English-Related Activities and Organizations

As an English major, you bring to the business world many valuable and marketable skills:  the ability to read, understand, analyze, and evaluate texts in a wide variety of genres and styles; the ability to write clear, fluid, precise prose; the ability to think critically and creatively about complex problems; the ability to revise and edit the writing of others; and the ability to tell stories.  As any personnel manager will tell you, such skills are in short supply.  In addition, business in the twenty-first century has become increasingly global, so your exposure to the literatures and cultures of a variety of ethnic groups will give you the multicultural literacy required to succeed in this competitive world. Many CEOs of companies large and small were English majors in college.

Coupled with a major or minor (or even selective coursework) in journalism, an English major will help to prepare you for a lifetime of work as a writer and/or editor.

Nonprofits range from very small to very large, and typically they are the kinds of organizations in which people with talent can quickly move up. The communication skills you develop as an English major prepare you well to contribute substantially to–and even lead–organizations that make our communities better places to live.

Management, law, and many other fields, including medicine, require expert language skills.

Teaching high school English offers you the opportunity to continue to do the things you enjoyed as an English major. You will be able to read and discuss the finest literature. You will be able to instill your love of reading and writing in future generations of young people. English majors with additional background in foreign languages and linguistics may consider teaching English abroad. 

The English major offers exceptional preparation for law school, where skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking are requisite for success. It is also excellent preparation for an M.S. in Library Science, which would lead to a career as a reference librarian in a college or university. If you desire a career as a college English professor, then you should pursue a graduate degree in English. UW Oshkosh English majors have gone on to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Kentucky, The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Wichita State University, and many other institutions, including our own graduate English program.