English Lit degree

[Anonymous No.16597402]

I'm thinking about going to college to become an English Lit professor. What am I getting myself into? Is it a competitive field? How hard is it to get into graduate school and eventually become a professor? Am I falling for a meme here? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[Anonymous No.16597443]

>>16597402
Love me some Winslow Homer.

[Anonymous No.16597457]

>>16597443
Oh and to answer your question OP, I'm not from an English speaking country but I imagine the field is quite saturated like all academia.
And I don't know if you can go to college to become a professor if you get what I mean. You can want to be a professor and get a Lit degree but you have to have other interests and desires than just being a professor to become one.

Maybe I'm wrong though.

[Anonymous No.16597483]

>>16597402
>am i falling for a meme
A few years ago I was fired by an English lit major from Colombia University. He was managing startup chain restaurant in NYC selling a sort of haiwaiian raw fish snack bathed in acid, known as Poke. He was thousands and thousands of dollars in debt and his favorite novel was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He had no original thoughts, his sense of humor was to blast Toto's Africa wherever he went, and he fired me due to a scheduling error he himself had committed. It was as if someone had blown life into the anus of a caricature.

Did the major make this person a meme? No. Was the major a huge waste of time and money for this person and their professors. Yes.

>but I'm not like that
Of course not anon, but even if my old manager was brilliant in some incredibly well-hidden way he would just be a face in the crowd of endless literary analysts in academia, all knifing each other in their commentaries and compromising their work by their incesaant competition for well-paid teaching gigs that diminish each year. Realistically, no one had a chance to stand out in this field without investing decades of their lives and making very little money in a world that demanda wealth to thrive. You would be at a massive disadvantage without a significant trust fund at least.

>fine, but will it make me a better writer/reader
With talented professors, undoubtedly. But you are not guaranteed talented professors and you could simply seek out the best through their publications and read them instead of sitting in an undergrad course which they probably loathe teaching. You are also capable of practicing your reading and writing on your own although self-evaluation is difficult.

Go to university anon, but major in anything else that you enjoy. Go to the enormous well-stocked library on campus and check out thick books on whatever you want and enjoy access to curated materials selected by the English department over decades. Take a course or minor in it if you want, it looks good on a resume and you might befriend a professor who will discourse with you if you really are intelligent and of course, write you a referral later.

But for the love of God anon, do not go massively into debt so you can run a Poke Bowl like a little bitch one day.

[Anonymous No.16597597]

>>16597402
>I'm thinking about going to college to become an English Lit professor.
Anon, I'm not going to belittle your ambition but I think you should seriously consider the fact that you are taking a large risk by (1) studying a degree that does not give you much advantage in getting employed and (2) doing this so that you may have a shot at securing a role as an English Professor at a university, a position of high intellectual status and limited employment opportunities.

> What am I getting myself into?
In short, you are getting yourself into a game where you seek to attain "status". I recommend you do not seek status in your life because it is always relative and nebulous. You should seek (1) to spend as much time as possible exercising and sharing your genuine interest in literature using the internet... maybe writing/podcasting/making videos. OR you should seek (2) wealth and the freedom that wealth brings you to spend your time how you want. Either of these would allow you to do more of what you imagine you will be doing as a professor than the actual job will. For example... teaching others, enjoying and researching your areas of interest, cultivating public expertise in an area of literary study. You should not think that becoming a professor is the goal... when you can set up systems that let you do the things that are most meaningful while forgetting the nasty catty teenager tier shitfight politics in academia... as well as the pressures of a university administration and a most likely woke intellectual culture.

> Is it a competitive field?
Yes. Lots of people want what you want. People think of it as a cosy and appealing job.
>How hard is it to get into graduate school and eventually become a professor?
It is not hard to get into graduate school somewhere. Depending on your country, this may also involve paying enormous amounts of money. You might find that you spend time and money on your qualifications and seeking to become a professor only to find that it is an extremely unlikely outcome and that the only thing that is certain about the path you are walking is that it is increasing the debt you owe, wasting your 20s, and forcing you to survive on very little.
> Am I falling for a meme here? Any advice would be greatly appreciated
I think if you are going to do it, you need to be absolutely committed to it because it is not the sort of job you can muddle your way into. You will need to fight for it, and differentiate yourself, and persist. You should be reading all the time. You should be researching areas of interest. You should be looking toward networking opportunities to connect with professors and students. You should be thinking about publishing papers during your undergrad degree. But I would recommend you just create your own ideal professorship job using the internet to build and scale something more meaningful to yourself and others. Universities are rotten places.

[Anonymous No.16598105]

>>16597457
>>16597483
>>16597597
Thank you anons, I'm just feeling a bit lost and directionless in life. I thought I might enjoy a career in English lit but you've all made valid points and under further review I'm not sure if this is the best career option for me. I greatly appreciate your input, thank you.

[Anonymous No.16598120]

>>16597402
Didn't your parents make you go to college when you were 18? The first two years are general education anyway. In theory, you don't need to declare a major until year 3

[Anonymous No.16598127]

>>16597402
>What am I getting myself into?
Abject poverty and depression for at least 10 years.
>Is it a competitive field?
Yes. Universities are absolutely packed with professors. It is incredibly difficult to get tenure. You probably won't get a stable uni job (if you ever do) until you're middle aged.
>How hard is it to get into graduate school and eventually become a professor?
Getting into grad school isn't that hard. See above about becoming a prof.
>Am I falling for a meme here?
Yes. Just become a high school teacher (maybe not if you're a burger) or an ESL teacher in Asia.
>advice
If you're okay with working a minimum wage job for the next decade or so then go wild. Depends on the person, but most people massively regret spending so much time and money getting advanced humanities degrees.
t. /his/ major

[Anonymous No.16598135]

>>16598105
I'm glad you heard us out. I think >>16597597 suggested something significant in becoming a booktuber if you really want to share knowledge.

[Anonymous No.16598136]

>>16598127
How hard or easy is it to become a Lindybeige and make your living teaching history as a tourist guide or popular teacher

[Anonymous No.16598139]

>>16597402
>>16598127
Here's a relevant video. It is HELL for new PhDs to get good work. You basically need to commit yourself to slavery for a decade or more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebKQq96ouao

[Anonymous No.16598155]

>>16598136
Incredibly hard to build an online audience and support yourself with it. Not THAT hard to become a high school history teacher though. I'm in my last semester of undergrad and my plan is to be an esl teacher for a few years and then become an HS history teacher. It seems massively cozy and teachers make really good money in my country. If I were American I would probably just stay as an esl teacher. American teachers get shit pay and will probably get murdered by an incel kek.

[Anonymous No.16598163]

>>16598155
Oh, I didn't mean popular as in your students like you. I mean popular as in pop literature, like pop songs, something that popular with the masses. For example, Bill Nye the Science Guy or Steven Jewkner

[Anonymous No.16598180]

>>16598163
Yea I know, that's what I meant. It's basically impossible to become a "popular" anything. Think of allllllllllll the people who have tried. That's not something you can really get advice for. You either have it or you don't. You could make a few high quality vids and give it a shot, but even that niche has been pretty-well tapped out.

[Anonymous No.16598189]

>>16598180
Did you major in WW2

[Anonymous No.16598211]

>>16598189
No I just did a generalized history program, but my classes and personal research slanted towards early medieval Britain and Ireland.

[Anonymous No.16598259]

>>16598211
That's not so bad, from a layman's perspective anyway. Everyone likes Renaissance Fair stuff, but it's not intensely competitive like WW2, the big war before WW2, and the Roman wars

[Anonymous No.16598305]

>>16598259
Ya WWI & II, Romans, and early American are really over-saturated. Really just military history in general is massively over-saturated. I care a lot more about daily life in the other 99.9% of the time when they're weren't fighting.

[Anonymous No.16598403]

>>16598120
I'm 19 and I did most of my general AA requirements in high school so I only had to take 2 semesters at my local community college and I've got my general AA and now it's time to pick a major for my bachelors and I'm lost.
>>16598127
Unfortunately I am burger so high school teacher is very unappealing to me. ESL sounds interesting but I don't know any other languages (once again, burger) any idea how much of another language one has to know to be an ESL teacher? Or how many years of schooling it takes? I'll look into that, thanks for the suggestion. >>16598135
Sounds like a cool hobby but not really a career path.

[Anonymous No.16598439]

>>16598403
Hmm, have you considered a degree in library science then? It is competitive but doesn't suffer from the same issues as an English major. And it can be complimented by a minor or major in virtually any other subject. The goal is to end up in charge of a large archive and then organize and curate it.

[Anonymous No.16598442]

>>16598403
>burger
Nobody cares where you’re from but this makes you sound like a fucking retard

[Anonymous No.16598469]

>>16598403
>I am burger
Ya I'd avoid high schools then.
>but I don't know any other languages
You don't need to know any other languages to start an ESL career. You'll learn as you go because you're living in China/Korea/wherever. Just basic duolingo for a few months will make you more than prepared.
>Or how many years of schooling it takes?
Just a bachelors. You can get an online TEFL certificate (kind of a meme, takes a weekend) to help your chances. These sites are a good place to see what kind of jobs you could get:
>https://www.teachingnomad.com/
>https://www.teachaway.com/teaching-jobs-abroad
There's also a TEFL subreddit but it's almost completely pozzed and full of bitter transvestites.
>>16598442
It was directly relevant to his prospects of becoming a teacher and/or getting a PhD.

[Anonymous No.16598563]

>>16598469
Please don't tell that kid to be a Brian-san teaching English in Japan

[Anonymous No.16598580]

>>16598439
That actually sounds pretty cool, I'll have to look into that more, thank you.
>>16598469
Thank you very much for the information, definitely something I'll look into more

[Anonymous No.16598594]

>>16598563
Oh shit actually kind of a good point. I don't want to be one of those guys, or mistaken for a weeb who decided to teach English in Asia as a career to justify being a weeb

[Anonymous No.16598623]

Good points so far, but I would also like to add I'm 3/4 of the way into an engineering degree, and eventually you may realize the lucrative degree you chose is not something you're a natural fit for. This isn't to say "Do whatever you want" either because English majors have their own problems, but the point is try and find a compromise. If you're thinking of doing CS for instance, make sure you actually focus your first 1-2 years so you'll know if it's something you want to stick with. If not maybe switch majors. You can still make a living with humanities but you need to play your cards right.

[Anonymous No.16598641]

>>16597483
Dont shit on poke what the fuck

[Anonymous No.16598740]

>>16598641
There is poke made fresh in Hawaii and there is Poke made in a chain kitchen in the middle of Manhattan where the flies breed in the drains and all the quinoa is stored in a roach infested sub-basement of a major transit hub down the block.

Also Mike if thats you, fuck you for firing me.

[Anonymous No.16598814]

>>16598740
Didn't know the context of it, i'm on your side now

[Anonymous No.16599084]

>>16598563
I wouldn't recommend he go to Japan. Money isn't good enough. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam are where it's at. Also if he does end up in Japan (or anywhere really), he just needs to ensure that he doesn't look/act/dress like a yellow fever weeb. Japanese actually like foreigners if they're white and stick to the rules. He'll be fine.
>Brian-san
kekd

[Anonymous No.16599092]

>>16598623
>I'm 3/4 of the way into an engineering degree
Then ignore everything we've said and finish the degree. Just having a degree opens loads of doors for you. Plus you can still teach ESL if you have an unrelated degree. Just need ANY degree.

[Anonymous No.16599226]

You may think this is a meme, but this is absolutely not a meme. If you are a white male, I cannot stress enough how much you should not go into graduate school in the humanities right now. There were already tons of scholarships, grants, and fellowships from which you would have been categorically excluded, but with the hysteria the past few years, and then accelerated massively since June, it's really bleak.

For starters, understand that this has always been an immensely competitive field. Look at these numbers, then consider how many programs there are in the US for these, how many people they accept per year, and that many people will be on the job market for 2-3+ years so those numbers add up. You might think having a PhD makes you super qualified, but anything that cares about you having a PhD will have hundreds of other PhDs all within the same area of specialization as you going all out in trying to get that job. With closures and budgetary messes and sudden rapid moves toward online courses, higher education is in deep shit. Already a ton of places have done hiring freezes. Even adjunct positions are rarer now, and that's worse than being a wagie at Applebee's.

Now take that general field of competition and add in the fact that you will need to submit a diversity statement in your job application. Why? Because all these departments have backed themselves into a corner and written absurdly long letters about how they are systemically racist, and then detailing the series of commitments they are making in order to try to make things right. One of those, across the board, will be the need to hire more "BIPOC" faculty, who can in turn mentor more "BIPOC" students. So they're not going to hire you. They can't, because they already publicized that if they do, they're Nazis. I wouldn't even recommend getting into the field if you're Asian. If you're Hispanic, you're in luck, because the border war means that in addition to needing to hire "BIPOC" faculty, every job search is also especially eager for someone who can teach "Latinx" literature and offer that "Latinx" perspective. You're a Medievalist and see a job opening in that field? That's cool, but what they'd really love to see is someone who can teach early English literature AND Latinx literature. Or if you can couple your Medieval Literature courses with some on Black Studies, that'd be great.

If you're a mulatto from a well-off family who can support you during your 2+ years on the job market, go for it. It seems like a nice career. And if you're a woman, you can maybe work your way into an administrative position. If you're a white male, though, just don't even think about it. None of the jobs in this image are open to you. One of these only offers a $500 honorarium per class for the full semester. Maybe you can get that one.

[Anonymous No.16599235]

>>16599092
That's not OP but your good nature is appreciated.