If you’re majoring in English and can’t stop rolling your eyes when people ask what grade you’re planning to teach, you’re definitely not alone. Not all English majors have to become teachers, and you don’t necessarily have to be a freelancer for the rest of your life either.
Many entry level jobs in the English field require one to two years of experience, which means you’re probably going to need to work your way up quite a bit. You’re most likely not going to get a full-time job as an editorial assistant with a major publishing company right out of college unless you’ve completed a two-year internship at a similar company, so you’re going to need to broaden your horizon when searching for jobs. Take a look at these promising and decent-paying entry level jobs that are perfect career starters for English majors!
As an administrative assistant, you’ll provide administrative support to an individual, team, department, or other group in an organization. This position is necessary at pretty much all types of organizations, which means there will always be plenty of openings in your geographic area. On average, administrative assistants earn $14-18 hourly, which is not too shabby for your first job out of college.
As an administrative assistant, you’ll work with data and prepare reports, charts, budgets, and other presentation materials, which means you’ll need excellent organizational and time management skills. You’ll also need great communication skills, which you naturally possess as a lover of English!
Proofreading is probably one of your strongest suits, and you can use your school experience as proofreading experience when applying for jobs as a proofreader. Many proofreading jobs in the US are freelance positions, which means you can work however many hours you want as long as you meet the company’s quality standards. One thing you do need to consider is that freelancers don’t receive health benefits, which might become more of an issue down the line.
Proofreaders make an average of $17-18 hourly, which is slightly above average among other entry level positions. As a proofreader, you’ll be in charge of making sure content is free from grammar, spelling, usage, and formatting errors, which you’re already an expert at!
Copywriters create compelling text for ads, web pages, and articles to help their organizations gain customers, increase profits, and spread brand awareness. Copywriters are also often freelancers, and the requirements for an entry level copywriter are typically an excellent command of the English language and an understanding of how text influences customers’ decision making. Copywriters make an average of $25-30 hourly, which is well above the average for entry level positions!
On the other hand, copy editors review text to make sure the writers have written in a clear, correct, and compelling style. Proofreading and fact checking are also regular tasks of all copy editors, who also make an average of $25-30 hourly!
Pretty much all businesses have a social media presence now, which means there are endless openings for social media coordinators! For this position, you’ll need to emphasize your strong writing skills and ability to meet deadlines because you’ll be responsible for planning, implementing, and monitoring a company’s social media strategy to promote brand awareness, improve marketing efforts, and increase profits.
On average, social media coordinators make $18-23 hourly, and your chances of securing this position will be much higher if you have a strong social media presence of your own.
If you love books and are majoring in English literature, then this position will be your best bet. Library assistants spend their days working under the librarian’s supervision to help guests find the books and reference materials they need. You’ll also perform some basic administrative and clerical tasks as well as spend loads of time shelving and organizing books.
This entry level position averages out to $16-22 hourly. Consider paying for the additional training or graduate schooling needed to become a librarian if you enjoy this job because librarians make an average of $53,000-93,000 yearly!
Editorial assistants help manage the content production process of magazine and newspaper companies, many of which are now fully online. Some common tasks you’ll perform as an editorial assistant include researching, fact checking, copy writing and editing, proofreading, and performing basic administrative work.
On average, editorial assistants make $17-24 hourly. This title is also great to have on your resume if you’re planning on making it to a larger publication company for the greater part of your career!
The public relations coordinator is a great entry level position for English majors because the field is dedicated to creating a positive buzz around companies through marketing and communication. You’ll be pitching reporters, creating and maintaining social media content, drafting press releases, fielding inbound inquiries, and tracking news coverage, all of which are amazing skills to add to your resume!
As an entry level public relations coordinator, you’ll make anywhere from $18-25 hourly, which will increase dramatically as your skills develop and your duties increase!
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