I have an associate’s in liberal arts and a BA in English/Creative Writing. Despite freelancing, I’m struggling to secure interviews and feel discouraged. I was told an English degree would open doors, but I’m unsure where to pivot. I’ve been advised to explore project management or data analytics, though I’m hesitant. I want stable, paid work but feel stuck and uncertain about next steps or certifications. Any advice?

Hard truths here from someone who also has an English degree. I always knew that I wasn’t planning to do anything with my English degree; instead, my plan was law school. Right before it was time to take the LSAT, I decided I no longer wanted to go to law school.

I first worked as a recruiter for a sketchy firm (for $30k) and then as a receptionist at a doctor’s office (for $24k). I quickly realized that I wasn’t qualified for much outside of teaching high school English literature.

Two years after I graduated from college, I started law school. I’ve now been practicing law for the better part of a decade. It’s definitely not my passion, and some days it really sucks, but it gives me the ability to never worry about money and to afford the things I want to do in my personal life. That doesn’t have to be your path, but you aren’t alone in realizing that opportunities are limited.

An English degree is a great platform for those who want to enter into a graduate program. Unfortunately, unless you want to be a high school English teacher, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many opportunities without a secondary degree. You might consider a post-Bacc program in a related area that would give you industry-specific credentials (e.g., PR, journalism, photography, advertising, fashion merchandising, communications, marketing). Note, of course, that creative careers are often incredibly competitive, so you’ll also need internships and the ability to absorb the reality of a lower salary. If you enjoy analyzing things, consider cybersecurity, law school, or even becoming a therapist. If you’re organized and enjoy communicating via written word, you might consider looking into project management - though you’ll likely want to take some classes and gain some credentials more specific to that field. You might be able to find work as a grant writer, a technical writer, or at a nonprofit, but you’ll need to be willing to be flexible and keep your expectations in check with regard to salary.

You haven’t screwed up or positioned yourself out of the market forever. You’ll just need to think through the competitiveness of the industries you’re interested in, what your school’s career center can offer you, and you may need to go back to school. That’s ok - lots of people have this same realization. And if you love to write, then you should write! But if you are struggling to get paid for your writing, then find a day job that allows you to write for you. That doesn’t mean that your writing will never be able to pay the bills. But I can guarantee you that you’ll write much better with a roof over your head, a full belly, and without the stressors of constant financial insecurity.

English major here! I graduated towards the end of the Great Recession, so finding a job was incredibly challenging for everyone but engineers, computer science and business majors. I knew it was going to be tough to find something with my degree, but I also knew grad school of some sort was in my future because I really liked school.

I got a job in loss prevention 4 months after graduation. My job required me to conduct policy audits and review video in an effort to find employee theft. I found that i liked the analysis and application of company policy to specific scenarios a lot, but there wasn't much room for creativity in my writing. I knew loss prevention wasn't going to be a forever thing but my work experience encouraged me to go to law school. It was something I'd always enjoyed but it wasn't necessarily a career I saw myself in for a number of reasons.

I went to school at night while working full time. Right around graduation, I was laid off due to a restructuring of my role and the pandemic. I was able to network into a different role in HR (employee relations), which I ended up really liking. It still required me to use my investigation and analytical skills and the problems it presented were really interesting.

When i finally was able to get a job as an attorney, I knew i was exactly where I was meant to be. The job is incredibly frustrating and challenging, but most of that at this stage of my career is due to my own inexperience. The structure of this industry disuncentivises more experienced attorneys from spending the time necessary to sufficiently mentor the next generation while also demanding perfection from a new attorney on day 1. I knew this going in and I'm doing to best I can to get through it.

My advice: don't stick to writing roles just because you think you're an english major and that's what you should do. A career is long and not as straightforward as it was for older generations. Don't be afraid to branch out and try new things. You never know what you're going to end up liking and where life is going to take you. Your ability to analyze complex materials and synthesize that information is useful in a wide variety of industries. It's really hard to get an employer to see that at first, but you only need one company to say yes and offer you a job.

I was an English major too! 🙋‍♂️

A liberal arts degree will not prepare you for your first job. It’ll make you better at your third job. That’s because it teaches you critical thinking, skepticism, and how to account for what you can’t measure.

Unfortunately, you need at least one good, marketable skill to get your career going. For me, that was technical writing (not really repeatable in the age of AI). For you, it can be anything that builds off your strengths. Pick a few skills out of job descriptions you find interesting and find a way to learn those skills (through free online courses, volunteer opportunities, master’s programs, or whatever you have the resources for). You don’t need to make a career out of those skills, it’s just what gets the ball rolling. Your career will be a game of constant self-reinvention, but unlike someone who whose education was more practical, that game is exactly what you’ve prepared for.

You and your English degree are sorely needed; some written content makes my head hurt reading it.

Struggle now or struggle later

Love your perspective! You’re absolutely right. It does only take one yes. That’s easy to forget!

I am sorry but just having a degree has not opened up doors for the past 50+ years as experience is actually more important than having a degree yet so many have been blinded by that myth.
What have you done for work in the past? What skills do you have? I would look at how your past experiences and skills can transition into roles especially since now the employees are being treated as transactional by employers and only care about what results we can provide for them NOW rather than spending much or anytime with training and development.
I would make sure that you customize your resume(s) to the roles you are looking at landing, make sure that your resume can pass through the AI / ATS programs companies use to filter their applications, set up profiles on job boards making it visible for employers to see, apply on both job boards and company websites (more an emphasis on the company website applying), set up a LinkedIn account (if you do not have one and want to) with your resume and made visible as well for employers to contact you, watch what you post and have posted on any social media account you have, network, look into possible volunteering for now, and keep applying as there are jobs out there and employers hiring although there are thousands of people looking for work as well and more soon to be laid off in this bad job market and economy. For one job there might be hundreds of resumes that recruiters have to go through plus most recruiters are working on several roles to fill.
You also should consider that there are many people out there who have yet to recover from 9/11, the Great Recession, and COVID.

Additional options to consider are proposal writing and teaching English overseas. Big difference between the two, but an English degree is suited to both.