1127 Park Street -- Grinnell, IA 50112-1690
Phone 641-269-4940; FAX 641-269-4946
Contact Us
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1127 Park Street -- Grinnell, IA 50112-1690 Phone 641-269-4940; FAX 641-269-4946 Contact Us |
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American
Studies
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English
Choosing your major was one of the most significant decisions of your college career. Your passion for English is one you share with your peers, professors, and alumni/ae. Students choose to major in English for different reasons. Read some of the reasons alumni/ae chose an English major: Alumni/ae
Comments "Students who are primarily interested in reading, interpreting, and writing about texts should consider an English major. Any student who likes to 'linger' over texts is apt to enjoy the type of English courses that we offer here." You will use the skills you develop as an English major every day in whatever environment you decide to work. Alumni/ae and faculty offer their thoughts about the kinds of skills a major in English will provide: Alumni/ae
Comments "Really
good writing skills and significant critical thinking skills." "Ability to analyze what you read and look for sub-plots." "Basic writing and communication skills. I use these every day as an editor." "Writing skills, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skills." "In
my management role, I spend a lot of time writing, speaking,
listening. On the creative side, the kinds of intuitive and analytic
skills needed to understand how poetry or fiction achieve their
impact are very similar to the kinds of judgement I must use
in understanding if a computer game is going to be effective." "Writing, critical thinking, analysis, organization, oral communication." "Although students read, and for the most part, write in all their classes, my concentration in English gave me a leg up in really learning how to think about what I was reading, and then write about it. And that leads to being able to write about your own experiences with some skill, and to express your thoughts well. These are invaluable skills in most professional fields, as well as in personal life. In relating this to owning a restaurant, I handle most of the correspondence for my business, write all the menus, staff evaluations, 'tricky' responses to letters of complaint, ad copy, etc., and enjoy doing it. I feel my training in English helps me to put across an accurate impression of who we are and what our restaurant is about. My English major also cemented in me a love of reading, and the thrill I get when in the 'presence' of great writing. All that enhances my day to day life immeasurably." Faculty Comments "English is an excellent choice because it trains one carefully in, and gives one considerable practice at, writing, a skill that is highly regarded outside of academic life. English as a discipline teaches the student how to read thoughtfully, develop an idea, organize ideas to a purpose, and write with accuracy and precision. By virtue of the fact that most English classes are centered in discussion, our major can also give one confidence as a speaker."
English majors have selected a wide variety of careers from editor to marketing director, from teacher to writer. As you can see from the following list of alumni/ae job titles of English majors, you are not your major! Alumni/ae
Job Titles Attorney How will
you decide what kind of career to pursue? Will it follow your
major? In what way? Both alumni/ae and faculty emphasize the
importance of researching different kinds of careers. There are many ways to research career fields of interest to you. The most common way is to complete an internship. Alumni/ae who have held internships or participated in career previews have lots of advice to offer. Alumni/ae Comments "If you are able, get exposure to things you may be interested in. Since you will spend so much of your time working, it's good to find a way to passionate about what you do." "Look at your major as preparation for a life of expanded learning, thinking and analyzing. Grinnell prepares you for life; graduate school prepares you for a job. Keep your mind open and be looking at other kinds of experiences. Take advantage of opportunities to do internships and study abroad and use it to complement your coursework." "Be flexible. Don't expect that what you think you are going to do is what you'll end up doing." "Get
on the phone and call 5-10 alumni/ae in areas that you are interested
in. Just talking with these alumni/ae is the single most important
thing you could do to prepare for a career." "A major in English is probably best viewed as a way to use literature and language as a mirror for both self-knowledge and for understanding who you want to be in relation to the rest of the world. In that sense, it's one of the most adaptable and useful fields. Unless you were intent on a career as a writer or professor, it is not a major that provides direct professional or trade skills - fortunately." "It's very easy to start to believe all of the people you meet outside of Grinnell who will tell you that an English degree is useless outside of academia. Ignore them. Your education at Grinnell provides you with skills and tools to move into any number of careers. Knowing how to write and think critically is not a skill that will ever become obsolete. If you need a specific skill, you can always attend training. Do not be afraid of computers! I spent my college years befuddled and intimidated by computers and the people who understood them. Since then, I've supported software, replaced hardware, written technical documentation, and created applications. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to write computer code - you just need to learn the appropriate programming language (which really isn't hard for someone used to decoding text!). The people who can use technology and have good writing, speaking and thinking skills can move very quickly in their career. Do something that you enjoy, but remember that you have a life outside of your career - what you do is not who you are. You must ask for opportunities - no one will hand them to you. The people who succeed in my organization are the self-starters who look for opportunities to improve." "Follow your heart as if the money didn't matter. You will be happier that way, no question. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Knock on the most prestigious doors, where you feel you are in awe of everything that goes on inside. Even if you are quaking in your boots, do it! You'll regret it later if you let fear keep you on the sidelines. You might always wonder how much better you could have been." Faculty
Comments "Internships are not necessary, although in some cases they can be helpful. What is necessary is that students should start paying serious and persistent attention to opportunities for employment in the junior year and certainly no later than the beginning of the senior year." If you are thinking about graduate school, there are graduate programs in the field of English as well as other professional degree programs. These links provide more information about the different paths you can follow: graduate school, jobs, or other paths. The following are first-hand accounts of the experiences of alumni/ae after Grinnell who have graduated with an English major: Alumni/ae Comments "More
school appealed to me after Grinnell so I went straight to law
school." "I've always been a bleeding heart liberal. My first job was with the Iowa Democratic Party; I interned with Janet Carl in the statehouse." "My first job was in this company. I began in an extremely menial job - in the bookstore and security. Then I moved into proofreading, researching and editing." "I got my first job as an editor by pounding the pavement. I had used a career office in DC." "I was a book editor who, in 1983, was asked to start an electronic publishing line. Though I resisted, when I got a PC and a few games, I fell in love with the whole thing. By 1985 I was interested in games on computer networks and knew that was something I wanted to do. My first significant job was as an editorial assistant at Simon & Schuster, which I got through simply meeting people through friends and persevering. My first job in my current line of work was as a producer at the precursor company to Prodigy, and I got that job through word-of-mouth and by virtue of the fact that I was the only person on the East Coast at that time - 1985 - who had a clue about online entertainment." "I'd been in the 9th Semester teaching program at Grinnell, so doing corporate training was a great way to use those skills. I kind of fell into my first job. I had been substitute teaching in Minneapolis for two years and there was no teaching job in sight. I took a position at Andersen Consulting as an "Executive Assistant" to tide me over until 'I figured out what I wanted to do with my life.' I was offered a position in Information Services to do software support. I firmly believe that the skills I gained at Grinnell allowed me to move into a technical role, without a technical background." "I chose my career by following my passion for cooking. I knew it was what I wanted to do from the time I was nineteen. My first job after college was in the restaurant I am now one of three owners of, and I got the job by doing a day long audition, working with the cooks and then making a soup and bread of my own choosing and presenting them to a panel of owners and managers for scrutiny. It was scary, and I had a beer or two that night as I recall. They hired me the next day, but as a dishwasher and prep person. I moved up pretty quickly. I came to love the restaurant and really had a sense of ownership in my job long before I became a partner. Of course I went away and cooked in other cities for years at a time but I kept coming back. I became a partner 5 years ago." Faculty
Comments "English majors go into teaching (college, elementary, and secondary), into computers (software writers seem in special need right now), into museum sciences, into law school, into radio and television, into publishing, into public relations, into advertising, into (especially now) consulting of various kinds. They are always in demand wherever verbal skills and imagination are required. Quite frequently, they use English as a 'base' for entry into other fields at the graduate school level." Of course, Grinnell's English Department provides advising as you consider questions about your major, internships, gaining experience, and making career decisions. The departmental web page also offers detailed information about the English major, outlines requirements for its completion, and lists courses. |
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