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The fact of the matter is that our world is rapidly changing. Whereas at one time there was a great need for professors in English and other areas in the Humanities such as History, today there is a shortage of faculty positions, especially for those with advanced degrees in the field. However, the good news is that there are many jobs available to English majors beyond just teaching.

English majors have many options in terms of career. For example, there is a strong market for technical writers. Technical writers provide documentation for various technical procedures, or for specifications on various equipment. Technical writers may, for example, write a training manual for a real estate agent class, or they may write an instruction book on how to maintain a lawn mower.

There are also many jobs available in the copywriting area. Copywriting refers, in the most narrow sense, to writing "copy," which is the text used in advertising. So, a copywriter might work for an advertising agency and design the text to be used in a magazine ad. A copywriter might work on the Internet and write sales pages. A copywriter might be responsible for writing the text in a product brochure.

Editing jobs are also available to English major, as are jobs in quality assurance. Every time someone writes something for print publication, there is usually someone else who has to look at that writing, check it for errors, and make suggestions for improvements. Editing jobs give the English major the opportunity to do just that.

There are also plenty of writing jobs in the small business world, as well. In fact, many writers work as freelance writers, essentially function as their own small business. They might write for a magazine one day, a web page the next, and do some copywriting on the third day. Really, the sky is the limit when it comes to freelance writing jobs available to English majors.

So, the next time you tell someone that your major is English and they tease you about having a career in fast food, send them to this article so they can see the many options available to you.

Learn more about this author, John W. Paulus.
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