At my writer’s group this week, a college-bound girl asked the crew about choosing a degree. She loved to write, but she wasn’t sure if she should major in English or something else. I remember wearing those shoes a long time ago. There’s more than one path to a fulfilling life of writing.
The Pros of Earning an English/Writing Degree
I’m friends with a number of people who’ve graduated from an English/Writing program or have earned an MFA, and we’ve had similar experiences. Students dive into the writing craft, workshop a lot of papers, and get a fantastic overview of different career avenues for writers from technical to creative writing.
Studying language roots in linguistics fascinated me. College was beneficial and fun because I was able to excel at what I loved most. After graduation, there wasn’t a one-size-fits-all career path, and there certainly wasn’t guaranteed employment in my field. It’s a unique degree.
The Pros of Earning a Different Degree
When you love to crunch numbers, create new food combinations, and enjoy writing, then how do you choose a major? Every person is unique, and writing is a beautiful art that doesn’t need an English major for success. If you love the culinary arts, you can fuse that into writing by blogging about meal-related topics, write children’s books that have fun with food, create a cookbook, or invent a new avenue that combines writing, cabbage, and coconuts.
You won’t just have writing opportunities, you will have a “niche market” with expertise in your non-writing field. I have a friend who majored in business, and she’s a writer. It’s easy for her to see the business-side of marketing her work because it’s already in her toolbox. I fully support expanding your horizons with a degree outside of writing, even if you love to write.
Why I Chose the English/Writing Degree Path
When I walked the halls of my university, I entertained dreams, doubts, and wanted to do it all. Someone in a creative fiction class posed the “to degree or not to degree” question to my professor, and her answer solidified my choice forever. She said this:
Only choose English/Writing for a career if you can’t do anything else.
That sounds bad, but think of it this way: if you wake up wanting to write, dream up stories as your shop for groceries, and keep a pen and paper with you at the beach (for just in case) then you may fall into the fold of writer addicts who can’t do anything else. Getting a degree in writing will not waste your time or money, because it’s not about the time or the money. It’s about what comes to life on the page.
If you choose a different career path and love to write, then never stop writing and please share your work. There are endless benefits to traveling this road. One of the most creative writers I know is the one with the business degree, and the world is a better place because her stories are a part of it. You can check out her blog at questtype.com.
For every banker, hairdresser, rocket scientist, or rock crusher who wants to write: don’t let anything hold you back. It’s your life.
Invent your story.