What Can I do With a Major in English?

Listed below is a brief sampling: of occupational titles and employment settings which relate to major in English. While special knowledge of specific subject matter is necessary for certain occupational settings, not all employment settings require specialization. Some employers prefer liberal arts graduates who possess broad liberal skills such as: problem- solving; critical thinking; management and administration; and communication. These functional transferable skills combined with specific content knowledge are most useable and marketable in a broad span of occupational settings.

Skills: • Sizing up an • Adapting ideas • Generating new audience • Accuracy ideas • Influencing and • Seeing • Defining persuading connections • Thinking • Reading for tone • Weighing values independently and attitude • Working in • Designing and • Reading for groups directing ideas • Comparing and projects • Informing and summarizing • Problem solving explaining • Questioning • Coherence in • Clarity conventions writing and • Rewriting and • Gathering speech editing information • Interpreting • Interpreting • Arguing logically confused instructions • Analyzing language • Simplifying complex ideas jargon

Typical Work Activities: • Composing, writing • Decorating and designing • Enlightening, guiding • Informing, organizing • Working independently • Teaching, explaining • Helping • Solving problems • Acting, performing • Leading discussions • Selecting and training

Occupational Opportunities: • Announcer • Communications • Foreign Service (radio/TV) / Public • Foundations • Business Relations Work Industry • Convention • Human Services • Government Organizer • Humanities/ Service • Copy Editor Arts Councils • Business • Copywriter • Information Communications • Critic Specialist • Columnist • Documents • Interviewer Analyst • Journalism • Editor/Freelance

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• Management • Personnel • Acquisitions Trainee Relations Editing • Marketing • Publicity • Copy Editing Trainee Coordinator • Project Editing • Peace Corps • Research and • Sales • Procedures Development • Publicity and Analyst • Retailing/ Promotion • Program Planner Buying • Advertising • Press • Research/ • Production Representative Publication • Contracts and (legislator) Editing Permission • Public Opinion • Script Writer • Data Processing Analyst (Radio/TV) • Copy Writer • Public Service • Special Concerns • Sales Writer • Public Relations Advocate • Proofreader Writer • University/ • Writer • Reporter College • Research Analyst Relations

Employment Settings: • Teacher • Literary Periodicals o Public or Private • Magazines and Newspapers o College/University • Political Action Groups o English as a Second • Public Relations Firms Language • Publishing Companies • Business Corporations • Research & Development Firms • Education Departments • Radio/TV Stations • Film Companies • Travel Agencies • Government printing • Libraries

Internet Sites: • University of Dallas English Department- http://www.udallas.edu/engdept • Advertising Council- http://www.adcouncil.org/ • Printing Industries of America- http://www.printing.org/ • Public Relations Society of America- http://www.prsa.org/ • Sun Oasis Jobs- http://www.sunoasis.com/ • Writers Write- http://www.writerswrite.com/

Professional Associations: • American Advertising Federation- www.aaf.org • American Association of Advertising Agencies- http://www.aaaa.org/Pages/default.aspx • American Literature Association- http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/english/ala2/ • American Medical Writers Association- http://www.amwa.org/default.asp?Mode=DirectoryDisplay&id=1&DirectoryUse AbsoluteOnSearch=True • American Women in Radio and Television- http://awrt-dfw.org/

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• Association of American Editorial Cartoonists- http://editorialcartoonists.com/ • Association of American Publishers- http://publishers.org/ • Association of National Advertisers- http://www.ana.net/ • Modern Language Association- http://www.mla.org/ • National Communication Association- http://www.natcom.org/ • Society for Technical Communication- http://www.stc.org/ • Writers Guild of America, East- http://www.wgaeast.org/ • Writers Guild of American, West- http://wga.org/

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