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Job Prospects for Humanities Majors

By Jonathan Hogan

If you’re a humanities major, you may have received some pessimistic or rude comments about your choice of major. As a German major, I am personally sick of people thinking that all I do is study the language of German, and I’ve heard people tell English majors that they’re “majoring in a language that they already speak fluently.” Regardless of your humanities major, whether it be History, Gender Studies, a language, or something else, I hope you haven’t internalized the discourse that demands that your prospects are dim. As this article will demonstrate, humanities majors have the widest array of careers to choose from, making your problem not a lack of opportunities, but rather the difficult decision of which path to take.

Before delving into some of the main career paths taken by humanities majors, it’s worth mentioning that one of the distinct specialties of those holding humanities majors is finding niche positions to work in that likely won’t be enumerated because of their specificity. Thus, if nothing listed is in your interests, don’t fret! This is merely a broad and by no means an exhaustive list. If you know with all your heart that you want to work as a religious advisor at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, then go for it! 

Law

               One of the most common majors that apply and are accepted to Law school is English. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as both humanities majors and law degrees require a mastery of language, as well as the ability to analytically read and critically think about texts. If a law degree sounds interesting to you, click this link to read an article on the first step to applying for law school—the LSAT.

Publishing

               Similar to Law, the field of publishing plays into a strong connection with written language. In comparison to Law, publishing places more of an emphasis on a love of books, networking abilities, and editing skills. For an article on what it’s like to work as an editor, click this link, and for an article on how to break into the relatively tight-knit industry, click here.

NGOs

               Okay, NGO can mean a lot of things, ranging from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative political think tank, to Médecins Sans Frontières; however, the humanities can also mean a lot of things, making NGOs a potential place of work for essentially any major. The Center for Reproductive Rights, for example, would pair nicely with the Butlerian gender theorist out there, and Public Allies, an NGO dedicated to social justice through representative leadership, would pair nicely with a History major, or really any major that focuses on inequality in general.

Journalism

               Another popular path for humanities majors is journalism. Because of the broad range of subjects that are written on, the only real requirement for Journalism is strong writing skills; however, Journalists are most effective when they can pair their strong writing skills with deep background knowledge in another area. For this reason, humanities majors are especially well-positioned to go into the field, as they typically command a deep well of knowledge on a specific topic, as well as immaculate writing skills.

Academia

               For those of you who have read the above career industries and are struggling with the idea of giving up theorizing and researching for more general use of skills developed at Lawrence, academia might be for you. One of the major advantages of going into academia is that, if a doctoral program really wants you, they will ensure that you aren’t losing money when pursuing your degree through fellowships and undergrad teaching positions. That being said, academia in general, is going through a major upheaval in the U.S. and the humanities appear to be suffering more than STEM and Social Science Departments. When asking your favorite professor for advice about pursuing a doctoral program in a humanities field, a question that will likely come up is: “would you still choose to pursue your doctorate even if you knew that it wasn’t going to lead to a job in academia?” If the answer is no, then it’s probably advisable to find a different outlet for your passion. If the answer; however, is yes, then you’ve just determined your next step for after Lawrence.

               A short list of five broad industries in which humanities majors typically find themselves working likely has not solved all of your professional development problems; however, hopefully, it has pointed you towards an industry that you might want to learn more about. In the worst case, however, this article can serve as a good tool for fending off anyone who’s mocking your decision to major in the humanities—just say you’re planning on going to law school 😊. 

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Breaking into Publishing

By Jonathan Hogan

If you are certain that the publishing industry is right for you there is likely one question on the tip of your tongue: how do I break into the publishing industry? Unfortunately for those aspiring, the publishing industry is nearly as exclusive as the film industry; however, if you’re an especially determined (or curious) soul, read on for my overview of how to break into the publishing industry.

For the best chances of breaking into the publishing industry after graduating from Lawrence, you’ll want to have some experience with the field before applying to your first position. Internships, especially internships with one of the Big 5—Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster—are highly desirable. Most publishers’ websites will have information on their internships and their application processes so make sure to keep an eye out for new opportunities. Before applying, however, it’s important to do your research. The publishing industry is not only very exclusive, it also revolves around a passion for books. To apply successfully you will likely need to have a passion for the books that your target publishing house has published.

If you fail to land an internship, either because the cost of spending a summer in New York is prohibitive or because you aren’t one of the lucky few, fret not! An alternative method of getting the necessary experience required to enter the field comes in the form of masters or certificate-level courses such as those from NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies or the Columbia Publishing Course.  These programs generally offer hands-on experiences with magazine, digital, and book publishing and are often available as summer courses. In addition to hands-on experiences, these courses offer an extremely valuable commodity in the publishing industry: an address in a major city and the ability to network.

In addition to experience, networking is essential to break into the publishing industry, thus, names and relationships carry weight. While conducting an internship or higher-ed course (ideally in New York City) it is important to attend social events (or virtual social events should there be a global pandemic). If you don’t know the first thing about networking in the publishing industry, the Young to Publishing Group (YPG) website is invaluable. YPG, in their own words, “strives to give junior employees a chance to build a community outside of their own publishing houses and to educate themselves about the industry as a whole.”  They do this by posting upcoming social events in the publishing network in most major cities.  If you find yourself in a major city, especially San Francisco, Boston, or New York, be sure to keep an eye on YPG!

If both internships and higher education courses are unappealing, don’t be afraid to forge your own path. Freelance writing allows you to build a resume while potentially holding a more stable job. For more information about freelance writing and the publishing industry, I recommend reading the brief article “10 ways to break into the publishing industry” to hear first-hand from someone who has successfully navigated the freelance industry.

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

The LSAT

Jonathan Hogan

The LSAT can make or break one’s application to law school, and it can earn a law student thousands of dollars in scholarship funding. It should thus be no surprise that law school applicants prepare religiously for this test. But what exactly is the LSAT? Why does one need to start studying the LSAT two years before they enter Law School? And what are some common strategies for preparing for the LSAT?

Most basically, the LSAT, or “Law School Admissions Test” is designed to test prospective students’ ability to succeed in Law School. It is comprised of four sections: (1) logical reasoning, (2) analytical reasoning, (3) reading comprehension, and (4) a writing section, and students receive scores ranging from 120 – 180. Since 2019, the LSAT, which takes 3.5 hours, has been administered on a tablet.

As is evident in the different sections that comprise the LSAT, the test places a high emphasis on students’ ability to reason, as well as their reading and writing skills. It is largely for this reason that studying for the LSAT often begins in the Winter of one’s Junior year—there is simply no cramming when it comes to the demonstration of skill. Students aspiring to transition directly from Lawrence to Law School will typically study from the Winter of their Junior year until June before their Senior Year when they take the test. Should the first test go poorly, students typically take the LSAT one last time in October before adding their LSAT to the rest of their application and submitting it in November or early December.

Because of the importance of the LSAT, there is a large industry that exists solely to prepare students for the LSAT. From paid courses like the “LSAT Bible” and Princeton Review’s LSAT prep to free courses such as those offered by Khan Academy, there is something for everyone’s price range and ambition. Generally, however, LSAT preparation begins with a practice test that determines an applicant’s baseline and continues with an education on common test-taking strategies as well the drilling of thousands of practice questions that are meant to simulate the LSAT while also exposing students to new formats and concepts.  

If the challenge of the LSAT and Law School in general sounds exciting rather than terrifying, consider attending Lawrence Pre Law Society and scheduling a meeting with Ty Collins here, our wonderful Career Advisor for those interested in Law!

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Social Marketing

Jonathan Hogan

If you’re a humanities major, there’s a good chance that you’ve been told that your excellent writing and analytical skills could allow you to go into marketing.  You’ve probably rolled your eyes at this idea—why sell your soul to the optimization of an economic system that so obviously perpetuates terrible injustices?  But before you write off marketing forever, read this article on social marketing, a type of marketing typically sponsored by NGOs or governments and used for the betterment of society.

Social marketing is perhaps best explained through examples, and one of the best comes from Wisconsin’s own UW Madison. In 2017, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, UW Madison, and a handful of NGOs teamed up to advertise healthy eating. They played off of Wisconsin residents’ love of their sports teams to create the ads visible in this article (Henschen). Further examples of social marketing can be found in the now ubiquitous “click it or ticket” campaign, and a water rationing campaign led in Jordan, in which businesses were entered into a lottery after installing water-conserving valves in their buildings to incentivize their installation and raise awareness about their effects (About Us | The NSMC).

If this article has piqued your interest, you might be wondering: how does one learn more about social marketing? A good place to start is The National Social Marketing Centre (link), an NGO dedicated to social marketing that has its origins in the innovative British Department of Health. The National Social Marketing Centre appears to be the home for social marketing, at least as it pertains to public health, and can serve to give you an even deeper understanding of social marketing as an industry. For a job in social marketing, the best places to look are state and federal government platforms such as USAJOBS. Simply entering the term “marketing” will yield plenty of results. The one caveat to this approach is that strong knowledge of marketing is typically required for these jobs. To be a competitive applicant, you’ll likely need an educational or experiential background in marketing. While this experience may indeed come from an entry-level social marketing position, it will most likely come from a Master’s in marketing, or experience at a less mission-oriented marketing position. Hopefully, however, the appeal of social marketing as an industry that both requires writing and analytical skills, and sees marketers work for the betterment of society, is enough to consider spending a few years in general marketing.

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Works Cited

About Us | The NSMC. https://www.thensmc.com/about-us. Accessed 12 Oct. 2021.

Henschen, Holly. “FoodWIse’s FNV Campaign Wins International Social Marketing Award.” University of Wisconsin-Madison, 10 July 2018, https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/news/2018/07/10/foodwises-fnv-campaign-wins-international-national-centre-for-social-marketing-award/.

Technical Writing

Jonathan Hogan

Technical writing is perhaps one of the most lucrative options for those Lawrentians that wish to write for a living. Broadly speaking, technical writing is the act of taking complex technical information and simplifying it so that a broad audience can quickly comprehend the information. In this sense, technical writing is akin to bridgebuilding, in which the technical writer works to connect the layperson to the expert by allowing the layperson to effortlessly navigate a chasm that would otherwise take years of education or experience to cross. To learn more about technical writing, click this link!

Kinds of Technical Writing

Technical writing, as the name perhaps implies, is found primarily in industries that are technical in nature. Yet in practice, this broad definition assumes many different forms. Here are some common examples of jobs that one can expect a technical writer to be doing:

  • User Experience: User experience technical writing typically sees the technical writer writing answers to common questions about a given software either within the software platform itself, or on a messaging board typically managed by the company. A good example of user experience technical writing can be found in Microsoft Word when one clicks “help.” All answers in the “help” tab are written by a technical writer.
  • Academic Writing: Academia is one of the most jargon-rich industries in the world. Because of this, technical writers can often be found collaborating with researchers to explain research methodologies and results in a manner that can be understood by the regular public.
  • Instructions: When purchasing a new dishwasher, or car, or really any other product, they tend to come with written instructions on how one can use/maintain/repair the given product. It is the technical writer that is responsible for creating this content, which ideally conveys all relevant information to the user in as efficient a manner as possible.

The list of jobs that a technical writer can be found doing seems to be nearly endless, so if you’re interested in technical writing but not interested in one of the three iterations of technical writing, I would recommend following this link to a blog post by freelance writer Elna Cain, who does a wonderful job highlighting the variety of jobs that technical writers can be found doing (Cain).

Requirements for Technical Writing

Technical writers, as the name implies, must have strong writing skills. Additionally, however, it is important for technical writers to have a deep understanding of the subject about which they are writing. Without an understanding of how an airplane functions, for example, it would be impossible for a writer to write documentation that will help the pilot better fly and land their plane (M.). Thus, many technical writers have an academic background in the subject they are writing about, or at least considerable experience working with the product.  It is not expected that a technical writer has as much knowledge as the individual responsible for creating whatever the technical writer is writing about, however, the writer must be able to work well with others to gain a deeper understanding of the subject of their work. Finally, it is typically expected that technical writers have a college degree of some sort. Although it is certainly better if that degree is in a writing-intensive major or a major that pertains to the industry/subject for which they are writing.

Job Outlook

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the technical writing field is expected to grow by 12% in the coming decade (“Technical Writers”). Technical writers often work for companies; however, many also work as freelancers for smaller businesses that don’t have the need for a full-time writer. The median pay for technical writers in 2020 was $74,650 per year, making it one of the most well-paying writing jobs.

Jonathan is a Third Year German and Government major. He works as a Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.

Works Cited 

Cain, Elna. “27 Technical Writing Jobs for Beginners.” Elna Cain, 4 May 2020, https://elnacain.com/blog/technical-writing-jobs/.

M., Saad. “What Is Technical Writing?” ContentWriters Blog, 30 June 2020, https://contentwriters.com/blog/what-is-technical-writing/.

“Technical Writers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Media-and-Communication/Technical-writers.htm. Accessed 6 Oct. 2021.

Alternatives to Journalism

Print Journalism is quickly being relegated to the past. With the advent of radio, television, and finally the internet, the industry has been left unable to compete with cheaper and more expedient forms of media. The amount of print readers, for example, has been halved in the past two decades. Yet, despite the faltering nature of the print industry, the allure of ink on cheap newspaper still draws many to print journalism. To those individuals I recommend two things: (1) this article about the importance of print journalism and the shortcomings of new media for validation and (2) the remaining paragraphs of this article in which I offer a couple of alternatives to print journalism which demand similar skillsets and interests.

Freelance

Whereas print journalism is expected to continue to decline, at least in the near future, freelance writing continues to employ more and more writers. Freelance writers are self-employed writers that can be found writing almost anything that can be found online, ranging from New York Times articles to product descriptions for online marketplaces. To learn more about freelancing, follow this link to read my article about some of the finer details of the industry.  

Public Relations

PR specialists pride themselves on their ability to make authentic connections with their customers while skillfully guiding potential customers to their product. Similar to freelancing, public relations also demand a propensity for entrepreneurial strategizing. PR specialists, even those working exclusively through social media, rarely publish content spontaneously and each release is typically statistically analyzed. Compared to freelance, it is arguable that public relations is less writing intensive and more analytics intensive; however, if you have a love for both writing and analytics, this is the perfect job for you. For a more in-depth look at PR in social media, follow this link.

Publishing

If you are drawn to print journalism for the high level of collaboration between different departments, working in publishing may be the career for you. Compared to print journalism, physical book sales have been making a comeback as of late. To work in the publishing industry in a literary capacity one must be willing to trade their passion for writing with a passion for reading; however, for many, working closely with fellow booklovers in departments ranging form editing to cover-design is worth the trade. For a brief overview of the editing aspect of publishing, click here.

Jonathan Hogan

Jonathan is a Second Year German and Government major. He works as a Career Peer Educator to assist students in the CJW and GLI career communities. In addition to professional development, Jonathan is interested in the cultural construction of the modern nation-state, normative constraints on rational behavior, and all things German. You can schedule an appointment with him here to improve your resume, learn more about the CJW and GLI career opportunities, and work on anything else professional development-related.