Why major in English?

• • Gain the skills more than 80% of employers want:
    • Communications skills;
    • Research and writing experience;
    • Cultural knowledge and sensitivity;
    • Humanist qualities, values, and perspectives (intellectual curiosity, creativity, independence, flexibility, empathy, compassion, etc.).
  • Are the best critical thinkers:
    • Majors in Humanities disciplines including English show greater critical thinking and reasoning gains than other majors in college.
  • Get excellent jobs in a wide variety of fields:
    • Education (K-12, higher ed);
    • Publishing; journalism; professional writing;
    • The cultural sector (arts organizations, non-profits);
    • Advertising, marketing, financial analysis;
    • Management, human resources, public relations, government;
    • Technology (according to the Strada/Emsi “Robot Ready” report, more Humanities graduates are now entering the technology sector workforce than computer science and engineering graduates);
    • Medicine, law, and business;
    • And more!
  • Outperform other majors on entrance exams for professional school (law school, medical school, and business school):
    • Humanities majors outscore all other majors on the LSAT, MCAT, and GMAT.
    • And make the best doctors!
      • Humanities majors are accepted at a higher rate to medical school; do as well as or better than STEM majors in medical school; and are among the most effective doctors.
  • Are upwardly mobile:
    • According to data collected by Humanitiesindicators.org:
      • Median income for graduates with BAs in Humanities disciplines like English (without additional graduate training) is currently $58K+ a year.
      • Humanities graduates make more over the course of their careers, and are more upwardly mobile, than graduates in many other fields (including Business Management and Accounting, Engineering, and Health and Medical Sciences).
        • In fact, per the New York Times, English graduates often make as much or more, in lifetime earnings, as graduates in the highest paying fields.
  • Are prepared for the world—and the jobs—of the future:
    • According to the Strada/Emsi “Robot Ready” report,
      • “Futurists estimate that up to 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.”
      • The skills least likely to obsolesce in the face of widespread automation are the “human+” or social skills such as “leadership, communication, and problem solving.”
        • And current research shows that these skills are already in increasing demand on the labor market. 
  • Love what they do!
    • According to data compiled by Humanitiesindicators.org and the National Humanities Alliance:
      • 87% of Humanities graduates report that they are happy with their jobs;
      • 72% report being “deeply interested” in the work they do on a daily basis;
      • 70% report that they have the “opportunity to do what [they] do best every day”;
      • 78% report living their “best possible life,” and 90% believe they are either living their best possible life or will be within five years.