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/lit/ - Literature

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3440329 No.3440329 [Reply] [Original]

Hey English majors, how impossible is it to get a job as a professor at a community college in the states?

Convince me why I shouldn't declare my major in English/literature tomorrow even though it's my only interest besides music and history.

Convince why I should take on a STEM field and be a code monkey my entire life.

Or convince me otherwise. Please.

Pic unrelated.

>> No.3440335

>>3440329
Do what you want, and do the work of convincing yourself.

>> No.3440337

If you major in English, won't you gain a greater appreciation for prose and improve your writing?

>> No.3440341

>>3440329
Why do you think stem limits you to a code monkey?

>> No.3440342

>>3440335

I asked a specific question for English majors and that's really the response I care about.

The rest was just extra.

>> No.3440345
File: 47 KB, 500x500, 51S8fYrLzPL._SL500_SS500_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3440345

>>3440329
>Or convince me otherwise. Please.

>> No.3440348

>>3440341

I meant to say "work monkey."

And from what I've seen among friends, and mostly schoolmates, is most STEM related jobs are non stop work.

I could very well be wrong. But the point I really wanted to make is that it doesn't interest me at all, and I know I wouldn't enjoy myself doing it.

>> No.3440352

>>3440337

Probably. But is that worth paying off years and years of debt?

>> No.3440369

Major in something that will let you do something you enjoy for the rest of your life. If an English degree leads you to that, study English. If science/math leads you there, study STEM. If you don't know what you want to do, take some time reading about career options until you find things you like.

>> No.3440372

When a professor gets a job at a school, more often than not, they stay at that school for almost their entirety of their teaching career. So job openings don't happen often. If you're willing to move at any given moment for work, then your chances of finding a job increase a little bit. But not by much.

There's obviously more jobs you can get with an English degree besides a teacher, but they require a lot of networking to obtain.

>> No.3440374

It's far from impossible. Though I'm sure it varies, in order to teach at a CC you'll want at least a graduates degree to stand a good chance.

I'm majoring in English because it's the only thing I've remained passionate about over the years ;_;

>> No.3440375

>>3440369
What if you don't like anything?

>> No.3440378

>>3440372
This is probably your best answer, OP.

>> No.3440380

>>3440352
Only retards get into debt.

Mooch off the gov't + get some fucking scholarships like an actually intelligent person

then get some grants for grad school.

Also recommended to marry someone with a steady job so they can support you while you study

>> No.3440382

>>3440375

Then you have the same problem as most college students.

>> No.3440385

>>3440374

Do you have your BA yet?

>> No.3440397

>>3440380

My parents make too much for me to get a grant and my school won't treat you as a dependent till you're 21 and I'm 19. Even if you live on your own. Pretty stupid.

>> No.3440398
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3440398

>>3440369
Do not listen to this advice. Major in something that will give you good pay and a stable job with possibility of career and travelling ie. Engineering. Reading and educating yourself in the literary world is fully possible on your free time. Majoring lit won't land you the job you want (for the majority of students, don't delude yourself that you are different, only the rich with good contacts make exceptions). By the way I'm literally posting this from a engineering conference, travelled half way over Europe. All expenses paid.

>> No.3440402

>>3440398
I'm literally posting this from bed, drinking coffee, all expenses paid. Litlife is best life.

>> No.3440404

>>3440385
Ha, nope. I'm still classified as a freshmen. I hope my response doesn't lose any credibility.

>> No.3440405

>>3440329
>major
>interest
If you major in something that is your 'interest', you've already failed at life.

The point of college is to broaden your horizons and to push yourself mentally into new territory, even if it is painful for you, not to do 'fun' shit that you're already doing as hobbies.

>> No.3440408

>>3440369
>Major in something that will let you do something you enjoy for the rest of your life.
> something you enjoy for the rest of your life
There's no job where you play vidya and jack off all day, dumbass.

>> No.3440409

>>3440405
>The point of college is to broaden your horizons and to push yourself mentally into new territory

No. The point of college as dictated by our society is to prepare us for "careers"

>> No.3440410

>>3440398

I've noticed that it's only Americans that view education as a springboard for a career instead of what it is. Education..

I realize your tuitions are high but damn..

>> No.3440418

>>3440405
Lets just disregard this guy's post. He doesn't really know what he's talking about.

>> No.3440419

>>3440404

What classes have you/are you taking related to your major?

>> No.3440420

>>3440409
>No. The point of college as dictated by our society is to prepare us for "careers"
Nope. That's vocational schools, not university. You're confusing the two.

>> No.3440423

>>3440420
Are you honestly telling me that 80% of the people in college right now aren't only in it for the career opportunities afforded by a university education?

I want to bash your stupid fucking mouth against a brick wall.

>> No.3440425

>>3440398

Not OP but I wish I could. I'm a god when it comes to advanced concepts if maths, but I always make simple arithmetic mistakes. Forgetting to distribute a negative sign, miscalculating 8*6, etc.

>> No.3440426

>>3440419
Currently just Composition I. I'm at a CC doing my prerequisites. The classes I'm taking are directed towards an associates degree in General Studies, but once I obtain that I'll be transferring to a University. All my credits will transfer, and then I'll only have to focus on my major from there.

>> No.3440429

>>3440410
I'm a European you idiot. Have fun being a slave to the government on your welfare and going to the library. I own my own apartment. I work 8-17. Free weekends. Great pay. No loans. I have also printed the syllabus for the harvard English lit programme and study all the courses by myself on my free time. Currently on year 2.

>> No.3440431

>>3440426

Do you take comp 1 at 7am?

>> No.3440434

>>3440429
>look how productive, fulfilled, and happy I am guise
>really guise look, I'm living the life
>VALIDATE ME

>> No.3440438

>>3440434
Sure I get validation form posting on an anonymous image board.

>> No.3440442

>>3440438
Your name is not tied to your lifestyle. You're obviously trying to convince us that your way of doing things is right/best and we're all suckers.

>> No.3440444
File: 49 KB, 400x624, diogenes7.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3440444

>>3440429
>works 45 hours a week
>does the bidding of an employer every day
>mocks people being "enslaved" to free money from tax payers

>> No.3440448

I hope some English majors make their way into this thread

>> No.3440450

>>3440431
Nossuh, I takes it at 6pm.

>> No.3440467

>>3440429
What kind of engineering do you study?

>> No.3440475

>>3440467

Implying he hasn't been bullshitting this entire time

>> No.3440483

>>3440423
>Are you honestly telling me that 80% of the people in college right now aren't only in it for the career opportunities afforded by a university education?
Irrelevant. That's not what college is for. Yes, people abuse and misuse the education system. So what?

Also, I didn't say that college doesn't provide career opportunities. College doesn't teach career skills.

Career skills =/= career opportunities.

>> No.3440485

>>3440418
>Lets just disregard this guy's post. He doesn't really know what he's talking about.
Enjoy your mcjob for the rest of your life. But hey, at least you spent over $100000 on enjoying your hobby for four years. That was probably a worthwhile life experience, lol.

>> No.3440491

>>3440467
Electrophysics. Think engineering with materials on a nanolevel. A lot of math, but I like the beauty of mathematical language. I have some knowledge in CS as well. Kind of necessary in this day and age with the advent of pervasive computing (next buzzword). Image computers will be in everything appliance in your house within 20 years. What I like about working in industry with close university cooperation is that you kind of live in the future. You know what products will hit the market in 10-20 years from now. Anyone with a sense of street smart realizes a lot of money can be made from this knowledge. But I also like the freedom. It feels like I'm not confined to petty arguments, local policy makers or national borders . I live in a world that is solely about the exchange of ideas devoted to problem solving. Protip for linguistics: anything but Germany, English and Chinese is a waste of time. Sorry for a long post ill stop i need to prepare my presentation.

>> No.3440497

>>3440491
Damn tablets and auto correct.

>> No.3440501

>>3440491
>Protip for linguistics: anything but Germany, English and Chinese is a waste of time.
> German
Ah no.

>> No.3440536

Major in literature, minor in education.
Get job at high school for few years for experience.
Move up to community college for little bit.
Get a class or two at a university, keep going at community college.
Eventually transition to full schedule at university. Can still teach at CC if want to, some professors do that.

>> No.3440542

>>3440491
I think you mean "anything but German, English, OR Chinese is a waste of time."

but yeah we all love taking language advice from people who can't use their own properly

>> No.3440553

>>3440542
>refusing to take a good advice because of a grammatical error

And where did he say that he was an English native?

>> No.3440604

>>3440329
go antrhopology or social sciences

>> No.3440642
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3440642

You should definitely not pursue Literature bro, DEFINITELY NOT.

And you shouldn't introduce what you don't know of your Dilettante skills of being a Duck: Tell the children to duck the fuck off and fly away home to Physics; then, you will join them soon . . . but you're already ready, you just got to shut your Genius off.

First things first though: you need to turn all of these illiterate Geniuses of the world into literate idiots.

>> No.3441364

>>3440536

You need a masters to teach at a community college and a phd to teach at a university

>> No.3441370

>>3440604

Should I just be another psychology guy?

>> No.3441399

I don't understand why you fags that want to Major in English don't just double major so you at least have something to fall back on...

>> No.3441432

Still no English majors on /lit/?

>> No.3441463

>>3440642
it's remarkable how consistently shitty your posts are.

It's like you've made a commitment to it.

>> No.3441466

>>3441432
yes? what do you want?

>> No.3441473

>>3441399
Because money doesn't grow on trees. Not everybody has the luxury of being able to pile on classes all willy-nilly.

>> No.3441477

>>3441466

How far have you made it? Do you even have your BA yet? What classes have you/are you taking related to your major. If you already have your MA, how hard is it to find job openings at a community college? Do you have to narrow your focus to have a chance at getting a job as a technical writer(like for instruction manuals), editor, or publisher? Have you ever thought about doing a double major? Do you have a minor focus?, and what is it? Do you expect any benefits for getting that minor?

>> No.3441480

>>3441473

Are you stupid? The only difference between a Major and a Double Major is you have no room for electives. Every class you take will go towards a degree.

>> No.3441503

>>3441480
That's not true at all. Do you think your school's policies are every school's policies?

>Are you stupid?

Babby's cranky.

>> No.3441510

>>3441503

What are your schools policies?

>> No.3441518

>>3441477
sophomore, with an econ minor.

I placed out of the first two years of Uni English due to top scores on Ap English Lit and Lang as well as 800 Writing SAT and 800 English SAT 11, so technically I'm done with my requirements.

I have a job currently as well, in journalism, writing ap/reuters type financial updates for an Italian newspaper in English.

I plan to be an editor in financial news, using this as a stepping stone. Not very much pay but an interesting subject and something I have a knack for. I'm at work right now haha

>> No.3441540

>>3441518

Ya I'm not worried about a high paying job. If I was if pursue an engineering degree or something. But I am worried about finding some type of work. Did you take any classes at all to help you land that job or was it mostly networking?

>> No.3441550

PhD English here.

>>3440329
OP, you're young. Just fucking start an English degree and see where it leads. Sure the job market is shitty, but if you can do good work and be friendly with faculty, you'll be fine. If you don't mind living and teaching in some small school in the sticks, you should be able to find a job.

Don't waste four years studying something STEM just because you can get a career. The major that you declare when you're 19 is not your whole fucking life. Do something you enjoy and adjust plans when you have to.

>> No.3441554

>>3441518
Look I don't want to bust your balls, but here goes.

You are not working in journalism. You are a re-writer for an "italian newspaper" in English. (Bet it's a big one".¨

>I plan to be an editor in financial news,
Good luck with this one. I don't know what you mean with editor (it's a broad term), but if you mean some kind of person that makes decisions you are going to have to take dick up your ass for 15-20 years, and if you're lucky you'll end up in that seat.

>> No.3441557

>>>3440329 (OP)
>PhD STEM here

OP, you're young. Just fucking start an STEM degree and see where it leads. Sure the job market is GOOD, and if you can do good work and be friendly with faculty, you'll be RICH. If you don't mind living and working in for pretty much anywhere you want, you shoud be able to get a job.

Don't waste four years studying something English because you cant get a career. The major that you declare when you're 19 is not your whole fucking life.If you enjoy english, get a major in that subject later.

Fix'd. Its easier to readjust ones life from a positition of wealth. Econ 101.

>> No.3441559

>>3441554
>15-20 years
That would be the career aspect of it, right? Working for years to attain positions of prominence and authority?

>> No.3441563

>>3440348
Every job you are going to have is non-stop work. STEM majors can work eight hour days like everyone else, but a lot opt to work more to further their career or make more money. Just like writers write more so they can further their careers or make more money.

>> No.3441568

>>3441559
No. During those years you won't even be fully employed. You'll jump around from one year to another between different newspaper in hope of a job. When you finally get an offer you'll be so beat down you will pretty much accept anything they throw at you. It's a shitty business. If it is your dream go for. But you should do a little research and talk with people in the business. Talk with people that are in the position you are in. Ask for their advice. I'm a journalist and it's pretty much the most rotten and corrupt business I have ever seen. At least banksters are honest. :(

>> No.3441570

>>3441557
>positition of wealth
Wealth ain't much if you're not doing what you want. OP wants to study English. Why waste life in a soulless career just for money.

Priorities, son. One wants to enjoy life, not just make money.

>> No.3441575

>>3441570
How old are you old man?

>> No.3441579

>>3441570
Only a rich person or a college kid say that kind of bullshit.

>> No.3441598

>>3441575
31. Studied theology out of high school, taught for a few years abroad with a BA. Wanted to study lit, rather. BA, MA, now PhD on government grants. Spend my days studying, writing, and teaching at university.

>> No.3441605

>>3441579
Why is money so important?

>> No.3441609

>>3441598
Getting a Ph.D is easy, gettin hired after the PhD is hard.

Taught for a few years abroad with a BA
Be honest, you were english teacher for some little kids in some back water nation?

>> No.3441620

>>3441605
No. Choosing the right degree so you get a challenging job with good pay is important.

Of course you can get a job with a english major, but it'll be in a restaurant or something else with low pay.

And all that knowledge you acquired will get to little or no use. What do you think that the entire occupymovmeent is about. Disenfranchised youths that can't get a job because of their shitty degrees. What is important is that knowledge can always be gotten afterwards. A degree (that'll get you a job) is expensive and the benefits are for youths of a certain age.

>> No.3441622

>>3441609
I taught theology in churches and seminaries in so-called "back water" nations. In which nations would it be best to teach?

>> No.3441628

>>3441622
It's the kind of job that anyone can get if they speak english, perhaps not theology. You don't need a BA to teach english in china or vietnam or japan.

You don't need a english literature degree to do that. You can do it anwyay if you want to enjoy that.

>> No.3441640

>>3441620
Thoughtful post.

The trouble, I thought for OP was that
>right degree
was not doing to lead to
>good pay
So what does he do?

19 is young enough to start studying something and then change it. Choosing a major with dollar signs in the eyes is a fine way to end up in a soulless career that he doesn't enjoy.

>> No.3441679

>>3441640
Yes, I must say I feel a little bit like an asshole. If you work really hard and don't just booze your way through your college / university years you'll be alright I guess. Make good friends on the campus and faculty, like you said.

Here is some UK statistics (pg. 19) make of it what you will
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/cms/files/URAD-WDPD-Trends-Sep-2007.pdf

If you really want to know what kind of education one should get, you should probably try to see the forthcoming demand in industry or information and communication technology.

I myself work as a pr-manager for a steel company. I write articles about steel research, small papers on new types of steel slabs, take corporate photos etc.. not my dream, but the job is varied and I travel some. I got the job by taking a degree in Chemical engineering and when they needed someone to write I was the only one with the know how and an ability to write. English is a second language. :)

But when I get home after work I dive right into my books. It's my hobby and I love it. And I love the fact that it is a pure pleasure for me.

>> No.3441685

>>3441679
Thank you for this.

>> No.3441692

>>3440329
Fuck all the haters.

Do you what you are passionate about for undergraduate.

You will be more interested in the work.

Take honors classes and all of the most advanced classes you can. By your senior year, be taking one/two graduate level seminars per semester.

Fucking max out your GPA.

When you graduate with honors and a course-load that even Graduate school advisors will envy, you will be in prime position to go to whatever graduate school you want to.

>> No.3441694

>>3441554
you're not busting my balls, you're just trying to put me down with irrelevancies

>> No.3441713

http://www.ejc.net/magazine/articlitalian_freelance_journalists_prost_against_precarious_working_contions/

>Before hanging himself from a tree in the garden of his house in Puglia, Pierpaolo Faggiano revealed in a letter what had driven him to this extreme act: his precarious working conditions.

>For decades the 41-year-old Italian journalist had been a regular contributor to a local newspaper, barely eking out EUR 4 to 20 per article.

>Following Faggiano’s suicide many journalists started blaming the unequal Italian media environment for protecting only a small number of regularly paid employees, forcing others to survive on meagre incomes.

Ok.

>> No.3441722

>>3441713
There is a reason why you have your journalism work. You are taking it from proper journalists.

>> No.3441735
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3441735

>>3441713
>T-thanks for giving me a writing assignment, editor boss.

>> No.3441760

>>3440329
>stem
>code monkey

How stupid are you?

sage for childish, immature, ignorant stupid piece of shit teenager.

>> No.3441778

Please don't Major in English/Literature OP. If you studying/reading literature is what you enjoy, then keep it as a hobby and do it on your own. There are a shit load of free, online courses you can take for literature. And if you really enjoy the classroom setting and discussion, which I can understand because I do too, then just Minor in it or take Literature classes as electives.

That doesn't mean your only other choice is to go into a stem field. But choose something practical. Psychology, Sociology, Business and Communications, etc..

>> No.3441812

I'm in the same boat as you OP. I figure I'll just keep taking out loans, go to school as long as possible, and then off myself so I don't have to pay off the debt.

>> No.3441885

>>3441760


I think he just meant he doesn't want to spend his life doing something he doesn't enjoy, just because it will pay the bills.

>> No.3441889

>>3441760
http://www.nature.com/news/studentwith-autism-gravitate-toward-stemajors-1.12367

stay mad, autistic monkey

>> No.3441897

>>3441889
http://healthland.time.com/2012/070/what-child-prodigies-and-autist-people-have-in-common/

Stay mad

>> No.3441904

>>3441889
Autistic boy,12, with higher IQ than Einstein develops his own theory of relativity

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arcle-1369595/Jacob-Barnett-12-high-IQ-Einstein-develops-theory-relavity.html

keep staying mad

>> No.3441952

>>3441889
>>3441889


That's because mathematical thinking, while it can be a gift, can be learned and taught.

Creative thinking cannot be taught. And before people go apeshit, I know lots of STEM jobs require creative thinking. But it requires a much larger understanding of maths.

>> No.3441974

>>3441952
Just a question, what do you think is more creative. Writing a book like Ulysses referencing the catalogue of human literature and new words, or creating a new theory that defies humanities understanding of time space and gravity?

Remenber that math is a language.

>> No.3441982

>>3441974

I don't think you can measure creativity. But Einstein loved music and played violin himself.

>> No.3441989
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3441989

>STEM majors
>always arguing their case using high-flying scientists who did great things in order to convince their opponents; fantastical rhetoric of worlds unknown and unconquered being taken over by the force of reason and the will of human science

>most of them are doing engineering degrees

>> No.3442012

>lit majors
>always arguing their case using high-flying philosophers, who mostly were mathematicians or in other various scientific fields, who did great things in order to convince their opponents; fantastical rhetoric of worlds unknown and unconquered being taken over by the force of reason and the will of human science

>most of them are flipping burgers

>> No.3442015

>>3442012
>who mostly were mathematicians
lelelelelele

>> No.3443996

>>3440429
>crikey it's 17 bong in yuroland

This, for some reason, is the way I imagine your voice.

>> No.3444001
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3444001

>>3441713
>tfw journalism major

It's turning into half-assed programming/designing, I hardly do any actual writing outside of the creative stuff I do on my own. This is definitely wrong, and all because people want to look at a fucking infograph instead of reading anything.

>> No.3444005

It's not impossible to get a job as a CC adjunct professor.
However, it is almost impossible to get a tenure track position even at a CC, unless you are godly at politricking, and you will have to teach a shitload of courses per term to make a livable wage.

>> No.3444013

CC professors hardly make more than public school teachers.

I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other, but that's one factor that some people fail to take into account but actually matters to them.

Also, you should be STEM major just to be a little fucking educated. STEM-majors aren't just "code monkeys," and it's disgraceful how many people think that.

>> No.3444016

I'm an English Lit major. Am I probably going to starve to death when I graduate? Probably. I don't care. As corny as it sounds, I don't mind suffering through life doing something I love.

>> No.3444042

>>3444016
This is all fine and dandy, but implies that the person wouldn't enjoy doing anything else. Like, reading and writing are the only things in life worth doing.