Considering Degrees - English

Hello everyone! I am in Year 12 and my A-level options are English Literature, Economics and Mathematics. For a long time I have been indecisive about what degree and what career I want to have (and I’m still unsure). However, I’ve recently had inclinations towards Economics and Marketing degrees, but personally I’ve always been more attracted to humanities and writing so I’ve started considering an English degree. From what I’ve read online, there are mixed opinions on English as a degree with people saying the only jobs you can land are in teaching or Starbucks, but I know these opinions should be taken with a grain of salt because everyone has a different experience, and on the other hand many people have praised English for offering valuable, transferable skills employers look for like good time management, ability to understand large amounts of text/work, critical thinking etc. I know that picking a degree is all about going for your passion, and I’ve heard this so many times I’m sick of it. Personally, I think it’s hard to pick one passion because I’m also conscious about my future career as I want to earn a decent salary, but I also don’t want to do something I hate, which I know is hard to balance as I usually one would have to sacrifice either their passion or good money. Therefore, I’d greatly appreciate any advice from university students (not necessarily just English students) on navigating degrees and thinking ahead to make smart choices, but also about personal experiences during university.

Thank you for reading my rant and I’d be grateful to hear from you :smile:

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by laura_blues

From what I’ve read online, there are mixed opinions on English as a degree with people saying the only jobs you can land are in teaching or Starbucks
That's a very limiting mindset and very wrong in so many ways. Strictly speaking, you can also apply for jobs that accept degrees in any subject. So, if you want to go for a marketing role, you can do with an English degree. I have seen people also work in government services, become investment bankers, and went into accounting. However, I would agree that you won't be eligible for certain roles that would be looking for specific degrees e.g. medicine, nursing, architecture, etc. I also won't expect you to be a favoured candidated for the more quantitative roles e.g. quants, engineering, tech graduate roles. Funnily enough though you can go into an actuary apprenticeship if your grade in A Level maths is high enough.

many people have praised English for offering valuable, transferable skills employers look for like good time management, ability to understand large amounts of text/work, critical thinking etc.
I wouldn't take it that far. That to me is sitting on the side of baloney. You can more or less get these "transferrable skills" with a degree in any subject, provided you do your degree properly. Also, the so called skills that you pick up from a degree isn't typically appreciated by employers - partly because they are void of any relevance to the workplace and the skills in the workplace would usually be very specific and can't typically be obtained through a degree. If the skills can be, then it's not to the level or proficiency that you would typically need for a job. This is usually why anyone with a degree entering a job would immediately be flung down to entry/junior levels - even if you're capable of the jobs at slightly higher levels, you're not proficient enough and have enough relevant work experience to qualify.
From the sound of things, I would almost say that what you are hearing are stuff people read off from brochures, and people can recite the proclaimed benefits of their degrees from brochures.

Personally, I think it’s hard to pick one passion because I’m also conscious about my future career as I want to earn a decent salary, but I also don’t want to do something I hate, which I know is hard to balance as I usually one would have to sacrifice either their passion or good money.
I'm always curious to find out why people necessarily think that your degree subject has anything to do with their careers. Your degree is an indication of your education, not your skills or experience. Employers don't typically care about what you can recite from textbooks; they care more about what you can do. Your salary is therefore tied in to what you can do and what you are willing to take up; not what your education is. If your education dictates your salary, all doctorates around the world would all be millionaires.
Also, I don't understand why you have to compromise your passion for your career. Why can't there be an overlap of where your passion is related to the career you want, unless you're telling me your passions have absolutely zero relevance to any job that you can find? Considering there are roughly 800+ different careers out there in the UK, I am a bit lost to why you would think that. If you want to look through the job profiles, see:
nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/sectors
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles
As I don't have a clue of what your passions are and what you can see yourself doing day in day out, I can't give further pointers regarding this.

If you told me that you have certain careers in mind but you don't know which degree to pick to keep doors to all of them open, then I might be able to point you in the right direction. At the moment, everything is sort of up in the air.