Career Planning for Humanities Majors

Career Planning for Humanities Majors Hi everyone, My eight-week course began last Tuesday, which I know seems odd considering its literally the week before Spring Break. Anyway, its ENGL 199: Career Planning for Humanities Majors with Kirstin Wilcox, the director of internships and a senior lecturer for the English advising department. Its a one-hour course that meets once a week, and just about any major can take it. So far, we  have  engineering, business, history, art, and english majors in our class. While I know humanities sort of umbrellas a vague path into careers, I dont think we talk about the benefits of taking these courses as growing professionals. Humanities majors like myself hear others voice their fears for us: That career wont  offer you tons of money, and Thats a risky path  in todays job market.  And thats not necessarily true. Weve got a lot of skills to offer! Our first assignment for ENGL 199 is to update or create our LinkedIn page to showcase our skills and experience, and find a network of folks who do things for a living that we would like to do ourselves someday. Its pretty neat to think that positions like social media interns didnt exist 10  years ago, and its incredible to see that if youre interested in technology, theres something out there that doesnt have a cookie-cutter qualifications section stamped on it. Employers want employees  who can write, think critically, display passion in what they do, and interact well with others. Humanities majors do just that in most of their classes! When were debating about the importance of historical figures, when we talk about the importance of class and gender, and when were reading and thinking critically about our given texts, were honing professional skills. We can speak our minds, provide evidence, do research, and listen to others. That makes us team players. Im really excited to work on my resume, participate in mock interviews, and write  cover letters in this class, too. Preparation is key, and since Im a  senior, its  helpful to think about as were roughly seven weeks away from graduation! I hope this relieves any anxiety you feel over  pursuing your beloved humanities major. Jenny Jenny Class of 2016 I'm majoring in Creative Writing in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I'm from the north side of Chicago, an artsy neighborhood along the lakefront called Andersonville. I plan to pursue a low-residency MFA program in Fiction Writing with the hope of becoming a published author.