How can I prepare for a career?
In preparation for life beyond Furman, the Office of Career Services can provide you with an array of services. They can help you assess your skills and career interests, learn job searching strategies, create an effective resume, and polish your interviewing skills. You should be familiar with their website:
http://www2.furman.edu/studentlife/career/Pages/default.aspx
From the Career Services website, you can access Optimalresume.com, which allows you to create a resume, offering a variety of formats. LinkedIn enables you to join a professional networking group, allowing you to contact Furman alumni who are willing to help you in your job search.
What can I do with a major in English?
English majors have a wide range of career options, including but not limited to the following:
The answer to the above question is any career that values insightinto human behavior, effective oral and written communication skills, and theabilities to analyze and synthetize information and to solve problems. Recentcorrespondence with alumni of various ages revealed an intriguing array ofprofessions and activities, including the following:
· A law clerk for a federal judge
· A former Agroforestry Extension Agent in thePeace Corps and now a student in an environmental science and managementgraduate program
· A grant writer for the Red Cross
· CEO and President of a leading manufacturer anddistributor of wood products
· A Teach for America corps member
· A professor of English and American Literatureat Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo
· A senior writer for National Geographic
· A sociology professor with a new book on thelives of former Death Row inmates who were exonerated from crimes
· An English Department chair
· A writer/editor for an Internet marketing firm
· A minister
· An English teacher for Speakers of OtherLanguages
· An owner and manager of a calligraphy company
· A doctor with a neonatal fellowship
· A production editor for Oxford University Press
· An assistant editor of TOWN magazine
Among the more common career options are the following:
Writing & Editing
Interests: Creative Writing, Freelance, Journalism, Technical Writing
Potential employers:
- newspapers
- magazines
- broadcast media
- advertising agencies
- trade, consumer, or professional publications
- government agencies, universities
Publishing
Interests: Editorial, Production, Publicity, Circulation, Advertising
Potential employers:
- special interest magazines
- newspapers, journals
- mass-market paperbacks
- educational and professional book publishers
- associational magazines
- journals
Education
Interests: Teaching, Literacy, English as a Second Language
Potential employers:
- public schools
- private schools
- college and universities
- libraries
- teaching english in foreign cultures
- english
Public Relations
Interests: Research, Media Liaison, Writing/Editing
Potential employers:
- public relation firms
- in-house PR departments
- advertising agencies
- nonprofit organizations
- government agencies
- trade associations
Advertising
Interests: Creative, Media, Research
Potential employers:
- in house advertising agencies within large companies
- advertising agencies
Business/Retailing
Interests: Management, Marketing, Human Relations
Potential employers:
- bookstores
- business organizations
- speacialty chain stores
Useful Sites for Careers with an English Major
Also check out what Furman
alumni have done after graduation.