Students majoring in English literature spend their time reading, analyzing, and writing about a wide range of texts. After earning their degree, English or literature majors often find work as teachers, writers, and marketing professionals, or go on to law school to pursue careers as lawyers.
But what is it like to study literature at a university in the United States and will you be employable after graduation if you earn this degree? Keep reading to learn more.
What Is English Literature?
Even for students who love to read and write, literature as a major may be a tough sell. Starting salaries are low. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers First Destination survey, English majors make $36,268 after graduation. Projected median lifetime earnings rank 44th ($2,610,935) out of 85 popular majors, according to Temple University economics professor Douglas Webber. Once the fourth most-popular major in the United States, English is now the 12th most-popular, the lowest in 50 years of tracked data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
English Majors Have Marketable Skills
Before you exchange your love of reading and analyzing literature for a more employable pursuit, take note: it is skills that matter in the workplace, not the major.
An advantage of studying English, especially now, when STEM-based majors are in high demand, is that employers are currently looking for candidates with stronger communication and soft skills.
Hard skills are measurable abilities, such as computer coding or calculus. Students enrolled in STEM-based classes learn the hard skills they will be able to use as computer scientists, web developers, engineers, and finance professionals. English students learn a valuable and marketable hard skill that many STEM-majors do not have: how to write effectively.
They also graduate college with a stronger grasp on the soft skills needed to get a job. These skills are harder to measure and harder to teach. Many have to do with the ability to communicate and make decisions effectively. Some of those skills include:
Cognitive flexibility: Students learn to consider others’ opinions, think from different perspectives, and adjust their communication style to the audience.
Judgment and decision making: Writing a 15-page term paper with an argument and supporting evidence requires judgment, analysis, and decision making.
Creativity: Reading poetry and writing short stories puts English students in touch with their creative side. Creativity is one of the hardest soft skills to recruit for and one of the most valuable.
Critical thinking: Writing a feminist critique of a work of literature, for instance, trains English students to not only think critically, but also to write a clear and evidence-based analysis.
Why Should I Study English Literature as an International Student?
It is hard to argue with the data: English majors do not earn a lot of money throughout their career. So, why should you consider English as an international student at a university in the United States? How do you justify the cost of studying abroad when the salaries are low?
English Is the Language of Globalization
According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report studying the relationship between English and the economy, job seekers with excellent English skills earn 30-50% higher salaries, especially in countries where English is not the national language. That is because English is the global language of business.
Speaking the same language, according to the WEF:
Lowers the cost of transactions across borders
Increases trust, which results in more trade
Globalizes skill sets, opening the doors to international job prospects
Both India and China, for instance, are considered countries with moderate English language proficiency with above-average demand for English language speaking skills.
Proficiency in English Translates to a Better Quality of Life
The WEF also correlates English language proficiency with the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures education, life expectancy, literacy, and other metrics that affect the overall standard of living. Countries with low proficiency scored lower on the HDI, while countries that scored moderately proficient or better scored higher on the HDI. Better English-speaking skills align with better qualities of life, especially in emerging economies.
Make sure you research the importance of English proficiency in your home country. Salary information for the United States will not be the same in India, China, or many countries in Africa, for instance.
Why Should I Study English Literature and Not Communication?
If the ability to communicate better is a significant benefit of a literature major, why not just study communication at your United States college? Communication students study career-ready skills such as marketing, public relations, and digital media. Literature students study books. Would it make more sense for you to study communication?
As areas of study, English and communication have a lot of overlap. Both areas develop a student’s ability to write effectively, conduct research, and analyze different perspectives. However, where communications students learn more about incorporating technology into their area of study, English students graduate with the following strengths:
They read more: Believe it or not, deep analysis of challenging works of literature is a highly transferable skill. Strong written analysis skills can lead to successful careers in research and development, as well as law.
They graduates have equal prospects: Note that the starting salary for a communications degree holder is approximately $3,000 more than an English grad, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), and they have almost the same projected lifetime earnings. So, for about $1.40 an hour less, literature students get the added enrichment of studying and learning the great works of the English language canon, an excellent deal for book lovers.
They majors have more opportunities for teaching: An English degree is more marketable if you want to be a teacher, and you will have an easier time finding work teaching English, from private high schools to English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.
Do English Majors Just Read Literature from England?
While literature from England and America traditionally makes up the core of an English major’s studies, most programs include a focus on international literature from all over the world. The department of English at the University of Kansas, for instance, places “emphasis on community and global engagement, and our abiding interest in our shared humanity through the stories of others.”
Most undergraduate English programs in the United States have courses that focus on different geographic locations, from Caribbean authors to Asian authors, as well as different points of view, from gender to socioeconomic studies. Be sure to check with your program and your advisors before settling on a university. Review their areas of study, graduation requirements, and class offerings to be sure the fit is right for you.
What Is it Like to Study English or Literature as an Undergraduate Student in the United States?
Similar to other undergraduate programs, the English department at Florida International University (FIU) requires students to focus on four areas of study and pick one for their specialization or track. These areas include literature, writing and rhetoric, creative writing, and linguistics.
Literature: The term literature refers to an artistically or intellectually valuable body of written work. The works of literature that English students study span thousands of years and miles.
Writing and rhetoric: These classes build students’ abilities to form and support arguments to communicate an idea. Students study rhetoric and classic examples of great writing to develop better writing skills themselves. Writing and rhetoric skills are essential in almost any professional endeavor, especially business and marketing career paths.
Creative writing: Creative writing is different from writing and rhetoric — students are generally writing fiction or nonfiction and not creating an argument based on something that has already been written. In creative writing classes, students’ writing is read and critiqued in workshops with other students.
Linguistics: Linguistics is the study of language — its structure, rules and variations, and what it can tell us about the society that uses it. Linguistics is the closest English students get to a scientific pursuit, as it involves the systematic study of the structure and behavior of language in real-world situations.
Which Required Classes Do English or Literature Majors Take?
Undergraduate students in the United States traditionally pick their area of study, or major, at the end of their sophomore year. Students are usually required to take basic classes in arts and sciences at the undergraduate level during their first two years of school. Exploring different areas of study before deciding on a major helps students make better decisions, based on their first-hand experience, instead of basing their choices on what they think they want to do for a career.
For students attending the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), these general education classes fit into the following categories:
Analyzing the natural world
Understanding the individual and society
Understanding the past
Understanding the creative arts
Exploring world cultures
Understanding US society
Quantitative reasoning
Students at UIC must complete 78-84 credits in general education classes and related electives out of the required 120 credits to graduate. The remaining 40 or so credits are dedicated to core English requirements, English electives, and concentration or specialization requirements. Concentration or specialization requirements are classes in the area of literature on which students wish to focus their studies.
Some of the core English class courses required at most universities in the United States include:
English literature I: Beginnings to 1660
English literature II: 1660-1900
American literature: 1900-present
Core writing classes
Core theory and criticism classes
Some electives and concentration classes that are common at universities in the United States include:
Colonial and postcolonial literature
Culture and media studies
Gender theory
Introduction to writing fiction
Latinx literary studies
Russian nineteenth-century novels
Topics in criticism and theory
Topics in Asian American literature and culture
Women and literature
What Does an Undergraduate Class Schedule Look Like for an English or Literature Major?
Let us take a look at a sample class schedule from UIC that combines core general education classes, core literature classes, and a series of elective courses that count toward a specialization or a concentration.
First year, first semester: 13-17 hours
Academic writing I: Writing in academic and public contexts
Quantitative reasoning
Foreign language
General ed: Exploring world cultures
First year, second semester: 16-18 hours
Academic writing II: Writing for inquiry and research
Introduction to literary study and critical methods
Foreign language
General ed: Understanding the individual and society
Second year, first semester:16-18 hours
English literature I: Beginnings to 1660
American literature: Beginnings to 1900
Foreign language
General ed: Understanding the past
General ed: Analyzing the natural world I
Second year, second semester: 16 hours
English literature II: 1660 to 1900
Introduction to gender, sexuality, and literature
Foreign language
General ed: Analyzing the natural world II
General ed: Understanding the creative arts
Third year, first semester: 15 hours
Black cultural studies
Literature and popular culture
General ed: Earth, energy, and the environment
General ed: Understanding US society
Topics in American literature and culture, 1900-present
Third year, second semester: 15 hours
Disability studies
Topics in literature and culture
General ed: Mathematical reasoning
Women and film
Fourth year, first semester: 15 hours
Women’s literary traditions
African and Caribbean Francophone literature in translation
Totalitarianism, writing, and cinema
Diaspora, exile, genocide: Aspects of the European Jewish experience in literature and film
Studies in the moving image
Fourth year, second semester: 15 hours
Topics in postcolonial and world literature in English
History of modern philosophy I: Descartes and his successors
Roman satire and rhetoric
The Bible as literature: Hebrew Bible
Topics in Shakespeare
Should I Go to Graduate School for English Literature?
When students decide to study literature at the bachelor’s level, they choose to follow their passion. The job market is tough after graduation, and the data available from the United States suggests that an English Lit degree is not especially lucrative. Therefore, students decide, despite the data, to embrace their love of reading, writing, analysis, and language and find ways to put those passions to good use.
What they find as writers, editors, and in other professions as English majors is that grad school for literature probably will not benefit their career. For many jobs that draw English majors, professional experience and a strong writing portfolio will open more doors than an expensive master’s degree.
Other times, English lit majors find that a graduate degree or higher in a different area of study would benefit them more. So, they go back to get an education degree and teach English, or they go back for a computer science degree and transition into project management, or they decide to go to law school.
According to NCES, around 33,000 students graduated with general English lit bachelor’s degrees and approximately 4,200 students earned master’s degrees in 2017. By contrast, 138,000 students graduated with business administration bachelor’s degrees and 104,000 with master’s of business administration (MBA) degrees the same year. Based on these figures, approximately 13% of English majors decide to study English as grad students, and 75% of business majors opt to pursue an MBA.
Who Should Consider Studying English or Literature in Graduate School?
There is only one reason to go to graduate school for literature: to become a professor at the university level. Sure, your education will help you in several professions, but rarely does schooling give you a better chance of getting hired compared to professional experience.
English professors, on the other hand, will often need a master’s or even a doctoral degree to find work, and even then, academic positions are challenging to find and extremely competitive in the United States. Many master’s degree holders work as teacher’s assistants, part-time teachers, or adjunct professors, with very little job security and few benefits.
Before you despair, the job landscape internationally is different from the job market in the United States. An English degree in China, for instance, opens the door to ESL teaching jobs. A master’s degree could mean a more lucrative position in that industry, which is expected to grow more than 22% in China from 2018-22, according to Research and Markets. Make sure you research openings in your country before you decide on a master’s degree.
You should also:
Ask yourself if teaching at the college level or higher is what you want to do for your future career.
Talk to English grad students and get feedback about the classes and the workload.
Talk to alumni about the job market after grad school.
Talk with professors and advisors as well.
What Do English Majors Study at the Graduate Level?
A master’s degree in literature is an opportunity to focus on one area, or era, that fits within the landscape of works written in English. From early colonial literature to postmodern poetry, grad students have the opportunity to become experts in their niche. Students read feminist, socialist, and postmodern criticism and write their own. They analyze novelists’ letters and nonfiction work to understand their subject matter better. And finally, they write dissertations, theses, capstone projects, and other long-form criticism. As with many other areas of study, English provides a broad undergraduate education in the United States and a deep education at the graduate level.
Teaching English
But literature is not the only English graduate school specialization or option. Many English undergraduate majors decide to take their love of literature to the classroom and become teachers. Some schools, such as FIU, offer a bachelor of arts degree in English with an English education certification. FIU’s program allows students to certify to teach up to the secondary level in the state of Florida.
Alternatively, students who wish to teach can enroll in separate certification classes or in a master of education program. Before considering teaching, be sure to check the requirements in your country. A certification earned in the US may not be enough, or may not be necessary, back home.
Creative Writing
More than 35% of all graduate-level students enrolled in an English-based master’s program are studying creative writing. A creative writing degree is a master of fine arts (MFA) degree and has grown in popularity with students and at colleges across the United States. According to The Atlantic, the number of programs available increased sevenfold from 52 to more than 350 from 1975 to 2016. Many schools, such as the University of Kansas, require a creative thesis, novel, or similar written work as a capstone or final project to graduate.
Creative writing programs teach students how to funnel their creativity into producing novels, poems, short stories, and more. Students work with adjunct professors and their classmates, analyzing great literature and reviewing and critiquing each other’s written works in a workshop setting. Many students enter these programs in hopes of becoming professional writers, but often find other creative endeavors or teaching positions.
What Are the Career Paths for English Majors?
Deciding to study literature is a choice to do what you love with your life. People passionate about books, reading, and understanding human nature make great English lit students, and these people figure out a way to build a career out of their passion. Employment data or job growth trends alone cannot specify all the possible career options available.
Why Developing Employable Skills Is Essential for English Majors
If you are concerned about finding work after you graduate, but do not want to give up on your passion for books and reading, there are ways to close the employment gap. One of the best ways is to major in English, but at the same time develop complementary skills that are currently in high demand.
An English major with a computer science minor, for instance, can leverage the skills learned in this highly employable section of the economy to find a first job after college. According to a recent Burning Glass Technologies report, liberal arts graduates, such as English majors, see as much as a $32,000 annual increase in pay when they couple their degree with high-demand skills in their market.
Take a look at job markets in your country or the city where you wish to live after college. Which jobs look interesting to you? What skills and experience do they require? Are there any similarities in the skill sets requested between jobs? Compile a list of the most common skills and try to find a way to build a resume showcasing your experience in those areas before you graduate. Join clubs, work internships, and find a minor that works for you—and the economy. One of the best ways to follow your passion, and to convince your parents that English lit is a good idea, is to be prepared with a marketable back-up plan.
What Can You Do with an English Major?
English majors often try to find work writing or teaching. There are several professions in a variety of industries that require strong writing skills. Let us take a look at a couple of options that may seem obvious (and a few that may not).
Copywriter
Job description: Develop written content for marketing and other purposes
Median salary: $51,000, according to PayScale.com
Growth projection: 0% (little or no change), according to the BLS
High School Teacher
Job description: Instruct high school students in English and other subjects
Median salary: $49,000, according to PayScale.com
Growth projection: 4% (average growth), according to the BLS
Public Relations Specialist
Job description: Help organizations maintain a favorable public image often through media, including writing
Median salary: $48,000, according to PayScale.com
Growth projection: 6% (average growth), according to the BLS
Technical Writer
Job description: Communicate often complex and technical information clearly and concisely through how-to guides, instruction manuals, and other documentation types
Median salary: $60,000, according to PayScale.com
Growth projection: 8% (faster than average), according to the BLS
Why Study English or Literature in the United States
According to U.S. News & World Report, 15 of the top 25 arts and humanities programs in the world are located in the United States. Opportunities to express personal ideas, criticism, and interpretations combine with creative writing classes where students can learn how to put those ideas and arguments into words. Advisors can help English lit students follow their dreams while building an employable resume, and the breadth of internships available in the US allows students to test their plan in a professional setting.
However, before you apply to an English lit program, take time to explore your options. Make sure there are positions available back home after graduation. A degree from a US university can help you stand out in a crowded field as you apply for writing, teaching, editing, or marketing positions, but make sure there are jobs in your market before you apply.
Do not be discouraged by the negative press — there may be a few bumpy roads ahead, but your love of literature will last a lifetime. It will reward you with insight, empathy, and a better understanding of the world around you as you grow and mature.
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