Majoring in English / English Ed?

[xohalezz]

Picking a major for college was some what difficult for me. I wasn't into the whole 'medical' thing and engineering isn't my cup of tea either .. yet I find reading and writing to attract me the most. This thread isn't really about asking for advice.. but are there any similar stories out there like this? I don't know if this was a good desicion or not. I'm just planning on going through with it and seeing how things go. English is such a wide variety and english education is always an option too i guess.

[Cuddleworthy]

maybe you should have gone your freshman year undecided. this would have given you some flexibility and time to think about what you want to pursue/how you want to pursue it. that is what i did, ended up with economics. english will do a good job preparing you for the lsat, in case you decide within the next few years that law school is for you.

[Neo Cassady]

My friends who majored in English (be it lit., creative writing, linguistics, or any other aspect of it) all loved it and got good (if not great-paying) jobs after school. I majored in English and math education and, while I'm currently teaching math, would love to teach lit. or creative writing at some point. I'm probably going to grad school for something in English.

Bottom line: college is all about doing what you like, not what your parents or the general public or anyone else wants you to do. Go with what you're attracted to. If you're unsure, take some electives your freshman year in a few different subject areas and figure out which direction you want to go before you declare a major. But if you want to go into it in English, I say go for it! And keep in mind, you can always change your major; some people I know did it six or seven times.

[xohalezz]

thank you guys very much!

[I am Mick]

My friends who majored in English (be it lit., creative writing, linguistics, or any other aspect of it) all loved it and got good (if not great-paying) jobs after school. I majored in English and math education and, while I'm currently teaching math, would love to teach lit. or creative writing at some point. I'm probably going to grad school for something in English.

Bottom line: college is all about doing what you like, not what your parents or the general public or anyone else wants you to do. Go with what you're attracted to. If you're unsure, take some electives your freshman year in a few different subject areas and figure out which direction you want to go before you declare a major. But if you want to go into it in English, I say go for it! And keep in mind, you can always change your major; some people I know did it six or seven times.

What are English major friends doing? I'm currently majoring in English (creative writing) at a community college and trying to transfer, but I'm wondering if it's worth continuing with something that I could do without a college education (how many authors do you look at and go "well does he/she have a degree? No? Not reading that shit.") and being in debt for the rest of my life.

[lightupthesky]

My friends who majored in English (be it lit., creative writing, linguistics, or any other aspect of it) all loved it and got good (if not great-paying) jobs after school. I majored in English and math education and, while I'm currently teaching math, would love to teach lit. or creative writing at some point. I'm probably going to grad school for something in English.

Bottom line: college is all about doing what you like, not what your parents or the general public or anyone else wants you to do. Go with what you're attracted to. If you're unsure, take some electives your freshman year in a few different subject areas and figure out which direction you want to go before you declare a major. But if you want to go into it in English, I say go for it! And keep in mind, you can always change your major; some people I know did it six or seven times.

I'm also curious about what your English major friends are doing, particularly the linguist. Every time I tell someone I want to major in linguistics, their response is something to the effect of, "Oh, you want to be a teacher?" :( Not at all.

[Neo Cassady]

What are English major friends doing? I'm currently majoring in English (creative writing) at a community college and trying to transfer, but I'm wondering if it's worth continuing with something that I could do without a college education (how many authors do you look at and go "well does he/she have a degree? No? Not reading that shit.") and being in debt for the rest of my life.

I have a real personal interest in writing and, while right now it's just a hobby, the creative writing classes I took in college helped me hone my skills; if it's something you're genuinely interested in, I say go for it. If you think all you need are a couple classes, take them as electives and major in something else, but continue to write on the side and see what happens. See below for what my friends are doing...

I'm also curious about what your English major friends are doing, particularly the linguist. Every time I tell someone I want to major in linguistics, their response is something to the effect of, "Oh, you want to be a teacher?" :( Not at all.

A couple are in grad school, one is interning for ESPN/Disney and taking classes, one is an editor who also does freelance music journalism, one (linguist) works in business development (but then, he only has a bachelor's at the moment...a lot of linguistics work requires higher degrees).

[lightupthesky]

I have a real personal interest in writing and, while right now it's just a hobby, the creative writing classes I took in college helped me hone my skills; if it's something you're genuinely interested in, I say go for it. If you think all you need are a couple classes, take them as electives and major in something else, but continue to write on the side and see what happens. See below for what my friends are doing...



A couple are in grad school, one is interning for ESPN/Disney and taking classes, one is an editor who also does freelance music journalism, one (linguist) works in business development (but then, he only has a bachelor's at the moment...a lot of linguistics work requires higher degrees).
Ah, all the same, it's nice to hear some success stories about "liberal artists." Haha, people around here, my family in particular, kind of thumb their noses at the liberal arts and keep trying to nudge me into biology or engineering. Pfft.

[Neo Cassady]

Ah, all the same, it's nice to hear some success stories about "liberal artists." Haha, people around here, my family in particular, kind of thumb their noses at the liberal arts and keep trying to nudge me into biology or engineering. Pfft.

I was nudged into business, and I majored in it for two years before deciding to see what else was out there. So I wound up in education--at this point, I'm not sure if that's where I'll be for the rest of my career, or even for the next 10 years, but I'll figure all of that out in grad school. At least it's not boring.

[Chancetobe]

I'm an English major. I like it. But my best advice if you do an English major, and you aren't sure what you want to do is double major. It's just really good to have the options. Plus, stops you from getting bored with taking all the same classes every semester.

[Kurt Retenauer]

I'm an English major. I like it. But my best advice if you do an English major, and you aren't sure what you want to do is double major. It's just really good to have the options. Plus, stops you from getting bored with taking all the same classes every semester.

Yup. That's what I did. I was a journalism major but feared not getting a job straight out of college (if ever) in the field. Picked up English because i genuinely love literature and would love to teach it, too.

[Alou]

If you like it then go for it. And don't be hesitant to change. I'm auditioning for Music Composition tomorrow after I realized it was what I wanted and I'm already in my first year.

[fallingheart]

I'm a freshman and just changed my major from biology to english. I always loved reading and writing and would love to work as an editor, but i was genuinely interested in science too. I think that I was just afraid I wouldn't get a job with and english major so I went with bio, but i figured out it wasn't worth all the work at all, I really didnt like it that much. Now i finally have a schedule that I like and actually enjoy my classes!