Translating English Succeeding As An English Major Richie Pace English 491AC

Like all English majors, or any college student for that matter, stress and fears about the future can sometimes weigh heavily on your mind.

But You’re In Luck! Whether you know exactly what you want to do after college or not, graduating with an English degree may be more beneficial than you think!

Before I reached out to learn more about why having an English degree is a great idea, I was skeptical about the major. Fortunately I contacted Jim Baptiste to discuss why English majors make great employees.

Jim Baptiste Graduated from UMass Amherst with an English Degree in 1986 Director of Marketing at Matter Communications Jim is my UMass Mentor. The following slides consist of a few questions I recently asked him about how an English degree “translates” in the real world. His responses are both optimistic and helpful for any English major.

Richie: What are the benefits of graduating with an English degree Richie: What are the benefits of graduating with an English degree? What are the challenges? Jim: An English degree helps prepare you for almost any professional situation. The curriculum concentrates on comprehension and communications skills, which are crucial to most jobs. The ability to take in large amounts of information, make sense of it and be able to communicate with others clearly about it has been invaluable to me throughout my career.

Richie: With the current troubles in the job market, is it best to wait until the perfect job appears, or should young adults grab anything they can get? Jim: As someone who “took a job just until I go back to grad school,” and then made a 22 year career of it, I would say don’t wait for the “perfect” job offer. There’s plenty to learn in almost any job situation and experience is the best thing to have on a resume. With that said, keep your passion alive. If you want to be a novelist or playwright or U.S. Senator, keep writing and working and looking for opportunities to do what you love most.

Richie: Through your experience in the working world, what qualities/skills are most crucial for an English major to showcase during the job application process? Jim: The skills I mentioned before are the key. Every boss wants people who can assimilate important information, makes sense of it to others and use comprehension skills to make good decisions and give good advice to those around him or her.

Richie: In one sentence, what is the best advice you can give to a student who has graduated and is entering the "real world," regardless of his or her major? Jim: This has always been true, but never more so than today; use your opportunities, whatever they may be, to build skills, networks and experiences, but always keep an eye on doing what you love most – that’s the route to the greatest happiness and satisfaction.

I’m a Junior, majoring in English at UMass Amherst Hello! My name is Richie Pace I’m a Junior, majoring in English at UMass Amherst My dream is to be a high school English teacher, own a beekeeping apiary, and also own a music venue I believe that an English degree makes perfect sense for people who are passionate about many different things, like myself If you ever want or need to talk to a fellow English major I would be happy to answer any questions you have. You can reach me at rpace@student.umass.edu I hope this PowerPoint made you feel better about the choice of becoming an English major!