Advice for English Majors

I hope this helps anyone who wanted to know a little more!
goodreads: / elizabeth
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xoxo Elizabeth

[@sandramiksawrites]

I've been lying to myself all my high school years thinking I'll go into sciences and now, on my last year of high school. It hit me. No matter how much it will disappoint my parents, I always wanted to become an English major. I kept telling myself oh it's fine I could minor in English while I major in sciences and what not. Bullshit I can not stand sciences and math. Gosh I don't even want to start about math. Anyways my point is thank you so much for your video it helped a lot! I'm definitely going to major in English. Reading and writing is all I ever wanted to do!

[@ElizabethhReads]

College is about exploring what YOU want to do with your life. Most schools make you take general education credits so you'll have to take some math and science courses, maybe that will appease your parents. But your education and experience at college isn't about them, it's about you. Congratulations on standing up for what you want and good luck!

[@pipsqueak110]

I just started college about a month ago and since junior year in high school I was 100% sure I wanted to be a nurse but nope thats not me. On the other hand I hated english in high school it was that one class that I barely passed every year and now in college its my fave. It's a 4 hour class but it feels like 2 hours max because I enjoy it that much.... so dont worry about your parents college is about you and finding yourself I'm sure your parents wouldnt want you to be unhappy with your major/job

[@sandramiksawrites]

pipsqueak110 Thank you so much for the reassurance!

[@Moon-pm6wr]

That is literally my lifestory...

[@chaeriplease]

sandraisbooked wow. WOW. This is like 100% me.

[@helvinumayam8703]

Thanks for the great advise !!! i'm english major and i'm a freshmen student.. aa really helpful advise elizabeth .. by the way i'm filipino .. :)

[@ElizabethhReads]

Thank you! Yeah, I work at a bakery right now but I just had an interview for a creative writing position so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[@librarian.ink.]

Great advice!!! Thanks!

[@AlyElise]

Awesome video, really helpful! I want a creative writing major soooo..tons of coffee shop working haha

[@jquint321]

She is so right on the peer review process. I wonder how she is doing now and what her chosen profession is.

[@ElizabethhReads]

Hi Joseph, thanks for watching my video! I can't believe it's still getting comments 4 years later. I actually just graduated law school and start at a firm next week! So I'm a little further away from my english degree than I originally planned but I think it's going pretty well. =)

[@laprechaun12]

I got a question. You said that you were having trouble finding a job after graduation. Did you know what you wanted to do after graduation? I'm an English major as well and I got a solid goal of what I want to do with this major, and to defend myself from those "offensive" responses.

[@ElizabethhReads]

No, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I thought maybe going to grad school or working in the publishing world. I actually just started law school, so obviously that changed. What do you want to do with it? I'm always intrigued with what others do with their English degrees because the answers are always so varying!

[@laprechaun12]

Elizabeth K Sorry...I got that mixed up. I been thinking of continuing my English major, but have a concentration in literature or creative writing. Which one do you think would help the most for a prospective job to copy editing? I been thinking of being a copy editor for a while...

[@ElizabethhReads]

laprechaun12 I honestly couldn't tell you for certain which one would be "better." Personally, I think both could help in different ways. I never wanted to be a copy editor so I really don't know much about it. I would talk to a professor or even try to get into contact with someone who already is a copy editor (or higher) and see what they did to get where they are.

[@leigh7029]

You'll want to be good with programs like incopy and indesign, literature will help immensely with developmental editing, for the other two types of editing, line editing, and copy editing good grammar and understanding syntax and diction will only help you. I'm a lit major myself we literally direct the books themes what motivate the character why the did that, plot holes, all sorts of stuff that really helps you break down the book and analyze it. I don't exactly know what creative writing does for you. Also there are you tubers whom are editors so I'd ask them

[@bloppyvenn]

Hey Elizabeth! Thanks for the great tips! I'm deciding whether or not to major in English. I would love to but I have major doubts in my skills, especially in essay writing. I find it difficult to express my ideas, in an original way. Which makes essay writing very time consuming. Also, I keep comparing myself to other people who are so much better at English. Did you deal with this type of anxiety? And should i let this put me off from studying English? Thanks!

[@ElizabethhReads]

I think a lot of people have that kind of problem when they first start trying to find ideas for essay but I really don't think that should stop you from studying the subject. Most of the time, at least for me, in lower level course the professor are very explicit in their explanations of what they want for an essay. Also, if your essays are research papers, you don't necessarily need an original idea, just a new take on an old one because you need to have sources that say what you're trying to say to back you up. And, a lot of the time if you need to write about a novel, you'll be able to get ideas during class discussions. If any of that doesn't work, English profs are usually very easy to talk to. More than once when I was having issues with a paper I'd bring a draft to the prof's office hours and they are more than happy to help you. I hope that helped!

[@bloppyvenn]

Thank you so much for such a thorough answer! I really appreciate it. :)