Words, Words, Words: What Do You Do With A BA In English?

September 28, 2011
255 days remain

I for one am tired of the pandering, patronizing looks that the phrase "I'm an English Major" earns. People cock their heads and look at you as if you had just said "I'm a Polynesian Dance Major."

The phrase that always follows is some variation on, "And what are you going to do with that?" That, being the perceived useless degree that I have apparently spent my life working towards. The Bachelor's Degree in English is an academic punch line. The subject of ridicule, derision and Broadway musical numbers.

English Majors are, in popular opinion, good for either teaching English or brewing coffee at Starbucks. Higher education has been turned into a commodity that yields capital gain and students enter into majors they think will lead to the most profitable career.

But the question remains; what do you do with a BA in English?

At first glance, English degrees seem hard to translate into a career. Engineers engineer, Lawyers practice law, Doctors practice medicine and English Majors...practice English; a skill more valuable than most people give it credit for.

English majors are in the business of words. They are in the business of reading, synthesizing and analyzing huge quantities of information in a short amount of time. English majors are in the business of communicating information effectively. An English Major can, with little time or preparation, formulate an argument and defend it intelligently.

They are in the business of persuasion. They have learned the power to capture an audience and hold their minds in thrall. With words, they can change a person's way of thinking, make a person want to buy a product or irrevocably destroy a person's reputation. The right words at the right time can change the world.

Employers need to stop thinking of English Majors as self-satisfied poets and artists and start seeing them for their true potential; masters of communication, persuasion and rhetoric. By the same token, English Majors need to stop seeing themselves in the limited terms of teachers and promote their gift with words. Convince potential employers of your skill with language and career opportunities will present themselves to you.

What do you do with a BA in English?

Anything you damn well please.