Spending hours on critical essays of fiction or writing poetry has to be something you love. I think if you are going to burn your brain with calculus or computer programming it has to be something you have an interest in. Many people quit college because of trying to compete with the notion of vocation vs true interest. I left
college and was able to work for two Fortune 200 companies in middle management and have operated four different business ventures over the last twenty five years. I think when you choose a major just for employment it is like choosing the wrong wife. It will normally end in a bitter
divorce and you will be looking for a new love. I think people will make it because of their drive and passion for what they are doing. I have never met anyone that was a true success that was working or went to school for something
they dislike. Time flies and life is wonderful with the people and things you love but when you have to be stuck in some high paying rut job(oh yes!) you are doomed to a life of trying to fill
an empty hole. The money fills the void but you will then need a new challenge. Have you ever wondered why people who have it all take their
own lives while other people with nothing seem to strive in the flow of life? Why do you see people going back to college in their 50s or 60s?
I will probably go back to college, to some small liberal arts school and major in Humanities or English. I feel as though I have
cheated myself because I wish I would have had the guts to do that when I was young. I feel we
have a tendency to listen to the practical and then find out later that we wasted much precious
time and money when we should of just followed out hearts.

The problem is that there are not a lot of jobs where you need to be well versed in literature, but all jobs require good writing skills, so the READING part of an English major is indeed a privilege or luxury, as this article somewhat implied. However, a huge problem in the U.S. is that even English majors are not taught to write the way companies want. It is a big problem and execs all over are complaining how new employees out of school were never taught to write for the needs of business!

English majors can write beautiful sentences and create elegant essays, but when asked to write a business report, they are flummoxed. They often focus on being eloquent, which is not what businesses want.

I teach very expensive writing classes to professionals who cannot get promoted because of poor writing skills, and by that I mean college graduates who were never taught to write in ways businesses need, INCLUDING English majors. Sadly many, if not most, college English departments focus on literature, creative writing, and eloquent prose. This is a huge disservice to students and businesses alike. If you don’t want to be a writing major, a business comm major, a p.r. major, or a marketing major with an English minor, at least load up on as many writing courses as you can before you graduate with that English B.A. In most cases, you’ll get hired faster, have more options available, and get promoted more quickly.