/lit/ - Literature

>>17909161
Yes, study what you’re passionate about. Better to be unsuccessful than filled with regrets.

>>17909161
just suffer through a CS degree you spoiled brat

>>17909175
the guy can follow his passions in 4 years.
life goes on for a long time. plenty of time to become a writer. However, this guy won't have another opportunity to get an internship like this ever again in his life.

>>17909161
suffer for ~10 years and then use your extra CS money to take some years off and follow your writing passions

>>17909161
>The only thing I know for sure I'm passionate in is reading and writing
I'm passionate about getting shitfaced and listening to Warren Zevon, but no one is ever going to pay me to do it. Find something that you can get paid for, are good at, and don't hate too much.

When I was in highschool and learned to program, I said I would kill myself if I had to write code for a living. So I spent ten years in academia doing stuff I found fascinating while living below the poverty line.

Now I'm a software engineer and get paid about $200k/year. Don't waste your time.

>>17909176
>>17909192
>>17909311
this is your brain on neoliberalism

>>17909161
English is the most common major at most universities. So it compsci. Honestly, double major STEM + humanities. This is the basedest option, and makes you more dynamic as a student and worker. Undergrad is the minor leagues. Don’t focus on what you want to do in undergrad so much as what you want to do after (grad school, work, entrepreneurship) and position yourself as best you can. There are so many English majors without an endgame (compsci majors too).

>>17909321
>neoliberalism
It’s called living in the real world and taking responsibility bucko

>>17909376
>just toiling away for 40 years doing something you despise

>>17909387
>just live in poverty and spend the whole day on a nepalese basketweaving forum

>>17909176
>>17909192
>>17909215
>>17909311
This. Anon, early on I switched majors to pursue my dream career. I regret that decision every single day, hell, maybe every hour. Anyone who tells you to “follow your dreams” is just some self absorbed asshole who just wishes you’d shut up.

>>17909396
>if youre not doing cs youll be collecting food stamps

>>17909161
im about to start Uni but im 44 and im thinking of majoring in English too. Compared to the list of other majors this one seems the most well rounded for employment prospects.
I dont think i want to study gender and diversity studies or French or German or Japanese but i think in my electives ill have a chance to learn some programming too

>>17909399
what major did you end up switching to if you don't mind me asking?

>>17909405
If he’s trying to make it as a writer he will likely be on food stamps unfortunately. Melville, Lovecraft, and Wilde all died penniless.

>>17909413
>I’m 44
Bruh moment

>>17909444
Be nice anon also checked

>>17909161
Hey Anon,

Just wanted to say I've been similar to where you are right now. I really wanted to major in English in college but was discouraged by my father who pushed me into the sciences with the intent of becoming a doctor. I had a close friend who did major in English and the only writing job he got out of school (before going back to nursing school) was for a dog magazine. I'm now finishing up my residency training and still have a passion for literature. I do sometimes regret not having a more humanistic education but I'm happy I listened to my dad.

Good luck Anon!

>>17909192
I've already done 3 internships. My resume is decked out and I'm only 19.
>>17909311
>I'm passionate about getting shitfaced and listening to Warren Zevon, but no one is ever going to pay me to do it. Find something that you can get paid for, are good at, and don't hate too much.
I'm not saying that I expect to be paid to write poetry or short stories; but it's more so that I can study something I really enjoy to hone my craft, then when I get out of college I'd be willing to be a copywriter or a technical writer.
>>17909435
See above. More than willing to do creative writing on my own time, the problem is I can't see forcing myself to slog through years of Computer Science or Accounting.

>>17909430
From international business to film. Now I’m stuck in accounting and there’s nothing that I hate more than movies.

>>17909161
do philosophy. if your school has a good enough program, you can still get a taste for logic and computer science while also starting with the greeks. might even be able to get minors

>>17909161
P-TECH?

>>17909482
Well if you really aren’t willing to do CS then I wouldn’t tell you to force yourself, but ideally you’d do CS at college and literature on your own time.

>>17909482
>copywriter/technical writer
You don't really need to major in english to pursue these though and arguably, you'd be better served having domain knowledge in anything else to then apply your writing abilities to. There really isn't any honing to be done other than write consistently. Honestly, you would would be much more likely to succeed as a writer by pursing CompSec and then writing about it.

>>17909161
English is a fine major, if it fits your strengths and interests. With your internships you're already pretty good, but just be sure to put extra emphasis on gaining experience and networking in undergrad, as that'll be what most likely defines your career path and form your pathway into a stable, hopefully decent job. Don't let the anons shit-talking English turn you off, they're just obnoxious stemlords. There are plenty of jobs waiting for English graduates, and more generally, competent college graduates who can handle a job interview.

>>17909606
And assuming you get a 40 hr/week job that doesn't pay dismally and you have no other big expenses to worry about, it should be easy enough to write in your free time, if that's your passion.

OP, I took the other path and I regret it every single day of my life. I'm not american, so after high school I wanted to study philosophy but took the easy way out and enrolled into a law program. I hate my life, I'm filled with regret, my only hope is to keep saving enough money and try to escape this rate race. Best of luck in your endeavors

It doesn’t matter. You want to be a writer? Start writing for your student newspaper. Start submitting articles for a student lit mag. Whether you actually major in literature or not is pretty much unimportant.

>>17909444
lol yes im acutely aware of my age but the great thing is im learning the same stuff as people half my age or more but with a lifetime of experience as well

>>17909161
No, get an actual useful degree.

>>17909161
>Should I major in English?
No, you will never ever ever get paid enough money to write for it to be worth it, and academia will crush any love you have for literature. Do computer shit, find a gig that lets you work four hours a day remotely, and use your free time to read and write. You'll have more money, more time, more passion and your work will be better.
>>17909321
Giving thousands of dollars, 4 years of your life and the best part of your soul to a gatekeeping institution for permission to write is peak neoliberalism. You can write now anon, they can't stop you.

>>17909161
Whether or not you major, you should absolutely take as many English classes as you can. Shop courses, find professors that you like, find classes that actually enrich your reading experience.

If you take enough classes in English, that should prepare you fairly well for studying literature "on your own." It ideally will give you fundamental skills in reading literature carefully, in learning the canon, in writing about it, in forming critical opinions about it, etc. No matter what career you choose, you can always read and write "on the side."

Getting an academic job in English is extremely hard. If that's even an option you're contemplating now, I advise revisiting it after a year or two of college. You should try to get some sense of what that involves. It's quite possible that tying your interest in literature to your profession will kill the interest.

>>17909413
>44
>for employment prospects
pick one

>>17909482
>copywriter or a technical writer.
start writing docs for some api or an open source project on the side so you have something to show when you are done with uni

>>17909413
Wtf have you been doing til now were you in the army or incarcerated?

>>17909161

STEM isn't everything. Honestly most graduate schemes in the west have their own entry tests and assessment centres, and just ask for a degree in any discipline. If you don't want to be a computer scientist, don't do CS.

Assuming a good course at a good uni, you should be taught the Trivium, not simply grammar/logic/rhetoric as subjects in themselves, but as they were classically intended, with grammar comprising the effective reception of information, logic comprising the ability to critically analyse that information, and rhetoric comprising the formulation of your own ideas in response.

By the end of your degree you should have a good understanding of the development of English Literature, some knowledge of its roots in classical drama, the course it took through the medieval, renaissance, enlightenment and long eighteenth century up to modernism and the present day.

The ability to critically analyse information from a wide range of sources, drawing together disparate elements to form a lucid, cogent argument, and a refined capacity for original thought produce some of the most versatile graduates.

FWIW, I am studying for a masters so I don't really count, but my acquaintances from undergrad are now:

>Journalist
>Newspaper Editor
>Civil Servant (UK)
>High School English Teacher
>Law conversion course to become a solicitor
>Completing an MFA in creative writing
>Graduate management consultant
>Graduate insurance something or other
>Copywriter with an ad agency
>Corporate speechwriter

Pic related

>>17911960
Dude sounds like he's in denial and that his wife cheated on him

>>17912077
This amount of projection is impressive. Did a girl hurt you, anon?

I majored in English and now I’m making 60,000 a year working in marketing. Employers don’t really care about what you majored in. Build up some internships on the side and get a real job after college. Write in your free time. I’m so happy that I had those four years of studying what I love. Life after school is going to suck regardless, so make sure your schooling is personally rewarding.

>>17909161
Don’t major in English. Don’t major in anything. Get a trade. Read and write.

Unrealistic film, but pertinent quote.