I am planning to major in English and come out with a bachelors degree. Do you t

1. 69

   essiheartposted 13 years ago

   I am planning to major in English and come out with a bachelors degree. Do you think it's worth it?
   
   I'm very passionate about reading and writing, and I'm an aspiring editor. Do you think the job outlook is alright? Kids never seem to want to read or write anymore.

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2. 91

   The Dirt Farmerposted 13 years ago

   It's definitely worth it if you want to be well read, but ... if you're looking for a monetary pay-off, maybe not.

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3. 61

   Sarah Massonposted 13 years ago

   If this is what you want to do, then I say go for it. If it's something that you will enjoy and can learn from then why not? I'm studying literature and composition at the moment because I want to be a writer. No one ever said it was going to be easy but if you want it bad enough then you'll go for it. Good luck

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4. 66

   L. Spikesposted 13 years ago

   I really hate to say this, but you now have to view the 'worth' factor of higher education from the standpoint of massive debt accumulation and the ability to pay it back. The sad truth about the B.A. in English (at least from my experience) is that it is not as versatile or profitable in the job market as it may seem given the critical thinking and writing skills you will likely acquire. 
   
   Many of the skills that you will learn as an English major, you are getting now for free just by doing what you love to do anyway. From what I can tell by the way you write, your passion and willingness to explore and develop your craft is already evident from the work you produce. A degree won't say much more about you on that front (at least not in the eyes of most employers, anyway). Use the talent and insight you already have and gain further knowledge by surrounding yourself with people of kindred passions if your goal is to truly  "educate" yourself.
   
   Even though you'll write and edit countless papers as an English major, the degree won't matter as much as the ever elusive "experience" factor if you want a job/career as an editor. The best way of going about getting meaningful "experience" is anyone's guess/opinion, but I've discovered that most people these days won't pay you much (if anything) to gain it.
   
   Whatever you do, though, please don't rely on just the degree (any degree) to say anything about you once you graduate. By itself (and depending on what you want to do with it), a degree doesn't matter nearly as much as many would have you believe it does. Certainly, I mean no offense to those who have the experience to disagree with my opinion, but this is a familiar story to many, I'm sure.

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