What jobs can you do with an english degree ??

[nutcracker]

I am currently doing an access to health careers course with a view to doing a nursing degree. I'm having to do english as part of the course and the teacher has said that i'm very good at it and had i ever tought about doing an english degree. I have, but i don't want to do teaching but what else can you do with it ?????? (when he said i was good at it he obviously didn't mean my punctuation)

An English degree is a well-respected academic degree. It's not so much a question of what jobs directly relate to your degree, but having one will help you get pretty much any "graduate" job because it shows you can think your way around problems, stick at something for 3 years, work on your own initiative etc, etc. This is true of most degree subjects (although some subjects like Media Studies attract a lot of cynicism and prejudice so may not be quite so helpful).

As far as I know English is particularly helpful for careers in:

advertising
PR
journalism
TV research (at least all my friends with English degrees do this)

But really what I'm trying to say is that any degree is likely to help almost any career. I for example have a degree in Linguistics but I work as a programmer - no direct relation at all but I do use the research/thinking skills I learnt on my degree course. So ignore the reports about millions of graduates working in crappy jobs (true of recent grads, yes, but every single graduate I know had a decent career type job within 2 years of finishing) and do what you think you will enjoy most.

IME pretty much anything, except strongly vocational stuff like medicine, but it depends whether your interest is strong enough to make it worthwhile. I thought mine was but in the end I wasn't really cut out to enjoy it fully or to produce consistent essays for 3 years. Also an English degree is pretty broad and the courses vary a lot - mine was primarily literature based but I also had the opprotunity to take courses in drama and linguistic subjects. If however your skill is in Creative Writing then you might want to find something more focussed in that, not necessarily a degree course.

In itself it doesn't automatically open any doors - even to teach you'd have to study further - so you are looking at quite a significant time commitment. I ended up in Retailing but also had A level in Maths which helped there.

good luck

nutcracker, I'm a journalist (radio) and did an english degree. these days I'd advise anyone who wants to get into my profession though to specialise early eg languages or science because it's so competitive.

Well thanx for the replies, ill give it some serious thought.

I did an English degree and loved it but IMO it's probably one of the least 'directional' degrees you can do - i.e. as LIZS says it's good for lots of things except the obvious stuff like law, medicine, etc. So, in fact, it might be a good idea if you are still unsure about which direction you want to go in but also want to demonstrate a certain level of academic ability.

Having said that, I went down a fairly traditional route and ended up in publishing (editorial) and have also done some journalism. I did do a postgrad diploma in publishing though, because it's such a competitive industry, but an English degree is very respectable springboard for lots of jobs.

Agree that with English you could do pretty much anything, it's just that if you wanted to do professional type qualifications after (e.g. law) the training might take longer.

Senior admin jobs might be an idea, the starting pay would be better than nursing!

You can be an accountant working as an IT manager for an investment bank in the City. Actually my degree is English and American literature.

Surely NPG you need a pretty good qualification in maths to be an accountant though ?? My maths is truely terrible

I've got O-level Maths - but you have to pass some v. tough exams and they are much easier if you have done higher maths before.

You can do anything or nothing! I am a journalist, but don't think my degree helps me at all, actually. Agree with SP, do it if you want to do it, not as a means to an end.
Nutcracker, one of my friends did an English degree with me and she is an accountant. She was good at maths though, unlike me!

i'm a community worker - where my degree is only used in writing numerous reports and filling in govt funding applications using the exclusive language the Govt seems to love

sorry mentioned the govt - and just had to rant - its like hearing water and having to pee.

I did Business, then Biology, and I work in finance...
English degree will take you pretty much anywhere
Except nuclear physicist - you need a science qualification for that!!!!!!

I did Timber/ Wood Science and when applying for all sorts of jobs, after I finished the subject didn't seem to matter so much as my motivation towards the position I was applying for. A degree shows initiative, ability to solve problems, so was a step further forward than if hadn't done it but you really could do absolutely anything if you know what you want(I still don't), even if you wanted to do medicine, you probably could with a lot of hard work....an old affirmation I learnt in a sales job was "What the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve" (so true)...Keep trying

I know English graduates who have done the following:
Civil Service
Teaching
Computer programming
IT Consultancy
IT Systems analyst

As others have said before a degree (any degree) opens the door to numerous careers in companies with with graduate entry schemes

I ended up as a journalist.

Do it if you're interested in the subject - I loved my degree, so much that I did an MA as well.