Considering changing my major.

billwill

I have about three semesters left on my current degree in humanities. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but not much anymore, and I'm worried that whatever job I'll be able to get I won't enjoy.

I've always loved writing, so I'm thinking about switching to English, and then maybe pursuing a MFA in creative writing. I'm also interested in journalism, and I'm fine with staying in school for an extra year or so.

Any advice on what I should do? Should I finish my current degree and then pursue one in English? Or should I switch now?

Thanks.

acadia

Switch while you're still in college. I know it seems like an enormous change now, but it will be even harder once you've already got a degree under your belt. "I've already gone to college, I'll go back in a few years" turns into "a few more years" every few years. Do it now. DO IT.

MAYBE.

Straygatsby

I would finish your degree and use the time you have left to really focus in on a graduate program you like (if you end up wanting to pursue something like an MFA). A few years out, that BA in Humanities and English and many other undergrad degrees all look and act the same.

Thundyrkatz

What do you plan to do when you graduate? Do you have a career path that you are exploring r are you hoping it will all work out when the time comes?

Will having an English degree, and perhaps an MFA in creative writing enhance your prospects of finding a career that you enjoy? More so then your almost finished humanities degree?

What would be the cost of switching? is it the matter of a few more classes? or would you have to stay for a while longer? Could you get a minor in English or creative writing instead?

Speaking as someone who graduated with a teaching degree in social studies, with no desire to teach. And worse no idea what i was going to do once i graduated, it was a painful several years before i found a decent job.

Any degree is better then no degree, but unless you have a clear plan of what you will be doing with your degree. prolonging the process is only adding to your student loan burden.

Unless you are one of the fortunate few that has no student loans.. in which case, forget everything i said and stay in college! Its a lot more fun then it is out here.

Darkewolfe

Your internships, post-graduate employment and contacts will mean infinitely more than whatever degree you graduated with.

Do not get a journalism degree or creative writing program/degree. Work is nearly impossible to get in those fields, having the degree doesn't really help you get that work anyway and they're really just "generic BA #7" degrees that will be completely interchangeable with every other degree no one really cares about. The main value to getting a journalism degree in the first place is all the networking you do with professionals while earning it, and you'll have missed out on a lot of that by switching into the program late.

Kirbith

Something to look into would definitely be how many credit hours you have now that would transfer if you switched to say, English. Also then how many credits you would have to get for that major after what would transfer from your current major. A minor is always something to look into if it would take too long to finish with a major switch.

Althusser

billwill wrote: »

I have about three semesters left on my current degree in humanities. I enjoyed it in the beginning, but not much anymore, and I'm worried that whatever job I'll be able to get I won't enjoy.

I've always loved writing, so I'm thinking about switching to English, and then maybe pursuing a MFA in creative writing. I'm also interested in journalism, and I'm fine with staying in school for an extra year or so.

Any advice on what I should do? Should I finish my current degree and then pursue one in English? Or should I switch now?

Thanks.

An English degree will train you in critical theory and close reading and won't give you much practice writing creatively, unless you're in a special program. If you want to get better at writing just do it in your free time and submit articles to journals or websites. Literally nothing is stopping you. Start making contacts. Don't get an MFA unless you get it funded. An English degree won't help you get into a good MFA program and as far as the job search, the resume you've built around the degree is what's going to get you a job so if you're not already using your free time to work towards a job you might enjoy (i.e. doing some kind of extra curricular activity, publishing something), you're not going to get that kind of job whatever that may be.

Definitely don't pursue a second bachelor's, if that's what you were implying with your last question. Change your major if the English literature curriculum is more interesting to you because those two degrees will be completely interchangeable for your stated purposes, but don't stay an extra year if you can help it. Journalism undergraduate education is mind-numbing, and journalism jobs (if you can find one, which you probably can't) will involve more "reporting" than writing, i.e. interviewing and tirelessly researching and assembling that data into a top-down pyramid article structure.

ED!

Straygatsby wrote: »

I would finish your degree and use the time you have left to really focus in on a graduate program you like (if you end up wanting to pursue something like an MFA). A few years out, that BA in Humanities and English and many other undergrad degrees all look and act the same.

Definitely agree with this. Most graduate programs will accept you under the condition that you meet certain deficiencies in time. A degree in humanities is not so far and away from a skillset needed to succeed in an English program; I say if you plan on immediately transitioning to graduate school - to finish the degree, and start planning for English programs post-BA.

EggyToast

I personally think humanities and English are closely related enough that you should consider a double major. Which means you should talk to an advisor.

A double major is going to be more attractive to potential employers, academic programs, etc., even if it takes you another year of school to meet the requirements.

I don't think with 3 semesters left it's worth switching, although the bulk of classes for most degrees is in the last 2 years so it wouldn't be unheard of.

An MFA will get you much closer to actually writing as a job, although you may want to worry about that after being out of school for a while. Depends greatly on the actual type of writing we're talking about.

Toldo

What are your plans after college? If you're going to grad school, perhaps for journalism, a "broad" degree like Humanities--or English--can actually come in handy. Think of it as gaining knowledge in a general area before picking an area of specialization in grad school. Uh, if you're planning on going to grad school, of course.

BobCesca

Caveat to start: I am not by any means an expert in the US HE system.

However, I am guessing you have now completed over half your degree, and at this point it seems pointless to me to switch to a different subject. The humanities give you a great grounding in critical thinking as well as social and cultural issues which would help with any kind of journalism career if that's the route you wish to pursue. Further, I am sure that given a good enough portfolio you would be in a good position to apply for graduate courses if that's what you have your heart set on.

Personally, as much as I am an advocate for "useless" degrees (I am currently working towards a PhD in classics), your hopes for employment are better, IMO, with a humanities degree than with one in English (not to say an English degree is bad, because it isn't, but employers sometimes don't actually understand what goes into a degree and while humanities subjects are seen as critical and evaluative, there is still a lot of prejudice where an English degree is basically seen as having read some books).

I definitely would not consider doing a second BA, and, as I have noted above, it may well be superfluous in terms of entry requirements for graduate programmes you may wish to apply for.

I honestly think that the best thing for you to do is to talk to whatever the US Uni equivalent is of a personal tutor. You should also investigate entry requirements for graduate programmes you are interested in, and also perhaps talk to the careers service at your Uni.

finral

This is coming from a science major, so take it with a grain of salt. My impression from many of the English and Lit majors I have known is that it is not a helpful degree to have when it comes to getting a job or starting a career. All the people I know that went through an English program are still having trouble finding work, or are working in teaching. I would think that writing is something you would be able to pursue without an English degree.

minirhyder

I don't know a thing about humanities or English majors, having a BS in Applied Mathematics.
But I will tell you one thing - being an undergrad is a great time to change your major. It's a time when you're free to take any classes you want (more or less) and going in between majors is very, very common. And like some have mentioned you can double major or make one or the other a minor.

You don't want to be in your graduate or professional career regretting not taking advantage of the freedoms undergraduate education gives you.
Take it from someone who's there right now.