Careers for English Majors
Liberal arts education: Waste of money or practical investment? Study’s conclusions might surprise you. -- Washington Post, January 13, 2020
The world’s top economists just made the case for why we still need English majors -- Washington Post, October 19, 2019
Why 'worthless' humanites degrees may set you up for life -- BBC, April 2, 2019
Why liberal arts and the humanities are as important as engineering -- Washington Post, June 12, 2018
Liberal Arts in the Data Age -- Harvard Business Review, July-August 2017
The surprising thing Google learned about its employees -- The Washington Post, December 20, 2017
When English Majors Earn More Than Engineers -- Vault.com, November 17, 2017
Six Myths About Choosing a College Major -- The New York Times, November 3, 2017
Training Good Doctors Starts with the Liberal Arts -- New Republic, August 15, 2016
How Humanities Degrees Cultivate Marketable Business Skills -- Entrepeneur.com, July 11, 2016
That 'Useless' Liberal Arts Degree Has Become Tech's Hottest Ticket -- Forbes Magazine, August 17, 2015
See below for more articles on career prospects for English majors!
- More Recent Articles on Career Prospects for English Majors
Want a Job with that English Degree? -- Corrigan Literary Review, March 11, 2017
A Good Job for Humanists -- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, February 6, 2017
Why Are Salaries for English Majors Rising? -- Vault.com, October 26, 2016
Meet the Parents Who Won't Let Their Children Study Literature -- The Washington Post, September 2, 2016
How to Think Like Shakespeare -- The Chronicle of Higher Education, August 29, 2016
Goldman Sachs Replaces Campus Interviews with Video -- BBC News, June 24, 2016
Why I was Wrong about Liberal-Arts Majors -- The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2016
To Write Better Code, Read Virginia Woolf -- The New York Times, May 21, 2016
Turning to the Humanities in Times of Crisis -- The Baltimore Sun, September 23, 2015
A Top Medical School Revamps Requirements to Lure English Majors -- NPR, May 27, 2015
We don't need more STEM majors. We need more STEM majors with liberal arts training -- The Washington Post, February 18, 2015
Surprise: Humanities Degrees Provide Great Return on Investment -- Forbes Magazine, November 20, 2014
In Defense Of The 'Impractical' English Major -- The Huffington Post, March 14, 2014
This Week in Small Business: Hire an English Major -- The New York Times, July 15, 2013
Why English Majors are the Hot New Hires -- American Express Open Forum, July 11, 2013
The Decline and Fall of the English Major -- The New York Times, June 23, 2013
Triumph of the English Major -- The New York Times, December 22, 2013
You Actually Learn Some Valuable Skills As An English Major -- Business Insider, October 29, 2013
- Healthcare and the Humanities
In a recent panel discussion, Weinberg alumni in the healthcare field discussed the unique professional advantages their liberal arts educations have afforded them. Paul Checchia, 1989 English graduate from Weinberg and medical director of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, argued, “the problems in medicine now are so huge that we need broad-based thinkers to attack problems with different approaches. And that’s where the liberal arts education comes in and proves to be of immense value.”
Christine Todd, a participant in the Weinberg panel, wrote a follow-up piece on the blog MedHumDoc extolling the virtues of a liberal arts education in a medical career. “Medical knowledge without true connection with a patient or a community is worthless. You can’t just take science and paste it onto people because it’s for their own good. I mean – you can, but it won’t work. Knowing the diagnosis means nothing at all if you can’t partner with your patient to find a treatment that fits them."
The growth of medical humanities programs offers further recognition of the importance of a broad-based humanities education for medical practitioners. Mt. Sinai School of Medicine has introduced a program called HuMed, guarantees medical school admission to undergraduate students majoring in the humanities. Dr. David Muller, dean for medical education at Mt. Sinai, explained that the program's founder, Dr. Nathan Kase, "really had a firm belief that you couldn't be a good doctor and a well-rounded doctor — relate to patients and communicate with them — unless you really had a good grounding in the liberal arts."
Northwestern’s Career Advancement office offers career-related advising throughout the academic year, from conversations about possible career pathways to advice on specific questions about careers and interviews. Contact Laura Droste, the English Department’s liaison at the NCA.
See NCA’s page on English career paths here.
NCA also maintains a database of internships and job postings.