The time that you will spend studying literature– investigating and analyzing and debating its values and forms– is in many ways its own reward. And luckily for all of us, employers know better than anyone just how valuable that reward is.
Research from the fields of business, policy, government, education, administration, and even medicine has convincingly shown the marketability of the skills acquired in an English degree. Literary study equips students with advanced skills in communication, persuasion, and presentation; high-level experience in the research, analysis, and evaluation of complex information; innovative and creative problem-solving; and the ability “to play” with “big concepts” in a productive and disciplined way. As the world of work changes almost by the day, employers increasingly prefer lively, creative, and adaptable employees over ones with specific and often short-lived vocational skills.
An undergraduate degree in English can also serve as a strong foundation for post-graduate qualifications in law, management, information studies, and other professional fields. Recent graduates in English from the University of Ottawa have pursued successful careers in publishing, journalism, public relations, advertising, web design, museums and archives, education, human resources, commerce, and law.
Want Innovative Thinking? Hire from the Humanities. Harvard Business Review, March 31, 2011
