Careers in English

‘You develop the insight of an artist, the analytical precision of a scientist and the persuasiveness of a lawyer’. Prof. Maureen Moran, Brunel University

Motivation, intelligence, and proven ability to work are all key factors in ensuring you can succeed both in the academic world of study and in the job market. Choosing to study English and English Literature will give you many opportunities to show that you have all of those qualities.

The ability to communicate is also very valuable for almost any sphere of life. Studying English will teach you how to write clearly and effectively as well as developing your spoken communication skills through presentations and discussions.

All that reading is useful, too. Studying English literature teaches you how to analyse complex information with the help of sophisticated ideas and theories. That ability to read, reflect, and critique – and then bring together your conclusions clearly – is essential to many kinds of work – as is the ability to construct and defend an argument.

The analytical and communication abilities that studying English and English Literature provides are called ‘transferable skills’: they’re useful in almost any occupation. When you’re looking for skills to help you make the next step, they’re often the most valuable skills to have.

Because of this flexibility, people who study English up to degree level at university find careers in a wide range of fields, like publishing, teaching, advertising, human resources or management. There are also lots of opportunities for further study and academic work.

The video clip will give you a flavour of some of the thoughts of our students as to why they chose to study English and English Literature at GCSE and A Level.