Finishing Your Degree - Other Options

It is well known that many English Literature degree students will start a career in teaching, however, if you feel that teaching is not for you, there are other options for you to consider.

In fact, the skills gained from your English Literature degree are marketable in most career areas, and there are lots of options for you once you have completed your degree.

Just under 60% of English Graduates are in employment six months after graduating, a fifth are in full-time further study, with a further 7% combining work and study. 

What do English Graduates do After University?

English Graduates find opportunities with many different employers, public and private sector organisations such as the National Health Service (NHS), educational institutions, local and national government, financial and legal firms, and voluntary and charitable organisations employ English graduates in a range of roles, including administration, research, finance and general management.

Other typical employers include publishing companies, advertising, marketing and public relations agencies and media organisations. The retail, leisure and tourism sectors also typically recruit English graduates.

Editorial assistant

Editorial assistants provide assistance in all stages of the publication of books, journals, magazines and a broad range of publicity materials. They support senior editorial staff in the administration of the commissioning, planning and production of publications.

The level of responsibility and the range of tasks vary depending on the size of the organisation and the type of publication. The editorial assistant role is the usual starting point for careers in editorial work. Progression to more senior roles such as features editor or commissioning editor may be possible once the necessary skills and experience have been acquired.
Typical work activities

Editorial assistants perform a range of administrative and editorial tasks necessary to get publications published. They act as the liaison for the many people involved in a publication, from the receipt of texts from authors through to the handover to production staff.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of an Editorial Assistant here.

Lexicographer

Lexicographers write, compile and edit dictionaries for both print and online publication. They may work on one of the following types of dictionary:
English for native speakers;
English for learners of English;
technical, e.g. law;
bilingual, for native speakers or learners of English.

English language lexicographers monitor and record uses of language and use databases to interrogate a wide range of evidence. They consider both the meaning and usages of words and compile definitions in a structured manner.

Lexicographers writing definitions for English learner dictionaries also take into consideration the difficulties learners have with learning English. Bilingual lexicographers translate words and expressions, rather than defining them.

Lexicographers edit, proofread and check the accuracy of their own and others' text, and perform editorial tasks. They reassess existing entries and use evidence and judgement to identify and consider possible new entries.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of a Lexicographer here.

Magazine Journalist

Magazine journalists research and write news articles and features for a wide variety of periodicals, including consumer titles, business journals and trade publications. Magazines have a defined readership and focus on a specialist area or interest.

Magazine journalism can cover a range of disciplines, such as writing, sub-editing, and designing.

Increasingly, magazines are also being produced for other media, especially the web. Knowledge of the concise writing style needed for the internet and search engine optimisation are very useful skills.

There are currently around 9,000 magazine titles in the UK, according to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) . While there are plenty of opportunities, competition can be fierce when trying to secure a job in magazine journalism.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of a Magazine Journalist here.

Academic Librarian

Academic librarians work in higher education, further education and research institutes attached to academic institutions. They may also be known as subject librarians and they manage, organise, evaluate and disseminate information, providing support to members of an academic community including students, researchers and lecturing staff.

Academic librarians may be responsible for a specific academic subject, developing specialist knowledge and other functions, such as resource ordering, loans, specialist collections, ICT systems and library projects.

A main role involves facilitating and supporting learning by teaching information retrieval skills to students and staff within classrooms or virtual learning environments. Academic librarians spend considerable time working with electronic resources, involving database management and web page development. The role is also very customer-focused.

You can find more information about the roles and responsibilities of an Academic Librarian here.

These are just a selection of the options available after completing your degree, and you can find more options by following this link.

Options With Your Subject.

You can also find Graduate Jobs by degree here.