I'm 29 years old, and I have a master's degree in English and a bachelor's degree in psychology. I was unemployed for eight months due to downsizing. I've taught at two local community colleges as an adjunct - basically, that translates to really poor pay (about $1000/month for a full load and NO benefits). I've worked in addiction recovery part time for five years. During my unemployed period, I sold vacuums (!), worked for various temp. agencies for pennies, sold life insurance for about two days, and various other jobs that I wasn't meant for. I have a ton of skills and work well with all kinds of people. Right now I'm working in the mental health field and my company is downsizing. If I have to look for another job, I'll rip my hair out. Almost all of the interviewers told me that I was overqualified-but without a job, I can't live. What to do????
2006-06-15 11:30:48 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
I hear your pain. I also have a master's in English but have yet to find a decent job for my vast (at least I think so!) skills. But the main problem with an English degree is that while it can get you into so many different kinds of jobs, hardly any are high paying. I fancy myself a writer but I'm still in the same medical profession I was before my degree. I've sold several short stories and am of course working on that novel but I can't live on sporadic to zero pay. At least not until my novel is optioned for millions of dollars and is turned into a Julia Roberts film. Hey, I can dream can't I?! It's funny, when I was getting my master's everyone asked me "are you going to teach?" It seems like an English degree is a one way ticket to teaching and that's fine if that's what you want to do. You already have the experience teaching in college so why not look further into that? Your best bet might be teaching at the secondary level. Actually, you can make serious bucks as a high school teacher with your master's though you have to go back to school to get your credential. I've thought about that many times. There are many programs through desperate school districts like Los Angeles that will pay you as you earn a credential so you can't beat that and some accelerated programs take as little as a year to complete. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck!
2006-06-15 12:04:21 · answer #1 · answered by Girasol 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Some sales jobs might be a good fit for you. Find a field you are interested in, and you can work with people to find the best type of products or services to meet their needs. You may think salespeople have to be pushy, but the best ones just like working with people, and it can pay extremely well (and there are always many jobs available for good salespeople). Another possibility, if that isn't you, is nursing. There is an ongoing shortage of nurses, and those positions can pay very well. You could go on to become something like a nurse practitioner with a masters.
2016-03-15 05:56:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
switch fields. go into mortgages. masters in english don't mean sh*t sorry to say. either stay with the psych jobs or jump ship and look for other lines of work.
2006-06-15 11:49:14 · answer #3 · answered by DIE BEEYOTCH!!! 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Go back to school and get a "real" skill. Mastery of English does not translate into usefulness for anything but teaching. I believe massage is going to be the next Starbucks, and doesn't take long to learn the basics.
2006-06-15 11:35:14 · answer #4 · answered by thylawyer 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋