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Career Mobility and Portable Skills
Time was when a person chose a career and looked forward to working in basically the same job--often with the same company--until retirement. Those days are long gone. Workers today can look forward to changing jobs and employers often. The fast pace of change in technology, alone, creates new opportunities while it erases old occupations.
In such a work environment, focusing on a narrow
range of technical or vocational skills--while seemingly sensible in the
short term--may prove less effective in the long run than acquring skills
that will serve employers well in many fields and in many occupations.
English majors learn skills that will enable them to move easily between
jobs and even between careers.
Reading Critically
While learning to read, analyze and write about a work of literature might seem at first glance unrelated to most careers, the ability to read a text carefully and critically is vital for success in those same careers. English majors learn to read with discerning eyes, the better to understand and interpret legal documents, scientific reports, business letters and other texts they will encounter in their professional lives.
Along with critical reading skills come analytical
thinking skills. English majors learn to look at a piece of writing (or
a situation) and break it down into its component parts. They also learn
to structure their thinking in a systematic, effective manner.
Writing Clearly
English majors write a great deal, and perhaps nothing better prepares them for success in the workplace or in graduate school. Employees and graduate students who can write well quickly distinguish themselves among their peers; employers equate good writing skills with good thinking skills and with education level, overall. English majors walk into their careers confident they can handle any writing situation.
Career Cross-Training
English makes an excellent choice for double-majors. The skill set learned as an English major complements the requirements of any other major. In fact, over the years, students have paired an English major with nearly every other major in the Heidelberg catalog.
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