What was her intent when she picked English as her major?

Try technical writing for an IT/government contracting position or QA. Tons of jobs!!!

Communications - can work in corporate or nonprofit
Social media/digital
Customer service can lead to higher operations jobs
Sales - pays very well in tech or pharma
Learn some data/design skills to be more marketable
Journalism- may have to start in a small market if she doesnt have college newspaper skills
Hill staffer- start with answering phones
Volunteer on a political campaign while looking for a job and possibly transition to paid staff

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

Welll there you go. Beautiful ?? BWAHAHAHAHA

+1
Art is beautiful too, but if no one is willing to pay for it. It's worthless.

Anonymous wrote:I think most top colleges have really strong career centers, for every major, but you have to go to them, they're not coming to find you

Nah, when I was in grad school the jobs put posters with interview slots on the wall. I went downstairs and scheduled 4 back to back interviews. I got 4 solid job offers paying over 80k each, in 2005.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

You've raised your kid wrong. This is your kid's problem not yours. My parents didn't even know there was a career center at my university. The fact that your lamenting this tells me you are a snowplow parent or a helicopter parent. Well, you reap what you sow. Your kid doesn't have a job because they don't have the basic skills to get out and get one and mommy can't do that for them.

When I got my first round of interviews, my parents knew nothing about it. It was 6 mo before graduation. I told my mom 2 days before because I was out shopping for clothes. I also lived half way across the country. When I got the offers I told my parents the companies, and they didn't ask for the details. Why? Because I was an adult with a solid track record of making good decisions. That's also how I'm raising my kids. I check report cards but haven't even looked at a homework assignment since 1st grade. My kids picked and applied for their own middle and high schools - they have experience now and I will step out of that picture for college. I pay and show up when I need to, but that's about it. When they get to college I'm positive they will not be in your son's shoes.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

The degree can translate into many jobs but not without experience. An English degree on its own is hard. My sister was an English major and had MANY years of very low paying jobs in different areas. Low as in not much more than minimum wage. She got real world work experience, which is what she needed, and eventually ended up in marketing. This journey took over 20 years, mostly because she was looking for her dream writing job that paid well that didn’t seem to exist. She makes a decent living for her, not by DCUM standards. She would make significantly more if she had become an English teacher but she didn’t want to do that.

State department foreign service and also intelligence jobs are often filled by humanities majors.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

Nonprofits, government, etc. I started as a lowly publications assistant during the recession before leaving as managing editor to be an SAHM. They’ll find something.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

Welll there you go. Beautiful ?? BWAHAHAHAHA

I was an English major at Yale. I did work all through high school and college at crappy lifeguarding/food service/office jobs, so a had a work history. My first job out of Yale paid $30K a year. My second paid 25K but came with housing. I did grad school part time during that job since they paid for part of it.

It’s many years later and I am doing fine in an interesting non-profit job. I would probably be doing better professionally but I married a Yale classmate and he ended up in a really high paying but demanding job and I am the default parent. This was my choice and I knew the career consequences. I haven’t taken as many professional chances as I might have if I was on my own, but I really like my life.

Your daughter needs to take a job, any job and get her feet wet. Your twenties is when you job hop and figure out what you want to do. There is no such thing as underemployment if it’s a step to the next thing.

If they want publishing, they need to have an internship. They will get offered $50-60k for a job in Manhattan.

I graduated from a top school with a history degree. It took a couple of years and a masters in a more useful field to get a good job.

No regrets though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - major was English -- a beautiful major. The world needs more English majors.... especially from schools well known for their English & humanities departments. That should translate into many jobs in media, publishing, etc. And yes, with what we paid, no guarantees, but I would expect better assistance from the career center. The kid has worked so hard looking for a job and is not willing to be underemployed.

I appreciate the tecchies, but not everyone is made to do that work. The world needs some fuzzies, too. More than ever actually.

BTW - middle class burb family that has worked hard for it.

Maybe that’s the problem? What does underemployed mean for the holder of an English degree?

Working at a restaurant like my nephew did after graduating from a top 25 school with a communications degree.

Internships are more important than the degree. Students should have 2 before graduating. He should use LinkedIn chat to connect with alumni. Basically cold “calling” strangers who attended his college. Find a resume/LinkedIn consultant that can polish both.

Anonymous wrote:Pretty sure your child will end up going to law school in couple years. I feel like half my law school class were English majors.

And you will thank us when we correct your grammar, punctuation, and syntax!