What's a unique aspect of an undergraduate level degree in English? I've recently been having more and more discussions based on the merit of the degree with people that like to assert having a degree in English is obsolete. Thoughts on this topic based on your own experience /lit/?
>>7997376
It's a useless degree.
But that's true of pretty much any liberal arts degree.
>>7997378
Why is that the case?
>>7997376
lol do STEM xDD
>>7997386
Do it only if you plan on teaching at a university. University professors can make a lot of money if they are good, you also get a lot of time off.
Other than that it's really not any good.
It's a fine degree if you plan on going to law school.
>>7997509
Something tells me you haven't looked into the academic job market. Or are living in some country where it's not completely screwed up, maybe.
>>7997386
Anon probably means it's feck all use in getting a job / making money. Might seem like a restrictive definition of 'useless', but I think if you're starting from the concept of 'use' you're already more than halfway down that road.
>>7997376
It means you will actually learn about books and stop thinking crap like infinite jest and James Joyce are pinnacles of the art form because the words are hard and they are long.
If you've come to a certain premature conclusion on what the concept of "useful/less" means then, as >>7997538 offered, you're going to arrive at a predictably bourgeois conclusion.
What "use" you find in being an arbiter of an enduring form of artistic expression is solely up to you: after all, why do we attempt to convey the plight of humanity for, anyway? Most people probably can't relate and you're a piece of shit for beigng so self-centered anyway. Personally I posit that any attempt at an articulation of the fervor of self should be punishable by death
>>7997386
An English degree won't allow you to get any specific jobs. A STEMlord degree, on the other hand, will.
>>7998052
>An English degree won't allow you to get any specific jobs.
Wait, what about working as editor, translator or in media. Was that all lies?
>>7997376
All these people talking about jobs don't know shit. If you have top grades, an English major can pursue any internship or job that isn't completely STEM oriented, I.e. most of them in fields like banking, consulting and management, not to mention those more closely related to the publishing industry.
Doing a STEM degree because you heard it would get you a job is a bad idea if you're not confident you can crush it. Everybody's jumping on the computer science band wagon at good universities so it's not the kind of golden ticket it used to be, and many other STEM fields like chem and bio have never assured one of impressive employability.
They're just competitive.
>>7997928
no one in academia thinks infinite jest is a masterpiece
everyone in academia thinks joyce is a master, even if they don't necessarily like him personally
>>7999079
This so much.
>>7999110
In my experience, nobody in academia has even read Infinite Jest.
>>7999119
thats partly my point. it's not canon, and probably won't be. it's a "pop" classic.
>>7999035
you dont need an english degree to do those jobs.
it's just they tend not to be particularly well paid so people who can get other jobs go elsewhere, and what remains are the "dregs" left for the english/humanities degree holders.
>>7999122
They teach Wallace in college, but for practical reasons stick to essays and short stories. My school actually had a course on Infinite Jest but that was in the experimental college and not the English department so I have no idea who taught it.
>>7999079
Not to mention that you can major in English and have no trouble going to medical, dental or law school.
>>7997944
>why
>for
>>7997376
I majored in English and it's killed me. The universities are stifling creativity at the moment, it's complete shit.
I have two more papers due in a week and then I'm done. I'm struggling to even start them. I can't wait to get out of here and read.
There is no use in any degree, trust me. I'm sitting in class as I type this post.
>>7999158
based movie!!!!!!!!!!
>>7999158
a degree in petroleum engineering will get you hella $$$
>>7999158
Maybe if you'd payed attention you wouldn't feel that wayyou lazy fuck
>>7999191
>$$$
>useful
>>7999191
go back to 2013
>>7999158
>my 2.4 GPA in Education from a fourth-tier state school isn't making me rich
>university is a scam
>Bernie 2016
>>7999212
My GPA is ~3.88, GPA doesn't mean shit.
>>7999218
>fourth-tier state school
meanwhile the 2.0 gpa art history major from harvard just got 200k job offers from goldman sachs and google :)
>>7997376
It's only really worth doing if you attend at the very least a national top 20 uni
If you took an arts degree, employers most likely care more about what you got or where you attended than what you actually did. The humanities are mad intersectional now so it literally doesn't matter whether you study english, anthropology, history, sociology or whatever, you'll probably still end up talking the same bullshit academic jargon as everyone else
>>7999237
have a good life pal
>>7999079
True, but OP's asking for
>a unique aspect of an undergraduate level degree in English
You can get those jobs with any degree.
the unique aspect of an english degree is you get to read books for a "job," at least for four years or so.
if you truly enjoy literature and literary criticism it's not a bad life. most people do not fall into this category, and especially not on /lit/
>>7997944
Hey mate, quit being such a fucking pretentious sack of shit on 4chan.
>>7999139
>and have no trouble going to medical
that's not true.
while it's doable along with an English major, you definitely need the pre-med courses in order to enroll at a med school
>>8001850
Think you're on the wrong board m80
>>8001866
Premed requirements are like 9 out of thirty-something you'll take in college, and the required courses for any major are going to be about ten, so between premed courses and your English major that's still only two thirds of your classes.
It's a bit of a myth that STEM majors like bio make it easier to get premed stuff done. My school's bio major only demanded 4 out of the nine or ten that you need for premed. At least one semester of English is a premed requirement so it's really not a big deal what you major in.
>>7997376
>what's a unique aspect
It allows you to read literature, and write literature of your own, more than any other major. If that appeals to you, go for it. If your main goal in going to college is to make a fat salary afterwards, don't go for it. But ignore idiots who say things like "an English degree is obsolete." As long as there are people who value good writing, there's value to studying English.
>>7998052
What about translator? Is translating texts and books from your comfy pc just a sweet NEET dream?
>>7999139
>experimental college
Did you go to Tufts by any chance? I go there
>>7997376
Go to trade school instead and get into trades.
>>8004295
I did! Jumbo pride worldwide.
>>8004566
>hey /lit/, I wanna read and write a lot with other people who like to read and write while studying under faculty who have decades of study under their belts
>Nah dude just learn how to do HVAC stuff with high school dropouts who have trouble with the words in Popular Mechanics until your joints give out.
Great advice.
>>8004566
This is the only sane answer.
I got an english major from a good school and it really didn't do me any good on its own,
then I started studying IT, and the english major looks nice on my resume. Not the most useful thing in the world but it tells employers that I can communicate better than their typical H1B hire.
Should I just keep my history and philosophy double major? Was thinking about switching history for english since I like it more but ill get get around to most of the texts I need to read for the major anyway
>>8004794
English/Philosophy is the most /lit/ combo t b h
>>8004225
Why would you need an English degree for that? Unless your first language isn't English, I guess, but I don't think that's what OP's talking about. Anyway, there are specific qualifications in translation.
