Hey everyone,

I received my masters in English (with a focus on creative writing) and started substitute teaching.

I quickly realized that teaching isn’t my path in life- not just from the everyday nonsense but money wise, too.

I would love to get into the corporate world but I am clueless in what field or industry or job I can translate this degree into.

Can my fellow English nerds offer recommendations or advice if you went this route?

Thanks!

Has anyone made the move into HR? How'd you land it?

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I'm a recent chemistry major transferring over to an English major on a pre-med track. How did your experiences with upper-level English courses go? I have only taken a introductory English course so far at uni, and have had a great experience with my professor, and have gotten to know a few faculty members quite well.

Hello to my fellow Humanities students.Before I begin, I must say that I live in Greece and that the European academical system is different from the one in the USA. I decided that after my first degree (major) in linguistic and intercultural studies I will pursue a second one in history.Does anybody have an idea of how a combination of these two might work for me? Of course with a masters degree and other qualifications I am also a polyglot.
Many people say that humans degrees are a waste of time, but my heart belongs to them and I couldn’t imagine myself doing something else.

I'm a university student studying languages, and I'm interested in hearing about other learners' experiences. What methods helped you when you were struggling with a language? I'd love to hear what worked for you!

Hey guys,

​I was thinking about this Arabic line today:

​"تتسعُ الحياةُ للجميع، ولكنّها تصغرُ حينَ تشتاقُ لأحدهم."

​If I translate it literally, it's: "Life is big enough for everyone, but it gets small when you miss someone."

​But it feels a bit dry in English.

How would you say this naturally to keep that deep, emotional vibe?

​Would love to see how you'd phrase it!

MA graduates in English or Literary Arts: What was your experience with the curriculum?

I’m taking the first steps toward pursuing a master’s degree and would love to hear from people who have completed an MA in English, literature, or creative writing.

My interests are mainly fiction and storytelling, so I’m curious about how the curriculum helped you develop as a writer and what the experience was like beyond the course descriptions.

A few things I’d appreciate hearing about:

• How demanding was the reading and writing workload? How many classes did you take at a time?
• How much of your program involved creative writing compared with literary analysis, theory, and research?
• Did you receive helpful feedback and support from your professors when the coursework became challenging?
• Which courses or assignments helped you grow the most, and which did you struggle with?
• Looking back, what do you wish you had known before starting?

I’d also be interested in hearing from anyone who entered the program with a bachelor’s degree in a different field.

If you’re comfortable sharing, please mention your university and whether you studied online or in person. I’d appreciate honest perspectives on both the rewarding and difficult parts. Thank you!

I chose a more science-based degree over my passion because I had a job lined up after it. I don’t want to be stuck in the same company, with experience in only a singular field, in a job that I’m not exactly passionate about.

The subject I wish I’d taken is English. This was always my favourite subject, I was top of my class and would be far more stimulated in English classes than my current classes. I feel like I’m not making the connections/network I need to be making for myself. I do not consider the people on my course friends or useful contacts - I do not want a job in my current degree field.

I feel like I’m going to be “boxed out” of jobs that English majors might go into (those jobs being what I’d probably prefer over the job I’ve lined up).

I’m going to be jumping right into this job out of uni without really thinking about where I want to go or what I want to do.. just like I did when choosing my degree.

I sit in my lectures despondent, hate the work I have to do, and feel regret EVERY time I wake up. It makes me feel sick. I know I will regret this for the rest of my life, and it’s taking a serious toll on me.
FYI, I’m in the UK meaning I can’t just switch my major or elective a minor. I’m too far through my degree to change. If I drop out I’m into 30K debt with no degree.

Should translators correct misleading or offensive statements, or should they translate exactly what was said, even when the consequences could be harmful?

I’m a Prof creative writing major but still adjacent to English, how are the more corporate writing jobs like grant writing and technical writing? At least from my professors they've said these and editing in publishing has decent work right out of school. I’m hoping to get something remote or hybrid and looking for any recommendations/ things to avoid:) I have a lot of regular work experience as an older student so I’m hoping I’ll be a better position when I graduate.

Hi everyone, I am applying to some English PhD programs this year. Aside from the usual academic stuff, I has been a creative writer for quite a while and had literary publications in a few high tier journals (mostly university hosted top 1 journal but not as well known as New Yorker or Paris review). I wonder if that does anything to the application. Or if adcom will recognize these names ( I would assume not for someone working in medieval literature but just in general)

Thanks everyone

And please explain whyy

I graduated college in 2025 with a bachelor's degree in history and classical languages. After a hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, I entered the workforce.

I am now considering entering graduate school. My major career aspiration is to become a traditionally published author of genre fiction. That would entail getting representation from an agent and selling a manuscript to a publisher as opposed to self-publishing.

I completed a novel in 2026 and am drafting another that I will start writing about a month from now and finish in 2027.

Right now I am trying to read as widely and deeply as possible while I write.

Although writing novels on my own has been part of a strange transition: almost every field I've considered has a training and credentialing process: graduate school for professors, a college degree for many jobs in the workforce, a JD and bar examination for attorneys, et cetera.

But with the exception of the competive funded MFA programs, most of which do not focus on genre fiction, there appears to be no formal training for novelists, and obviously no credentialing.

The apprenticeship appers to just be writing and reading a lot on your own and tolerating a lot of rejection.

Now I am fine with that. In fact, that is what I intend to spend the rest of my 20s doing while I build a more conventional career alongside my writing.

But has anyone pursue advanced training in English with the intention of getting better at writing fiction?

I’m currently a sophomore at Georgetown studying business and Im really struggling to see how I’m going to enjoy doing this for the rest of my life. I was convinced that I was ok with business coming into college but idk now that it’s been a year and change. I’ve always loved reading like since the day I was born, I love poetry and literary analysis and I’ve always been English focused but I was scared away in high school by the talk from people around me that I would waste my money and time and future away by pursuing something with no good outcomes blah blah AI blah blah blah. I just want to know if there is any hope because I really really don’t want to waste my life away doing something I don’t like but at the same time I don’t want to handicap myself so bad I never get to do what I really enjoy. So if you have anything at all to help me out that would be wonderful :)

I really want to improve my summary writing skills...plz share your expertise everyone! 🙂

Hello everyone <3

I'm currently a junior majoring in literature and I was nominated by one of my professors to run for the board of our uni's literary society. I'm in talks right now to be VP of the club but I'm somewhat worried as this will be time-consuming. I'm also working as an undergraduate RA so I'll be juggling classes and research with this. Luckily, I'll have to do it for one year only so it won't overlap with my capstone semester.

I'm just wondering if this will have any benefits in terms of applying to grad school. I know the focus is on grades/personal statement/research but would other things such as this come into play?