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‘I wanted to study English, but my parents were worried that I wouldn’t get a job, so I’m doing X instead.’ These words are depressingly familiar to anyone who works in an English department in Higher Education. They are also frustratingly incorrect. English may not be a vocational subject, with an obvious destination (unlike Engineering, Journalism, Law, or Medicine), but it does equip its students with skills that open up a remarkably wide range of careers.Ìý

Salaries are also competitive with other subjects: , show that, fifteenth months after graduating, the earnings of English graduates are on a par with graduates with STEM degrees such as Biology or Psychology, and only lag slightly behind a vocational subject like Law. Nor do starting salaries tell the whole story. The British Academy’s (2020) puts English in the top five subjects for average annual wage growth, indicating that our graduates flourish in the twenty-first-century workplace and progress in their chosen careers. The evidence, that is, counters the notion that English degrees do not prepare their students for the world of work.

English degrees require students to encounter diverse perspectives, to understand and synthesise complex material (often under time pressure), to develop persuasive, evidenced-based arguments, and – in turn – to question and critique other people’s arguments. Our teaching methods rely on both independent study and group discussion. The former cultivates time management, self-discipline, and the prioritisation of tasks; the latter, the ability to communicate orally, and to listen respectfully to different viewpoints, often about complicated or sensitive topics. Further to that, English is a subject where students are encouraged to develop their own voice and ideas, and to take intellectual risks.Ìý

This all develops highly valuable transferable skills. At least five of the top ten skills identified by the World Economic Forum’s report are ones actively cultivated by Arts & Humanities degrees like English, including:

• Analytical thinking;
• Creative thinking;
• Curiosity and lifelong learning;
• Leadership and social influence;
• Resilience, flexibility, and agility.

As the current considers how all subjects prepare young people for the workplace, English plays a vital role in developing the skills employers value most.

For the last couple of years, I’ve been working with the to find ways of helping teachers and students of the subject to articulate its value. As part of that process , from pre-GCSE to PhD, about what they’ve gained from studying English. Their words provide further testimony as to how the subject builds the skills highlighted in the World Economic Forum report.Ìý

Over and over, students told us that, besides developing transferrable skills (such as creative and analytical thinking, or the ability to comprehend complex arguments quickly), the subject widened their perspective and enhanced empathy: vital skills for leadership and social influence. As one A-Level student wrote, ‘Studying English has provided me with the skill set I need to challenge my own beliefs and broaden my world-view’. Respondents also felt that the subject increased their confidence, particularly when expressing ideas orally: a crucial skill needed by employers, but where there is a skills gap, as the Oracy Education Commission highlighted in its . And, importantly, students told us that studying English helped their wellbeing, building resilience – an essential resource in a rapidly changing, uncertain world – and equipped them to be adaptable. ‘Without the foundational skills of analysis, critical thinking/critical reading, creative thinking and editing I have developed through studying English Literature, I would not have the depth of understanding required to do any of [my] professional activities efficiently and effectively. Nor would I have had the fundamental skills to make the career transition I did from classroom teaching to digital design,’ wrote one respondent (a student completing a Creative Writing PhD).

For the English Association project, we also collected that showcase the varied careers our former students have gone on to pursue: in law, finance, and industry; in the charity sector; in public service, and social and policy research; in publishing, heritage, and the creative arts. These case-studies speak to the ways in which English equipped them for these roles, be that developing ‘the habit of independent and rigorous thought’, ‘how to cope with ambiguity’, or ‘remind[ing] us to remember the people who are impacted by our work and our words’. Those quotations come from, respectively, a civil servant, the chief operating officer of a private equity firm, and someone who works in international development.

At my own institution, the University of Sheffield, our current students are demonstrating just how versatile and employable they are. Increasing numbers are deciding to spend a placement year between their second and third years, gaining highly competitive paid internships with major national and international organisations. In September, we’ll be welcoming back students who’ve spent the last twelve months with employers as diverse as the Swiss investment bank UBS, Rolls Royce, and the Department of Work and Pensions, whilst other students will be beginning their year out, with institutions including Disney, the retailer TJX Europe, Enterprise Rent a Car, and the British Council.

English opens doors. Who knows where the journey will take you.

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Cathy Shrank is Professor of Tudor and Renaissance Literature at the University of Sheffield.