amounts to only being a teacher? That’s leaning toward degrading. Reading improves cognitive functions and overall intelligence and writing enhances critical thinking skills and communication skills… and you believe those things only get us far enough to be teachers? That’s not a very smart assumption.

People think that being an English major is easy because all we do is read books and write papers, and writing papers is so easy and you can just skim through the books. No. Writing bad papers is easy, but writing good papers is not. Especially when you have English professors who take their jobs seriously and don’t hand out freebies. Good papers require effort and using a mixture of creative, persuasive, and technical writing skills. And if you think you can survive being an English major by solely skimming books, then you’re misled. I wish it was that easy.

In terms of salary, people who say you can’t make good money with an English degree obviously don’t know the skills you develop as an English major, therefore they also don’t know what jobs we can get. Simple as that.

Skills and Capabilities of an English Major

As an English Major, we develop lots of skills, some you wouldn’t think and some you should. As an English Major at Radford University, I have taken classes like professional writing, professional editing, business writing, and professional writing technologies. Those classes have taught me things like document design, professional writing, technical editing, and changing my tone to fit my audience.

I’ve also taken classes like African American literature, American literature, contemporary literature, literary criticism, and English studies. Those classes not only enhanced my critical thinking skills but also my ability to understand other cultures, develop a more global perspective, and use that to create engaging work.

All these are valuable skills and can be applied to almost any industry.

Careers For English Majors

Because of the skills English majors develop throughout college, the types of jobs we can get after graduation are a lot more than what people assume.

Here are a few examples of jobs and why English majors can get them.

A Social media manager. Why? Because English majors are great at understanding the tone/diction/voice needed for different audiences, and great at creating engaging but effective content. They are also good at being creative, using a global perspective, and using analytical skills which is helpful when it comes to projects.

A Brand Strategist. Why? Because English majors are storytellers at heart. They know how to tell a single story in multiple different ways, which is valuable for pushing a brand image out. English majors are also great at research and using said research to convey a message.

A Public relations professional. Why? Because English majors are experts at communicating effectively and in many different ways. English majors can use their written and verbal communication skills to create content that pushes a certain image. They know how important tone is and how to use it effectively.

For me personally, the career I want to get into once I graduate is travel writing. I have a minor in PR and Chinese to accompany my English major and I think they all complement each other well, especially for a career in travel writing. The ability to tell stories through my texts is very important for travel writing, and as I said before, that is something English majors are experts in. Having a global perspective and experience with understanding other cultures is also something that will help me in that career, which makes my Chinese minor very useful. Chinese is one of the most spoken languages in the world. My PR minor will help me when collaborating with other businesses and crafting the brand image I want to convey to my target audience.

Final Thoughts

My aim with this article was to prove that the English major is more valuable than what people believe and say. I’m glad I chose to be an English major, for multiple reasons. I couldn’t see myself choosing any other major, to be honest. Writing and reading are things I love, and I’m happy I chose a major that I have a personal connection with and one that can be applied to a variety of job industry.

English majors rule and nobody can tell me otherwise.