Careers

The study of English helps students develop into what the college mission statement identifies as “whole persons.” The satisfactions of reading and writing perceptively and skillfully stay with them throughout their lives. Skills in analysis and communication lead English majors to work in a wide range of settings after graduation.

Each year the English Department sponsors a panel of recent English major alumni who return to Luther to talk about their careers and lives. Their stories are as individual as the people, but listening to others' choices and challenges helps current English majors make their own choices about opportunities and career paths.

What does an English major do after graduation? Some decide that they want to teach—to share their joy in literature and writing with others. Luther offers a secondary education certification to complement the English major, and our majors have been very successful in finding positions. Some attend graduate school to prepare for college teaching.

But there are many other possibilities. An English major can actually consider any career that involves using language as a tool, for English majors have honed their skills in careful reading, clear writing, and solid research. That means that English majors can consider almost any job. Many firms seek good writers for technical writing, news reporting, editing, publishing, and advertising. Many of our majors go on to professional schools in law, medicine, or the ministry. Luther English major graduates have also become admissions counselors, public relations consultants, account managers, computer executives, arts organizers, law librarians, and computer programmers.