Good question, liberal arts fans.
You can teach. If you have patience. Plenty of patience. Tried it. Not a calling.
You can work in publishing. Tried it. Worked for two regional magazines. Loved both, but moved on.
You can hit the political trail. Very few people, it seems, can read and write. Tried it. Loved it. My candidate lost and I was left jobless.
You can become an adult student. Tried it. Loved it, but never finished the Ph.D. (of course, in English). And I so wanted to be hooded. For some reason, people kept thinking I was a lawyer.
You can work for universities or a nonprofit. Tried it. At this point, I think it's pretty much stuck.
And if none of that works, you can become a pretty good sign-holder. For engineering, where there are altogether different opportunities.
How long did it take you to find your niche?
ReplyDeleteI know I'd be happy teaching, but the market isn't great and you know how competitive academia is. I don't want to be another PhD teaching comp 2 and intro to lit.
I'm thinking more and more of working with animals. I'm not sure how that ties into being an English major, but I wouldn't be who I am today without my English studies.
My theory--and I'm sticking with it--is that you can be anything you want to be with an English degree. Follow your love.
ReplyDeleteAmen. My "useless degree" is in theatre, but I use it nearly every day. [The political science degree might have helped if I had entered either law or politics, but naah.] It's not what you learn, but what you're exposed to. Here's a beautiful essay by Newsweek's Jon Meacham:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsweek.com/2010/01/08/in-defense-of-the-liberal-arts.html