What Can I do With a Degree in English?

Career Center Library Resources

The Career Center Library has a variety of resources to help students explore potential career fields. These resources include information about typical responsibilities, qualifications, career paths, job outlook, salary, and related careers.

Books Specifically Related to English Majors

• 100 Jobs in Words
• Career Opportunities for Writers
  
• Career Opportunities in the Publishing Industry
  
• Careers for Bookworms & other Literary Types
  
• Careers for Writers and Others who have a Way with Words
• Careers in Advertising
• Making Money in Technical Writing
• Opportunities in Fund-Raising Careers
  
• Opportunities in Publishing Careers
  
• Real People Working in Communications
• Top Careers for Communications Graduates
  
• What Can you do with a Major in English? Real People. Real Jobs. Real Rewards
  
• Writer's Market
  
• A Guide to Professional Development for Graduate Students in English
• Careers in Focus: Public Relations
  

Vocational Biographies

Vocational Biographies describes the career success stories of 1001 real people. Search by career title, keyword, topic, and career cluster. Username: portland su and pass code: 3w9n

Professional Associations

• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• American Society of Indexers
• American Society of Indexers — Pacific Northwest Chapter
• Society for Technical Communication (STC)
• Directory of Investigative Journalists
• Public Relations Society of America Portland Metro Chapter
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
• American Library Association (ALA)
• Portland Advertising Federation (PAF)
• American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA)
• The Association for Women in Communications (AWC)

Internet Sites with Career-Related Information for English Majors

• What Can I do with a Major in...English — Lists potential job titles. From the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina.
• English — Lists potential job titles and related skills. From the University Career and Employment Services at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
• College Majors and Career Opportunities — English — Lists related occupations and types of employers. From Career Services, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
• What Can I do with a Major in...English — Lists and describes job titles related to English majors. From the Career Exploration Center at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
• Some Answers to the Eternal Question: What can I do with an English Major? — From the Department of English, Albion College, Albion, Michigan.
• Writers and Editors, Including Technical Writers — From the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations Managers — From the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• Public Relations Specialists — From the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• News Analysts, Reporters, and Correspondents — From the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• English: What Can I Do With This Major? — Outlines common career areas, identifies typical employers, and suggests general strategies to enhance employability. From Career Services at the University of Tennessee.
• Broadcasting: What Can I Do With this Major? — Outlines common career areas, identifies typical employers, and suggests general strategies to enhance employability. From Career Services at the University of Tennessee.
• Journalism: What Can I Do With This Major? — Outlines common career areas, identifies typical employers, and suggests general strategies to enhance employability. From Career Services at the University of Tennessee.

Internet Sites with Job Search Information for English Majors

• Job Announcements — From Investigative Reporters and Editors, "a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting within the field of journalism."
• NewsLink — Searchable database of jobs from the American Journalism Review.
• Advertising & Media Job Openings
• TVJOBS — Broadcast Employment Services maintains list of broadcasting-related jobs.

Places of Employment

English majors may find employment in a variety of areas depending on their skills and experience. Some English graduates choose to work in writing-related fields including journalism, technical writing, publishing, public relations, and advertising as well as nonwriting-related careers. Career-related internships or part-time jobs are often a prerequisite to finding professional-level employment after graduation in these and other fields.

The following list of employers and job titles was derived primarily from the Career Center's jobs database where the employer specifically requested English majors. This list does not reflect all potential places of employment or kinds of jobs for English majors. This list does not reflect current openings.

• 10x Media — Content Writer
  
• Abbottsfield Industrial Training — Editor
• Axium — Technical Writer/Instructional Designer
  
• Basic Rights Oregon — Communications Coordinator
• BootsnAll Travel Network — World Cup Blog Soccer Reporter
  
• BrainChild Education Center — English Tutor
• Business Education Compact (BEC) — Technical Writer
• CBS Radio — Morning Show Producer
  
• CH2M Hill — Technical Publishing Specialist 3, Junior Editor
  
• City of Seattle — Sound Transit
  
• Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission — Public Information Specialist
  
• Comcast Corporation — Marketing Coordinator
  
• Community Oregon — Program and Outreach Coordinator
• Daedalus Fine Books — Book Cataloguer
• Evergreen Engineering — Technical Writer
  
• Evergreen State College — Publications Manager
• expresscopy.com — Technical Writer
  
• Farmers Insurance Group — Financial and Insurance Services Professional
• Freightliner LLC — Service Documentation Specialist
  
• Group Mackenzie — Marketing Assistant
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — Internal Revenue Officer
  
• i-OP, Inc. — Project Manager
  
• KOIN-TV — Web Writer, News Intern, News Producer
• KPIC TV 4 — Entry Level Commercial Producer
  
• Kramer Gehlen & Associates, Inc. — Marketing Production Assistant
• LaCie Limited — Technical Writer
  
• Lakeside School — Communications Director
• Lane Education Service District — Grant Specialist
• League of Oregon Cities — Staff Associate
  
• Lebanon Community School District — Director of Communications
• LivePDX.com — Editorial Intern
  
• Loaves & Fishes Centers, Inc. — Director of Marketing & Communications
• MacKenzie Marketing Group — Marketing Intern
  
• McKenzie River Trust — Director of Resources
• Meredith Corporation — Writer, News Reporter
  
• Metro/MERC — Senior Public Relations Coordinator
  
• Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) — Developmental Writing Instructor
  
• Multnomah County Sheriff's Office — Deputy Sheriff
• Nautilus Group — Technical Report Writer
  
• Northwest Evaluation Association — Client Technical Support Specialist
  
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) — Development and Research Assoicate
• Oregon Business Magazine — Journalism Internship
  
• Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) — Agreement Specialist
  
• One Economy Corporation —Web Content Writer/Editor
• Oregon Guide — Fact Checker
• Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division — Editor-Archives Division
• Oregon State Bar — CLE Publications Manager
  
• Oregon State University — Marketing Writer
  
• Oregonian, The — Advertorial Assistant
  
• Pacific Crest Securities — Research Editor
  
• Portland Art Museum — Public Relations and Marketing Assistant
  
• Portland Community College (PCC) — Grants Officer
• Portland Development Commission (PDC) — Communications Production Coordinator
• Portland State University Business Accelerator — Marketing Internship
  
• Quango Design + Marketing — Proofreader/Writer
  
• Raphael House of Portland — Project Coordinator
  
• Research Data Design — Data Specialist/Editor
• Respond2 Communications, Inc. — Creative Writer in the Creative Department
  
• R.V. Kuhns & Associates — Administrative Assistant
  
• SAIF Corporation — Publications Editor
  
• Statesman Journal — Copy Editor II, Reporter I
  
• Teach Abroad — English Teacher
  
• TriMet — Public Information Representative, Marketing Communications Coordinator
  
• University of Oregon — Development Assistant - UO Libraries
  
• US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) — Office Automation Clerk
• US Department of Veterans Affairs — Management Analyst
• Vital Technical Marketing, Inc. — Public Relations Account Coordinator

Miscellaneous

• Publishers Marketing Association (PMA) Affiliate Organizations — PMA is a trade association of independent publishers. Provides a list of regional publishing associations. PMA — Membership Directory — Search membership directory of independent publishers by name or by category, i.e., children's, trade, self-help, education, parenting, etc.
• AcqWeb's Directory of Publishers and Vendors
• Publishing Organizations in North America
• The World Wide Web Virtual Library: Publishers

Department of English - Portland State University