Majoring in English—why so much disrespect?

[Anonymous]

Maybe it depends where you complete your degree? I did mine at Princeton and it was no joke and set me up for success (I’ve gotten jobs and opportunities with my writing skills that I wouldn’t have otherwise).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it depends where you complete your degree? I did mine at Princeton and it was no joke and set me up for success (I’ve gotten jobs and opportunities with my writing skills that I wouldn’t have otherwise).

Yeah, maybe so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

dony898 wrote:Everyone dunks on English majors until they need help writing a single coherent sentence on LinkedIn.

I have nothing but respect for English and history majors, but writing a single coherent sentence on LinkedIn is a perfect example of what ChatGPT is good for.

If someone needs a little help because they have no idea how to write, then maybe. But if they truly want to write well, even on LinkedIn, then ChatGPT isn’t quite enough.

People really need to stop commenting on ChatGPT if you don’t really understand how to use it.

Stanford trained chatGPT 3 (a paid version but a year old) on its best college essays and then had it write new ones to answer the prompts.

AOs said it produced essays in the top 1% of all essays.

So if you are using a free version of chatGPT and have no idea how to train it, then results won’t be great. However if you are willing to shell out a couple of bucks and know how to prompt it, it can produce very good tom excellent work.

[Anonymous]

We sent my kids to a Jesuit HS, precisely so they would come out very well-rounded and learn how 'to think', 'to question', etc.

They both scored 36 Reading and 36 English on the first sit of the ACT with little prep to which I fully credit the HS. They are also very strong in math and science, history and the arts. Education that is aimed to develop a versatile person skilled in arts, science, literature, languages, couple with the physical-body, mind, soul was important to us.

The mind is trained in right and left brain. We seem to be pivoting to left brain is the best and only part we should concentrate on. I think you miss out on so much in life with that narrow focus.

I was in STEM and my history requirement in undergrad was filled with "History of Science". I had the very minimal first year English requirement (and I loved creative writing and English), a psych/sociology course and the rest were all science--100%. There just wasn't time to take courses in other areas with long labs and core requirements in my major. I do feel like I missed out and I feel like my kids have such a broader base knowledge which can be seen when playing Jeopardy. Ethics, world religions, philosophy, art history, etc.- even with one now in STEM.

[Anonymous]

Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

I also love that English isn’t just reading books but learning about different cultures and ideas and philosophies and bringing them into context with the modern world or its historical period. It’s fascinating reading older texts and seeing ideas I thought were modern being discussed. I feel I don’t just learn grammar or kinds of text, but interpreting things in ways I wouldn’t have on first read. This is all in theory because I’m not the best student lol. But, there’s nothing like finishing an essay and being so proud of it. I feel even my English skills have helped me become a better researcher. I hope to publish research before I graduate because of an essay I did for a social sciences class.

Okay I’m done.

- Current English major at an LAC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

How do you expect to pay your debts off? Hoping for another D potus who will have taxpayers pay off your debt?

Also, there are many many majors you can study that teach critical thinking skills, and where you will be able to get a decent paying job and not expect taxpayers to foot your bill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because we are living in a minor dark age.

oh yes, the age of space travel is such a dark age.

This statement is quite illustrative, embodying the idea that technology cannot create darkness. Asinine.

I sure hope it’s a minor dark age. We’ve become unmoored from ethics, rule of law, and basic compassion. Ignorance and stupidity are celebrated. We’re in an anti-intellectual age of unreason, ruled by idiot-savant tech billionaires.

If AI ever does reach the point of singularity, we’re pretty likely to be wiped out.

Not at all sure it’s a minor dark age. I think we could have a cataclysmic event in the next 50 years that eliminates most humans. So do the technophiles, which is why they’re busy trying to find a way to populate space and constructing bunkers in New Zealand.

How many lawyers have f*up our society? Do we really need more English majors cum lawyers in our world?

The advancement in technologies, like the industrial revolution, is what helped the lower/middle class.

BTW, I abhor Trump and MAGA. But, I also think English majors think too highly of themselves.

Let's face it, most people who major in English need a graduate degree to get a decent paying job. That's fine, if that's what you want, but let's not pretend like English majors are all that.

And taxpayers shouldn't have to pay off your debt for you to naval gaze.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

dony898 wrote:Everyone dunks on English majors until they need help writing a single coherent sentence on LinkedIn.

I have nothing but respect for English and history majors, but writing a single coherent sentence on LinkedIn is a perfect example of what ChatGPT is good for.

If someone needs a little help because they have no idea how to write, then maybe. But if they truly want to write well, even on LinkedIn, then ChatGPT isn’t quite enough.

People really need to stop commenting on ChatGPT if you don’t really understand how to use it.

Stanford trained chatGPT 3 (a paid version but a year old) on its best college essays and then had it write new ones to answer the prompts.

AOs said it produced essays in the top 1% of all essays.

So if you are using a free version of chatGPT and have no idea how to train it, then results won’t be great. However if you are willing to shell out a couple of bucks and know how to prompt it, it can produce very good tom excellent work.

I agree. AI is clearly becoming more useful every day. But the end result is that from this moment on, we will be producing dumbasses. Writing a twenty page paper requires significant higher thought - from the research to the organization of thoughts to vocabulary and so on. The AI shortcut is about productivity, which is why every company on the planet is embracing AI. But it absolutely kills creative thought and the discipline to work through a problem.

I find media interesting. All the talent seems to be migrating to Substack, where they can make their own money after they've established a bit of a brand at legacy media. For the English majors, if you have a unique voice, it can work out very well. But for those thinking they can pursue jobs in corporate communications - press releases, speeches, in-house blogs, and so on - I think that's dead. There will be a sea of college idiots going forward because all they know is AI prompts. And corporate America will go AI for absolutely everything they can.

But a person with a unique voice and solid research skills has real possibilities that are very untraditional. The first job at a small town paper or publishing a story in a journal somewhere is not a stepping stone to anything anymore. It's all about building a brand, and then monetizing it through other mediums. So majoring in English is fine, but you need to be driven to make it work. The value is the voice. And that's usually not happening at 22. But if they stick with it and find their subjects and their angle and voice, the written word can be very lucrative when it is authentic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

How do you expect to pay your debts off? Hoping for another D potus who will have taxpayers pay off your debt?

Also, there are many many majors you can study that teach critical thinking skills, and where you will be able to get a decent paying job and not expect taxpayers to foot your bill.

By getting a job! I pay my own loans already with the job and internship I have now.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see how people think it’s fair to compare really any liberal arts degree to engineering/business. DS studies physics and has a great software engineering job that he was in no way qualified for by practicing leet code every day for hours during his junior summer. He wouldn’t have gotten much of a software engineering education if he did a CS degree, because that’s not what CS is about. Very few degrees qualify you for a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

How do you expect to pay your debts off? Hoping for another D potus who will have taxpayers pay off your debt?

Also, there are many many majors you can study that teach critical thinking skills, and where you will be able to get a decent paying job and not expect taxpayers to foot your bill.

Why do you assume the student won’t pay off their own loans?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Current English major and although I do get bored with Victorian novels I can’t imagine studying anything else. I have a plan of what I want to do and I’m happy. My major has set me back pre-professionally (no good internships), but I love writing and that’s what I want to work on. I also want to work on my critical thinking skills. I’m going into debt, but at least I’ve learned things I never thought I’d learn. Would I prefer a major that was better suited to my career? Maybe! But, I won’t have this level of learning and exploring again so I’ll use college for that.

How do you expect to pay your debts off? Hoping for another D potus who will have taxpayers pay off your debt?

Also, there are many many majors you can study that teach critical thinking skills, and where you will be able to get a decent paying job and not expect taxpayers to foot your bill.

“Foot your bill”? This student didn’t ask you to do that! They just told you, nicely, why they decided to major in English. So back off, DCUM-meanie. And carry on, fellow English major! 😊 I earned my degree back in the dark ages but it’s served me well and I hope yours does, too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know women’s studies, studio art, and political science majors from my LAC, who went to medical school.

3% of med school students were/are humanities majors

It’s safe to say nobody knows many English majors who became doctors because it’s statistically impossible.

But you may know some.

Statistically if you know 33 doctors one of them majored in humanities. To know two you need to know 67 doctors. To know “a few” or you need to know hundreds of doctors.

Or you went to a top SLAC?

[Anonymous]

MY DC majored in History a few years ago, at a SLAC. A few months after graduating, got an amazing job as a research analyst in local government making an excellent starting salary. Loves his job, and while he doesn't necessarily use his knowledge of history on a daily basis, he uses all the "soft skills" like critical thinking and analytical writing and problem-solving and team-working etc. Just saying