If you’ve studied English like me, you have most certainly come across the following cascade of questions or shall I call them “pre-judgements”? If you know, you know.
So,... What’s the point? Why English?
Lol, omg, you can do better.
Is that just for fun? To study… like Shakespeare?
Oh, nice. So what's the plan? Teaching..?
It’s time to dispel the myths of what we book worms go onto doing after our degree and all the doors that actually open for us. So, here's my compiled list for you, including the versatile skillset you can actually acquire:
1- Thinking critically and being able to articulate yourself in ANY setting, whether that is in the lift with a stranger, or a successful HR manager in a corporate firm.
2- Learning to negotiate and get what you want, and this is useful in business or even when you’re abroad, and haggling. I benefited from this a lot in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul when I wanted to barter a few special items.
3- Reading any text critically, whether that is an article on Brexit, a MAC advertisement, or Meghan Markle and her bump cradling whilst identifying the existing ideologies and biases.
4- Learning the art of persuasion and sales, and by sales I don’t mean Kurt Russell playing throwing out his catch phrase “Trust me!” regularly as he puts on a great showing of charm and charisma. Rather, I'm talking about your daily interactions and how you sell your ideas and perceptions to others. The reality is, life is an ongoing series of sales. You’re branding yourself to the world everyday whether you like it or not.
5- After commanding the English language, will have the upper hand in any conversation, argument or debate.
6- Studying English will open doors to potentially study, Law, HR, recruitment, social media manager, marketing, PR, finance and administration, content and copywriters, charity fundraising, publishing assistant, content manager and even teaching any arts and humanities.
7- English is an interdisciplinary subject bringing in the likes of sociology, history and even psychology, and who doesn't find historians or psychologists interesting? Take me to a history museum anytime!
8- A degree in language gives us the foundational knowledge of grammar, and knowledge of grammar gives us a head start to learning more languages. People associate grammar with errors and correctness. But knowing about grammar also helps us understand what makes sentences and paragraphs clear and interesting and precise.
9- You will start introducing others to new sides to an argument which they may have otherwise overlooked. Life is not black and white, but countless hues of grey and green. Likewise, green is not just green, its also olive, lime, mint, sage, juniper, kaki, army and emerald green.
Life is hues, and the best thinkers are those who can identify those nuances, and not assume green is only green.
10- It goes without saying that reading generally speaking, opens your mind to new realms of creativity and imagination, which science wouldn't ever be able to teach you. Art students are usually the zany thinkers, widening our scope, and in a world of binary opposites, self centric feuds, and dogmatic approaches, we need more people thinking green is not just green, but it can also be olive, lime, mint or sage.
So, should you require a further discussion or interested in pursuing an English degree, do get in touch and we can have a chat!