I got bullied out of my “impractical” writing ambitions by a “realistic” guidance counselor. I majored in my backup plan, because it allegedly paid well, and then got trapped living that backup plan without ever getting to even try to follow my dreams. I cry myself to sleep nearly every night because I hate every minute of my job. I would literally rather scoop dog poop for a living, or flip burgers, or do factory work. Take the risk, write, don’t get trapped in a soul sucking cubicle.
To speak on the English major question, I would add this: Many popular authors weren’t English majors. Writing is a skill/talent that can grow and develop from a broad array of influences. And also note that some English curriculums will sharpen your analysis skills yet do nothing for your creativity. So major in whatever you want; you are not bound to English. Write on the side, find a creative writing group, or maybe consider minoring in English. I falsely assumed that English was the best.
Unfortunately I got trapped in accounting, and I work between 80 and 90 hours a week. By the time I get off work at night, I’m too exhausted to do anything but sleep, and I tried getting up an hour earlier to write before work for a while, but cutting my sleep back to 3 hours a night made psycho from the sleep deprivation. I don’t do much of anything in my free time, except sometimes on Sunday night I get all depressive and go into the accounting tag and try to warn others.
In response to the question of whether or not to be an English major, let me tell you: I’ve faced that stupid guidance counselor, too; the one who is bitter that she was never encouraged to follow her own dreams. I am currently working at the Writing Center at my university and I get paid to talk about writing. If you’re passionate about writing, follow it; you will definitely find some job with an English degree! And if you’re considering being a teacher, try getting a job at a Writing Center!
I’m currently an English major and we do A LOT of literature analysis and very little formal composition. So if you like reading and you like arguing about the 7 different things a word could mean and how it links a text to culture/politics/etc., it’s definitely the way to go. And I do think it makes you a better writer, because in learning how to decode the devices and structures, you learn how that texts can be put together. You also learn all the diff. ways a text can be read.
Re: the to be/not to be an English major: Remember that, oftentimes, graduate school programs do not require any specific liberal arts major in order for you to be considered as a candidate! If you’re interested in staying in academia, but you want to appease the ‘rents/ensure you have a backup plan (jobs are scarce in the university system as well), it’s very possible to major in something practical, but take enough credits in other areas to qualify for a PhD program.
I’m a plain old English degree holder, myself. I wish something like this blog existed for me when I was in school. I honestly think we start kids off too early to choose their careers. It’s too much pressure for an 18-22 year old. Either way, I knew that I loved reading, I knew I loved writing, and I knew that I loved editing. Still, it took me six years post-college to figure this next part out, but that love of editing I had spilled over into video editing. It was something I did for fun for my friends in bands. I never even realized that it was a real job. It never occurred to me that there are people in this world who make money cutting movies, TV shows, commercials, etc. together.
A part of me feels dumb because of that, but the fact of the matter is that I needed all of those years to figure this stuff out. More than anything, I feel as though we need to encourage kids to take some time after high school to get themselves out in the so-called “real world,” let it bite them in the ass a few times, and that’s how they’ll figure themselves out.
I didn’t know who I was as a person until I was 25-26 years old. I didn’t muster up the courage to change my life until I was 27, so while I feel late in the game at times, I also know that I never would have gotten here (back in school, learning how do something I’m GENUINELY interested in doing for the rest of my life) if it weren’t for all of the crap I’ve gone through over the past six years.
And who knows? Maybe this is just my journey. Maybe it’s not right for everyone, because we all know there are those special kids in the world who seem to have it all figured out (but trust me, they don’t), and most people seem to survive the way things are done now, but I still can’t help but feel like there is too much pressure put upon kids to pick a career right after high school. Even more than that, there is far too much pressure put upon kids to pick a career that “pays well.”
On being an English major: I got very lucky in that I knew what I wanted to do when I left high school and I had incredibly supportive parents who told me to go for what I loved rather than what “paid well.” What you need to know is, ultimately, you’ll be most productive and best enjoy something that you love. Look into what options you have as an English major; you’ll find that having a plan will make things easier to decide.
Afraid I don’t have much good news. I graduated from the University of Georgia in Dec 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Lit. I was working part time at Toys R Us but it suddenly closed. I applied to every single editing job and magazine job I could find but didn’t get diddly squat. Moved to Ocala, FL & am currently writing novels and working at a copy center. Wish I had something inspirational to say but it’s hard to find work in w/o knowing ppl in the business. Keep your heads up, kids.
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