The CEA Forum - Summer/Fall 2009 - What Can They Do with an English Major?

Oct 15, 2026

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The article examines how English undergraduates struggle to define post-graduate identities and career paths, noting that conventional career advice has changed little over decades. It describes the repeated student question about life beyond the English major and how professors often rely on assumptions that graduates will teach or attend graduate school. The piece argues for examining real graduate outcomes, adjusting curricula and advising, and expanding support through internships, minors, and additional majors.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

The CEA Forum

Summer/Fall 2009

What Can They Do with an English Major?

Showing Students the Breadth of the Discipline

The CEA Forum Summer/Fall 2009: 38.2 Next: Everything Changes and Nothing Changes: Life after Tenure WHAT CAN THEY DO WITH AN ENGLISH MAJOR?: SHOWING STUDENTS THE BREADTH OF THE DISCIPLINE THROUGH THE INTRODUCTORY COURSE TO THE DISCIPLINE AND ADVISING Kevin Brown To say that English undergraduates struggle with their post-graduate identities is to understate the obvious. Almost every article or book that discusses career paths or the job market for graduates with a degree in English relates that students do not know what to do with an undergraduate degree, save for teaching or graduate studies in English. Infact, this approach to the subject has not changed in decades, as the following examples differ only in style, not substance [1]: 2005: Inside and outside the academy, the English professor and the English pupil run into a common problem: the rest of the world thinks what we do and what we study is fake. English ranges anywhere from “entertainment” to “therapy,” but it seldom enters the realm of the real—the “real,” I suppose, meaning a productive contribution to society yielding tangible, green results. (Van Engen 6) 1956: This report on the activities of the English major as a business man began with a question frequently asked by undergraduates at Wayne University: “What can I do with an English major besides teach?”(McCormick 486) 1998: The young woman with dark hair and large brown eyes sitting in the front row of my poetry writing class regarded me with an urgent and plaintive expression. She had discovered a totally unexpected gift for writing and yearned to take up an English major with a concentration in creative writing.“But what should I tell my mother?” Andria burst out.“My mother is opposed. She said you can't earn a living with a concentration in creative writing.” (Tassi 56) 1981: Today's image of graduating English majors sadly resembles Milton's Adam and Eve at the end of Book XII. Having forfeited paradise with one perverse choice, they stand forlorn outside the gates ofacademe and in this dismal plight take little comfort in knowing that the world lies all before them, where to choose. The world itself, we gather, is precisely what our majors have not chosen—unlike vocational students, who train deliberately for the fall from grace. Nor has the taste of forbidden fruit done anything to enhance our graduates' self-confidence in their ability to choose. Small wonder, then, that the question “Is there life beyond the English major?” arises predictably in our departments. (Eberwein 604) Plaintive cry after plaintive cry goes up from students asking what can they do now that they have ignored the practical routes and pursued a degree in English. We answer these questions from parents who tour the campus with their sons and daughters; we address them when we tell a student in a lower-division course that he or she has real talent in analysis and writing; we assuage fears when our advisees or students in our classes stop by our offices in moments of fear, especially as graduation draws near; and we face the fury of graduates who have returned after a year or two after they have left, only to end up working in a job they could have gotten without the degree at all. Unfortunately, professors do not do a good job of preparing students for life after graduation. We believe that they will either follow in our paths and pursue graduate work or that they will teach high school. If we are pushed by students who do not wish to take one of those routes, we mumble something about the wide variety of opportunities that English majors enjoy, occasionally mentioning publishing or public relations work for businesses, but we usually deflect their question and get back to that class preparation or research that demands our time. The problem is that most professors do not know what their graduates do after they leave their institution, save for random emails and visits from a few students. Thus, t

FAQs

Why do English undergraduates often struggle with post-graduate identities?

Because most articles and career-path guidance emphasize that students do not know what to do with an undergraduate degree in English, especially beyond teaching or graduate studies.

How do professors typically prepare students for life after graduation?

Many assume graduates will pursue graduate work or teach high school, and when students question those routes, professors often deflect back to class preparation or research instead of grounding guidance in actual outcomes.

What does the article recommend to improve curriculum and advising for English majors?

It recommends examining where graduates actually work, then adjusting courses and interactions. It also suggests helping students set up internships and consider minors or other majors that lead to meaningful employment.

Oct 15, 2026

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