Why Pursue an Online English Degree?

Understanding the gritty details about the English language may help you jumpstart one of a plethora of different careers. Anything that requires writing calls for people with solid grammatical skills and a knack for producing succinct and engaging material.

Big businesses may need people that can formulate press releases. News organizations - both nationally and locally - require reporters that can boil down the complicated events in the world to short and understandable sentences. In the modern age, hundreds of businesses are pushing into Web and mobile platforms that call for professional writers to publish blog content, write product descriptions and more.

Many people may be able to write, but not everyone can write well. An online degree in English may show you what's necessary to pursue a career as a writer and sharpen your skills to enhance your career. From sentence mechanics to prose - reading analysis to discovering literature's classics, online English courses may give you the tools necessary to jumpstart a career in reading and writing.

A glimpse into the realm of English

While mathematicians bide their time with numbers and formulas, English majors surround themselves with literature's greats. Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Homer, Twain - the legendary writers from the ancient past to the leading figures today - a true mastery of English requires studying it all. English students may forego complex equations, but they trade that discipline with a desire to read mountains of books and write waves of stories and essays.

Writing well - much like playing an instrument or a sport - requires meticulous practice and constant refinement. Many online English courses may temper your skills by involving you in workshops that include peer review. Others conduct seminars to focus on the complexities of certain writing eras and the authors that stood out in those times. In all regards, you will likely be pushed to write, edit and read with an exceptional eye for detail.

Possible salaries for a career in English

Your salary as an English professional is largely decided by your specific job title, your level of education, your experience and your skill. Consider the following careers, with statistics compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2012.

  • Writers and authors: 2012 median annual salary of $55,940 (3 percent projected growth through 2022)[i]
  • High school teachers: 2012 median annual salary of $55,050 (6 percent projected growth through 2022)[ii]
  • Editors: 2012 median annual salary of $53,880 (-2 percent projected growth through 2022)[iii]

Additional skills required for a career in English

While you learn about literature's greats, it's important to put the figures and their topics in context. To do that, you will likely have to research history and other regions. Collecting a worldly perspective is immensely important to becoming a great English professional as writers from across the globe produce books and articles that garner attention at a lightning pace today.


[i] bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm | [ii] bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm | [iii] bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/editors.htm