For those who have a degree in English Lit Or Language ...

I_Can_Haz_Job?

MrChandlerBing wrote: »

So reading through this thread it looks like your guidance councilor was right!

You can be a teacher, or you can bum around for a bit and hopefully get lucky with something else

good luck!

I'm knocking 37 and aside from 7 months on the dole last year, pretty much done well for myself, thanks very much. Far from bumming around, and getting lucky I worked my backside off.

kwmlondon

MSE_Megan wrote: »

Haha maybe not a guaranteed job but there is certainly better chance of employment coming from the Sciences rather than the Arts.

My partner got a degree in biomedical science. Rubbish career prospects which is galling for someone who studied so hard.

You'd think he could get a job in health advice or somesuch, but just knowing about a subject isn't any indicator of actually being able to communicate that effectively.

It's like saying "a degree in civil engineering will get you a good job." Rubbish. We had students leaving one of the best universities in the world with good degrees in civil engineering, fully certified by the relevant institute, but they were pipped by students from lesser universities who were well-drilled in how to write a good CV, do an interview etc. Our students were better, but they didn't have the life-skills to get the jobs. As time's gone by they've learned the tricks and I see some of my old students working on some of the most prestigious projects in the world, but they took a while to get there (let's face it, students who get A*A*A* will make it in the end).

If you've done a degree and are able to demonstrate how the skills you acquired can help you in a job you stand a better chance of getting it than someone who HAS those skills but can't contextualise them.

Got a degree in theatre management? You've got more project management skills than someone who studied economics - I know several people working high up in banks because they have good degrees where they learned to put large-scale productions together. If you can manage an orchestra a group of financiers is a doddle. Crisis management? Check. Creative problem solver? Check.

InsideInsurance

kwmlondon wrote: »

My partner got a degree in biomedical science. Rubbish career prospects which is galling for someone who studied so hard.

You'd think he could get a job in health advice or somesuch, but just knowing about a subject isn't any indicator of actually being able to communicate that effectively.

I know it is a competitive field for perm jobs but I thought there was a far amount of contract work out there?

An ex-flatmate did his PhD and post doc work in biochemistry, plus a couple of post doc friends of the wife who are all in life sciences and none have ever been out of work though they do have the brown trouser times of having to reapply for funding.

My ex flatmate though decided lab work wasnt for him after a year in the US giving mice cancer and so has moved into being a technical writer. Been temping for 3 years with the same company and wants to go perm but the vacancies are like hens teeth.

kwmlondon wrote: »

It's like saying "a degree in civil engineering will get you a good job." Rubbish. We had students leaving one of the best universities in the world with good degrees in civil engineering, fully certified by the relevant institute, but they were pipped by students from lesser universities who were well-drilled in how to write a good CV, do an interview etc. Our students were better, but they didn't have the life-skills to get the jobs. As time's gone by they've learned the tricks and I see some of my old students working on some of the most prestigious projects in the world, but they took a while to get there (let's face it, students who get A*A*A* will make it in the end)

Absolutely agree that a piece of paper alone will not make you successful but I disagree that a 3xA* student will always make it as yet again thats just another piece of paper and not everyone who is academically bright ever has the life skills or drive "to make it" (of cause what making it actually means is subjective)

Ok, I am/ we are only in mid 30s but there are some guys who got 5xA (A* didnt exist in my day), went to oxbridge and got firsts and are stuck at junior level management 15 years after graduating and entering the work place

romanza

Oh my gosh! I never expected such a response.

Thank you to everybody who commented. I really do appreciate it and it makes me feel so much better. I feel like I'm doing the right thing.

I just feel that I would do so much better studying something I loved than doing something that would get me a 'sure fire job' at the end - if there even is such a thing.

I know that 'is a degree worth having in this day and age' is debatable but it's something I've always wanted. So it terms of self-fulfilment, self worth and satisfaction, I really do think completing this degree is the right thing for me. Actually, there was never any doubt about getting a degree. The problem was, in what?

Anyhoo, I read all of your responses with interest and it really did inspire me to just get stuck in. In terms of jobs, I'm quite flexible. I'd love to do anything from publishing to writing to working in museums and the English Heritage. My degree has aspects of philosophy, art history, ect before it gets down to hardcore Lit, lol.

I just don't want to be stuck in some uninspired, dead-end job. I had a small retail role in a tiny company for four years and it was so depressing. (Not knocking anyone who enjoys it!) I just want a job which will allow me to be creative.

I'm going to save this post and I'll keep coming back to it throughout my degree for some inspiration and ideas on the types of places/sectors where I can apply.

I've recently been looking at a lot of graduate programs and the majority specify that they're looking for a 2.1 in 'any discipline.'

If only my advisor at school had told me this! :mad:

Also, MrChandlerBing? I'm just going to take your comment in good old Chandler Bing style and just :rotfl: Really, though. It's not true - I know that now more than ever thanks to everyone who has commented on this post.

Cheers, everyone!

romanza

MSE_Megan wrote: »

Haha maybe not a guaranteed job but there is certainly better chance of employment coming from the Sciences rather than the Arts.

Lol, I've always been about the Arts. I can't do Math to save my life and Science is really ... :huh:

Former_MSE_Megan

romanza wrote: »

Lol, I've always been about the Arts. I can't do Math to save my life and Science is really ... :huh:

I'm exactly the same! I suppose English Lit and Lang was my only choice in that respect!

kwmlondon

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I know it is a competitive field for perm jobs but I thought there was a far amount of contract work out there?

An ex-flatmate did his PhD and post doc work in biochemistry, plus a couple of post doc friends of the wife who are all in life sciences and none have ever been out of work though they do have the brown trouser times of having to reapply for funding.

My ex flatmate though decided lab work wasnt for him after a year in the US giving mice cancer and so has moved into being a technical writer. Been temping for 3 years with the same company and wants to go perm but the vacancies are like hens teeth.



Absolutely agree that a piece of paper alone will not make you successful but I disagree that a 3xA* student will always make it as yet again thats just another piece of paper and not everyone who is academically bright ever has the life skills or drive "to make it" (of cause what making it actually means is subjective)

Ok, I am/ we are only in mid 30s but there are some guys who got 5xA (A* didnt exist in my day), went to oxbridge and got firsts and are stuck at junior level management 15 years after graduating and entering the work place

If you get to research level, yes, there's some work but it's very competitive. Most lab work is now done by machines, my partner basically had a degree to label small vials of blood, urine and poo. He went into meltdown after that, hardly any of his peers even did that well. He's training as a radiotherapist now.

Yes, fair point, getting decent grades at a level won't indicate success later on, but the kind of students I used to work with were blisteringly good, I mean, jaw-droppingly enterprising. It was always a shock to me when they didn't walk into the jobs they were applying for, but as time's gone on I've seen them really infiltrate the industry, but we took the top 1% of grades applying from school - very competitive.

kerry3280

LLB (Hons) - Law degree

I am now a self-employed author. :-)

romanza

kerry3280 wrote: »

LLB (Hons) - Law degree

I am now a self-employed author. :-)

Oh my godddd! :T:T:T

It's-my-secret-dream-job!

May I asked how you managed it? Does self employed mean you're self published as well?

mandragora_2

Eng Lit degree, which led to a paid-for scholarship to an American university, all expenses included - I had the time of my life. returned home, and as I love writing (and reading!) I applied for a journalism trainee place, get it, but the paper went bust before I could take it up. At the same time I was doing bar work and voluntary work in as a tutor in a probation service setting, and got a buzz out of teaching that's Id never anticipated.

Since then I've been an English teacher and also a youth worker, as well as progressing to senior posts in schools and also involved with as a teacher training with our local uni. In my current role, I do all sorts of things, varying from day to day but including last week being involved in working with a visiting author; dealing with several delicate issues involving a range of other agencies; teaching; training; writing press releases. Oh, and speaking to a man about his hawks. I get good pay, great holidays, hard work and sometimes more worry than I want, but on the whole I love it. Don't underestimate the variety that you can find in teaching and education. I was once very sniffy about it, but it's been a great way to spend nearly thirty years, and I still can't believe that, yes, they do actually pay me for spending part of my days reading good books, thinking about them and talking to other people about them.