When I first started out as an English major, my intention was to teach. The funny matter was that I wasn’t much for dealing with children. So, I thought I would teach at the college level, become a college professor. And then life experiences lead me to believe that while teaching was an honorable profession, I feared it wasn’t enough for me to live on. Then I began to wonder about the direction in my life. What can an English major do? Engineering majors become engineers; law students become lawyers; business majors work in the business industry; and, English majors…teach? So I asked the question, and life began to show me answers.
My options plucked me from my small town nestled in Southern California’s high desert to Alaska’s unending wilderness to the international flavor of the Nation’s capital to the star-studded awe of space exploration. What an adventure! I never knew I could experience such travel or open doors that could lead me to the wonders of the universe. And all this happened because I wanted to find out what I could do as an English major.
I came to realize that I could do anything.
My realization didn’t come overnight. In order to explore my options, I did some research along the way. Below are some avenues to help broaden your opportunities:
1. Explore internship opportunities: I knew that I wanted to see what was out there for me besides teaching. When a friend of mine mentioned wanting to explore some summer work prospects in Alaska, I thought it would be interesting for me to do something outside of my own box. I looked into working on cruise ships but that search opened up for an internship opportunity to work in Alaska at Denali National Park. That was one of the most memorable highlights in my college experience. A good place to start your search would be internships.com. There are paid internships out there. And if you’re unable to find paid internships out there or the career field you’re looking to explore has limited internship opportunities, then consider unpaid work. Experience in seeing what’s out there is invaluable.
2. Research existing organizations: Another avenue for finding internships is to research some of the organizations that you’re involved in or have an interest in. I was able to get my big break with internships through the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) National Internship Program. This program gave me invaluable experience working full-time during the summer for a federal agency of which ultimately lead me to a federal career.
3. Put your resume out there: Just to see what was available to me with my skill set, I put my resume out there on online sites such as Career Builder and Monster.com. There are many employers who are looking for your skill set. The ability to write and communicate effectively is a highly sought after skill-set. You can put your skills to use in the business field, if that’s your desire. When I first started out, I had many job offers from companies of various industries clamoring for my skill set. I stood out from my competition because employers knew that my background taught me how to represent myself professionally.
4. Make your career center your hangout: Opportunities may abound in your career center. Employers tend to seek out potential employees from a pool of candidates that they know are trainable (people who are willing to sit in a class for four years or more to expand their knowledge). I found my internship opportunities, both the summer internships and the four-year internship that lead to my over 10-year career in acquisitions. Some employers may do on-campus interviews. It’s definitely worth your time to check the career center out.
5. Explore hobbies: Now is the perfect time to explore your interest and potentially make them into a career/income-making dream. Whether your passion is vacationing, fashion, books, sky-diving, or underwater basket weaving, you can write about it. People are writing books, creating blogs and using social media everyday to showcase their passions. And you, dear reader, being an English major have an advantage: you know how to write!
6. Positive feelings: There’s a potential inside all of us, that if tapped can make things happen. Find that potential inside yourself through belief in knowing that what you want can and will happen. Feel that potential inside of you. According to Rhonda Bryne in her book, The Power, “You must desire what you want with all your heart because desire is a feeling of love, and you must give love to receive what you love,” and she further illustrates this idea by George Bernard Shaw’s quote that, “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will.” All it takes is an imagination fueled by positive feelings (love) to propel your career in whichever direction you choose.
You, as an English major, can achieve in whatever career that you want. Your choices are unlimited. All it takes is a sense of wonder, a sense of adventure, a love of a purpose and a little imagination to propel you full-steam ahead. All aboard.