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/lit/ - Literature

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1231202 No.1231202 [Reply] [Original]

Am I making a mistake by becoming an English major?

>> No.1231211

Depends on what your goals are. Studying isn't a mistake in and of itself.

>> No.1231207

>>1231202
IF YOU WOULD PREFER NOT TO WASTE MONEY, YES.

>> No.1231218

It depends what sort of career you want.

>> No.1231222

>>1231211
This is my reasoning for becoming an English major. I don't want to go to college just to find a job. I want to be scholarly. Also, I would do all of my work because I love reading.

>> No.1231235

if you wish to live for knowledge, then no. if you want to live for money, then yes, you are making a mistake.

>> No.1231241

however, don't expect to go to graduate school and get a Ph.D. and become a professor at a "small liberal arts college" because everyone wants that and in reality those jobs don't even exist.

>> No.1231244

>>1231222
PRETTY SURE THEY HAVE FREE LECTURES ONLINE ON A WIDE VARIETY OF LITERATURE, THAT YOU COULD ACCESS IN YOUR SPARE TIME FOR FREE WHILST YOU STUDIED SOMETHING ELSE OR WORK

>> No.1231258

nope, ur not making a mistake. just major in what ur best at, besides, graduate schools don't require a certain major, so if u decide what u wanna do, u can take the classes u need through ur minor.

>> No.1231260

>>1231222
That was my exact reason for majoring in philosophy. Then I discovered that I could learn more studying on my own than by going to class and discussing elementary concepts with business kids who thought philo sounded "deep". Now I'm spending a few hundred dollars a year on books rather than $30,000 for a piece of paper that says I can play nicely with others.

Consider it.

>> No.1231277

Hey OP.

I'm an English/History honors grad, earned Summa Cum Laude, had poetry published, edited a literary magazine on campus for a semester, and tutored students for a semester, all at a pretty respectable state uni (University of Kentucky).

I still can't find a fucking job.

Luckily, I earned a scholarship that paid for undergrad, so I'm not in a big financial mess. I decided to go back for a secondary teaching certificate. If you're fine with teaching English, go for it. But take my advice and earn certification now. Being a post-bacc student is a colossal pain in the ass, as no one communicates with you.
If I could do it again, I'd probably have double majored in something more pragmatic. This is my advice to you.
ESPECIALLY if you have to take out student loans and whatnot.

An English major can be a big mistake, and what the department will tell you about the "flexibility" of the degree and "all the options you'll have" is bullshit to get your money. Most English grads end up wherever the hell they can find work--probably through family connections or friends--and this is spun as "flexibility."

>> No.1231281

>>1231277

Also, know what career you want by sophomore year. And I mean know a motherfucking job title you want on your resume. Gear your entire life towards that job for the next two years.

Yes, it will take this much effort in this economy.

>> No.1231286

>>1231281

Finally, reconsider the major if it's important to you to be able to independently support yourself financially, or you want to be the breadwinner in your family.

>> No.1231335

Yes.

>> No.1231501

>>1231277
>Summa Cum Laude

that sounds dirty

>> No.1231559
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1231559

>>1231277

Don't talk about your academic and extracurricular achievements--you should be ashamed of yourself.

"Being a post-bacc student is a colossal pain in the ass, as no one communicates with you."

Not the case at a respectable institution. The problem remains the way in which one might fund such programs, which typically cost more the 10,000 dollars. Also, another year from the prime of one's life lost to yet another risky and costly investment.

>> No.1231637

Do it if you have no responsibilities or financial worries.

Otherwise you're a fucking idiot.

>> No.1231646

>>1231559
Why should I be ashamed? I want to let this person know that even if you succeed in college, the liberal arts degree won't do much on the job market.

College success is not career success. I learned this the hard way, and want other anons to be aware.

>> No.1231651

>>1231646
>>1231646
>>1231646
>>1231646
>>1231646
>>1231646

Truth

>> No.1231721

Hey, you know what my favorite part of that book was?

When the fat guy said "theology and geometry!" That was so funny! It was even funnier the twenty-seventh time he said it!

And you gotta love it when he eats the hot dog. It's like, you big dummy, you're supposed to be SELLING the hot dogs, but he keeps eating them! He eats like five of them! This book is as funny as Family Guy!

>> No.1231733

Don't go to college. You are a leech. You suck. You will never be important. Be an autodidact instead. And be a starving artist. But you're a pedestrian fucktard. So w/e.

>> No.1231745

Learn a few foreign languages as a backup. That's what I'm doing. I went into this whole "English major" thing to teach English to high school students, but something always bothered me about the job. It just didn't feel specialized; do you know what I mean? Granted, I've been told that I undermine myself a lot, but it feels like anyone could teach English. I felt like I had no special skills or anything to distinguish myself from the thousands of other English majors.

So I continued learning Spanish, and now I'm learning American Sign Language. If the whole English thing fails, then I can always teach those things, or be an interpreter or something like that.

Just study something else along the way. I'm not trying to say that English is useless or anything, but it would help to develop a more ... practical skill. And I mean that in the least offensive way possible.

>> No.1231788

>>1231745
>anyone could teach English

They pretty much can, but there are always particular English teachers that can make it really fun, you know? I guess I'm being kind of idealistic, but other than the standardized testing bullshit they make the kids learn, it'd be nice to, I dunno, inspire people or get them interested in reading and literature and, hopefully, other things. I feel like some experiences in college can help that.

But yeah, getting something alongside English is really sound advice regardless. Languages is a really good choice.

>> No.1231803

>>1231788

If you want to inspire your students, sleep with them.

>> No.1231824
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1231824

enjoy burger flippin' your way through abject poverty

>> No.1231845

Don't worry, man. If all else fails, you can rent a room in a boarding house full of other people who fell into the college trap. I don't mean that in a mean way, either. There will be a lot of us.

I predict a world full of middle aged roomates who went to college to learn, and not to get a job. By day, they'll work low paying jobs. The lucky ones will do work related to their profession; the unlucky ones will flip burgers. And when they come home at night, they'll gather in the living room and discuss news, philosophy, literature, and poetry. And they will be happy.

>> No.1231885

>>1231202
My English studies have taught me to be happy in my own poverty. Everything written after about 1920 is all about shitting on our current society and way of life. Most "famous" or "respected" older writers turned out to be commies or facists.

You can get money if you are brilliant, hardworking & 100% dedicated to getting a sweet professor job (keep dreamin faggot) maybe english is for you.

If you want to be able to make obscure literary references at parties and generally be considered a weirdo by society at large, and enjoy being poor, then by all means hop in.