Literary research is not only civilized and enlightened-including philosophy, religion, event history and thought history-but also popular and practical. One-sixth of all people who have obtained bachelor's degrees in the college of arts and sciences are English majors. These graduates are qualified for an amazing range of jobs. Their experience debunks a popular superstition that English majors must choose between journalism and teaching: in fact, English majors have also made excellent preparations for their future careers in law, medicine, business and government services.
Undergraduate students who expect to enter law school or medical school are often advised to take rigorous courses directly related to their career choices. Future law students are advised to study political science, history, accounting, business administration-even human anatomy, marriage and family life. Future medical students will be guided into many science courses-in fact, much more than they need to enter medical school. Surprisingly, many law schools and medical schools say that this special preparation is not only unnecessary, but also undesirable. There is no "pre-law" course: the best preparation for law school and legal practice is to enable students to prepare for critical thinking; Clear and logical self-expression; Sensitive analysis of other people's motives, behaviors and ideas. These are the skills that English learning aims to teach.
In addition, entering law school usually requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, a minimum GPA, and a passing score in the Law School Entrance Examination (L.S.A.T). This test has three parts. The first part evaluates the skills of reading comprehension, graphic classification and written material evaluation. The second part of the test evaluates the control of English grammar and usage, the ability to organize written materials and the ability to edit. The third part evaluates students' general knowledge in literature, art, music and natural and social sciences. Obviously, English majors are a strong preparation for the L.S.A.T exam.
As for medical schools, the main requirement for admission is only 32 hours of science courses. This requirement is certainly not an obstacle for English majors. In addition, many medical schools require a minimum score in the medical college entrance examination, which is another examination that provides advantages for all-round liberal arts students. M.C.A.T evaluates four areas of competence: skills in using synonyms, antonyms and word association; Basic mathematical knowledge from fraction to solid geometry; General knowledge of literature, philosophy, psychology, music, art and social sciences; Familiar with the basic knowledge of biology, chemistry and physics taught in high school and college introductory courses. English majors have a solid foundation in science and are well prepared for this exam and medical school. In medical school, his or her reading, analysis, explanation and accurate communication skills will make him or her stand out. Medical research and practice can only benefit from the insight into human behavior provided by literary research.
This kind of insight is obviously valuable to students who intend to engage in business. These students should consider the advantages of business-oriented English majors: this program aims to provide free education and directly prepare for business careers. The demand for such a project is obvious: graduates with only technical qualifications have found jobs in the business field, but they often can't keep them. Both The Wall Street Journal and College Employment Magazine reported that more and more famous business school graduates found themselves jumping from one job or one company to another, unable to stay in one position for more than 12 months. Employers complain that these promising young men and women are not competitive communicators at all: because they don't have enough literacy, they can't receive management training; They are unable to make effective oral statements; They can't report the progress or problems in writing; They cannot direct other workers. The skills of analysis and communication are the essence of management.
Therefore, English majors focusing on business are well prepared for future business management. Nearly 400 companies from banking, insurance, communications to manufacturing were asked whether to hire college graduates with English degrees, even though these graduates lacked special training in the industry: 85% of companies said they did. College graduates with English degrees have achieved success in marketing, systems engineering, personnel management, sales, programming, project design and labor relations.
English majors also work in thousands of occupations provided by governments at all levels. Take the federal government as an example. It is the largest employer in the United States. From the Marine Corps to the Bureau of Mines, from the Ministry of Commerce to the National Park Service, the federal government employs nearly 3 million men and women. English majors are qualified for these jobs. Recently, 5 1 federal agencies were asked the same question: Do they hire college graduates with English degrees but without special job training? 88% of these federal employers answered yes. English majors can be qualified for federal positions ranging from claim examiners to foreign service officials to safety management experts in expressway. Similarly, those seeking high-return and high-responsibility positions may be required to take a test-the federal government uses the Professional and Administrative Occupation Examination (P.A.C.E), which evaluates applicants for about10,000 positions every year-again, the test focuses on language skills: the ability to understand, analyze, explain, understand the logical relationship between ideas, and solve the problem of using language. Not surprisingly, capable English majors often get high marks in the P.A.C.E exam.
In short, English majors are neither restrictive nor unrealistic: learning English is to prepare for professional life.