What Can You Do with an English Degree?
Are you a master of words with a passion for communication and literature? Then an English degree could be your ticket to a fulfilling and diverse career! From teaching to journalism and everything in-between, there are several ways to use your English degree across a variety of industries.
List of the Top 40 English Careers & Salaries
Many career paths can be pursued after you have successfully completed an English degree program. To help you understand the broad scope of the English field, we have put together the following table that highlights 40 popular English career choices as well as their median annual salary.
| Job Title | Job Summary |
Median Salary |
| Magazine Publisher | Oversees marketing, research, design, and content for their magazine publication. |
$101,021 |
| Newspaper Publisher | Managerial position that works to ensure that the style and content of their publication is correct. |
$90,201 |
| Project Manager, Information Technology | Plans IT related projects within an organization and ensures they are executed efficiently. |
$84,797 |
| Director of Publications | Oversees the publication department of an organization to ensure that all content meets strict style and formatting standards. |
$81,907 |
| Technical Publications Manager | Specialist in the technical writing field that is responsible for managing an organization’s technical writing projects. |
$77,910 |
| Proposal Manager | Spearheads the development of a marketing strategy and oversees all of a company’s proposals. |
$77,078 |
| Associate Publisher | Responsible for many administrative tasks associated with the publishing of newspapers, magazines, books, or websites. |
$72,649 |
| Marketing Communications Manager | Oversees the marketing of a business or brand with a focus on brand awareness. |
$63,098 |
| Marketing Manager | Oversees and creates various advertising or merchandising sales campaigns for a business. |
$61,253 |
| Content Strategist | Responsible for developing a business’s plan for content and overseeing the execution of the strategy. |
$60,426 |
| Communications Manager | Works with a company’s clientele and various departments to facilitate internal and external cooperation. |
$59,314 |
| Web Developer | Works with designers and content producers to generate websites for a company. |
$55,964 |
| Managing Editor | Works in publication and is responsible for overseeing the publishing process from start to finish. |
$55,884 |
| Web Content Manager | Responsible for establishing and maintaining an organization’s website publication strategy. |
$55,404 |
| Technical Writer | Responsible for writing instructional manuals and other documents to communicate complex, technical information. |
$55,069 |
| Sales Account Manager | Oversees and maintains the various individual and business accounts of an organization. |
$54,566 |
| Writer/Author | Writes books, websites, manuals, or other creative works either as independent contractors or for an organization. |
$51,734 |
| Executive Assistant | Provides administrative and clerical support to upper-level management within a company. |
$50,390 |
| Human Resources (HR) Generalist | Assists managers in an organization with making decisions that relate to human resources. |
$49,895 |
| Marketing Communications Specialist | Writes, develops, and designs presentations that assist a company in presenting their interests to the outside world. |
$48,791 |
| Business Writer | Works for a business to create written content in the form of blogs, articles, and web or creative content. |
$48,143 |
| Editor | Assists writers in refining their styles and correcting grammatical errors to prepare a work for publication. |
$47,819 |
| Communications Specialist | Manages a business’s internal and external communications through the design of effective copy. |
$47,584 |
| Publications Editor | Oversees the style and content of hard-copy, distributed journals and periodicals. |
$46,385 |
| High School Teacher | Provides English instruction to students in a public or private high school setting. |
$45,889 |
| Copywriter | Works in advertising to create persuasive ads and other written material for their employers. |
$45,648 |
| English Language/Literature Teacher, Postsecondary | Works within a college or university setting to develop effective lesson plans and instruct students in language and literature. |
$44,546 |
| English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher | Typically works in countries where people are raised in non-English speaking homes in order to help them understand, read, and write English. |
$44,357 |
| Office Manager | Uses communication skills to efficiently manage the daily operations of a business’s office. |
$43,485 |
| Publicist | Responsible for managing a variety of duties that ensure their organization is portrayed in a positive public light. |
$43,466 |
| Associate Editor | Works under an editor to ensure that written content fits within an organization’s style and standards. |
$42,391 |
| Blogger | Creates engaging blog content as an integral part of a company’s social media outreach program. |
$41,567 |
| English Teacher/Tutor (Vocational) | Develops instructional material and works with students to master goals surrounding the education of English language. |
$40,983 |
| Communications Coordinator | Manages an organization’s marketing communications both inside and outside the business. |
$40,170 |
| English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher | Teaches students who are not native speakers the art of English language. |
$39,956 |
| Newspaper Editor | Adheres to strict formatting standards to review, rewrite, and edit the work of writers for newspaper publications. |
$39,684 |
| Freelance Writer | Independent contractor that works with a variety of organization’s to create engaging, relevant content. |
$38,782 |
| Journalist | Carries out research to create news articles that may be published in a variety of media formats. |
$38,095 |
| Reporter | Investigates and writes news stories that cover regional and world events. |
$37,596 |
| Administrative Assistant | Employed in a variety of industries and is responsible for handling administrative tasks for employees. |
$37,006 |
*Data provided by Payscale.com and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
What can you do with an English Degree?
As you can see from the table above, an English degree offers a far-reaching skillset that can be used in a variety of fields. From business marketing and publicity to content development or teaching, there are many different options to choose from after you have mastered the English language.
The salaries above show a pay range from around $37,000 per year to six-figure salaries. While all of the occupations listed have pay rates above the national average, working in the highest paying English careers typically require years of experience and advanced education within the field. Based upon your skillset and experience, you may make more or less than the average salaries shown above through the course of your career journey.
What is an English Degree?
Throughout an English degree program, you will learn the skills necessary to effectively utilize the English language through various forms of written and oral communication. Many English degrees also cover literature throughout the course of history to provide students with a broad foundation for understanding the nuances of the language.
Many students pursue a degree in this field to work towards a career in teaching. However, there are numerous career paths available beyond teaching English classes, including work within the business field, technology, and publication. In a typical bachelor’s English degree programs you can expect to courses that cover problem solving and critical thinking, oral communication, literature, and in-depth writing skills.
If you would like to specialize in a specific English topic, many colleges offer a variety of concentrations within the degree program that include:
- Creative Writing
- Cultural Studies
- Film and Media
- Literature
- Linguistics
- Writing and Rhetoric
If you need more flexibility in your schedule than a traditional degree program offers, you are in luck! Several top-tier colleges offer online english degree programs to help adult students balance the demands of career or family obligations.
English Career Outlook
Due to an English degree offering such broad career opportunities, it helps to look at the specific career outlooks to understand the projected trends for each occupation. Reputable sources, such as the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), are an excellent starting point for researching the specifics of the career you hope to pursue.
Overall, the job outlook for various English-based careers is on par with the national average across all occupations. For example, the BLS estimates that jobs within Communications and Media will experience a 4% growth between 2014 and 2024 – which is above the national average. Additionally, writers and teachers are projected to have 2% and 6% growth respectively. This positive growth outlook for English careers is largely due to the advancement of technology within the business world and the multitude of new ways that organizations must use to deliver their messages to the public.
When pursuing a degree in English, you have a number of career opportunities available to you depending upon your interests and specialization. Whether you enjoy the fast-paced environment of the corporate world or have dreams of publishing your own novel, an English degree is a solid choice to give you a leg up in the competitive modern job market.
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