I put a fraud alert on my equifax. I got transunion and experian free reports. In 90 days, I will ask for another fraud alert and the process repeats. it's worth it. my ex has been saying i am responsible for his debts and i get calls saying i am listed as a relative!!!! We got divorced 20 years ago. whew...
I majored in English because I really didn't know what I wanted to do. English, journalism, and languages were lumped into the same department, and the chair of the English department was also director of academic computing who taught courses in integrating technology and learning. This was in the early '90s, when the Internet was still an academic tool, and the most popular computers in education were Macs. (I still have a working Mac SE from 1991 that I use for all my creative writing.)
As a result of exposure to four fields (English, journalism, languages, and computing) in one major, my first job out of college was as a copy editor for a newspaper in Louisiana. I didn't even have to apply for that job; they found me before I even graduated because I was editor of the student newspaper my senior year of college – a position I was offered by the chair of the department despite not being a journalism major.
When it came time to build the newspaper's original website, I was the only one on staff who knew anything about the Internet, so I was the one who spearheaded the project. The website won media awards statewide, and that soon led to an offer by a television station to work for them on a temporary basis building their first website. While working for them, I came to the attention of a consulting firm that sold and supported accounting software to technology companies. When that business tanked in 2002, and I was laid off, a business associate mentioned me to a consulting firm in Chicago that also did the same kind of work, but for a larger, more stable industry. I was offered that job after a Friday-evening, 30-minute phone call with the vice president of the company, and drove into Chicago two weeks later. After four years, I left the company (but keep close connections with it) to consult on my own, in a very specialized but high-demand niche. I stay booked anywhere from three to six months in advance, and there's no end in site.
So what was at one time only a hobby – computers and technology – has now become my lifeblood despite having no formal training, degree, or certifications in any tech-related field. What I do have is a degree in English and the critical-thinking skills that come along with it. It's given me a diverse, fulfilling, and profitable career, and I'm only 13 years out of college.
Unlike those with specialized degrees who work in the same field their entire careers, I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm looking forward to finding out. Maybe I'll do some travel writing, or make a few bucks off my photography hobby, or sell some of my short stories, or indulge my interest in marine biology, or – well, you get the picture. The sky's the limit!
As a recent grad with an English major, I totally agree with everything you said except for "non-impacted." That one must depend on the school--at my tiny, understaffed school, English wasn't the hardest major to take classes in (that would probably be poli sci) but it wasn't always easy, either. English was the most popular major and except for classes with particularly unpopular teachers, they were all full.
Another benefit of the English major is that any electives you take are totally relevant to some class you took or are taking. Oh, and when you have to write papers in them, your teachers are blown away because none of the students in that major know how to write!
I loved most of my English career in college. Now I'm a technical writer. Writing all of those papers paid off. I've always read a lot and liked to write so getting a degree in English was the perfect fit for me.
I didn't find my fellow grad students as enjoyable as my undergraduate classmates, however. I used to walk across the street to avoid some of them. The prospects of their getting work after more than ten years working on a very narrow topic weren't good, and taking out loans to do so must have been a burden. I was content with my "terminal" M.A. from a respected university. Qualified for the fid, but wasn't interested.
I had a more practical nature--worked as an editor, research assistant for a medical education project, and, yes, at a book store--unrewarding because it was a chain that saw books as fungible products. If the lights went out, x number would still move out the door.
Had exposure to computer concordances in grad school, which led to my being hired as a tech writer (a friend landed my first job for me).
English is an ideal major for certain students. I believe most of
them know if it is right for them.
My attitude today is that no price is too high ... So you can guess that I'm bitten, not just shy.
Unfortunately, monthly or better monitoring of your credit reports is the only way to detect certain identity theft techniques. Freezes aren't binding on creditors. You can monitor your accounts 24-7 for unauthorized charges, and you will always miss unauthorized accounts. It doesn't matter who calls you to check on suspicious activity if you're not the one receiving your calls. Etc. Identity theft is not just some guy with a stolen credit card anymore. It stinks, its unfair, but its reality.
Nope, I wouldn't want the Oh my gosh, do we have to like read all those books?" teaching my children either. How can one "believe in your students" who are majoring in General Education or Criminal Science?
I use Zander's ID theft insurance based on Dave Ramsey's recommendation. What sold me on it is that they'll help with straightening out your accounts if your identity is stolen. It's $140/year for a family.
Books are much cheaper and there are no lectures or labs or homework. You'll need graduate school for a job anyway so you might as well enjoy your BA. I think a humanities BA should take 3 years at which point you can move on to learning plumbing or engineering.
If you do want a job after school make sure your school has an internship program. You need something more practical than "BA in English" on your resume to even have a chance at a job.
You forgot one other really important benefit of being an English major - knowing how to write well. It is such a valuable skill that so many college grads seem to miss out on.
My dad was extremely worried about my career prospects when I declared my major, but in 8 years I went from intern to marketing director. Not bad. Now I'm moving on to my second career (law) and am leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of my class because I can read quickly and write well.
I'm not saying being a science major or any other major is bad, just consider that being an English major can take you really far.
"I won’t even go into the whining from my students as they write persuasive essays regarding their fear of immigration and all of India coming over to take their jobs. You want HB-1 visa immigrants to stop taking your jobs? How about majoring in science, engineering, and math? Too hard? Alright then. Shush."
You may be seeing more of the specialized degrees because that's what employers are willing to pay for.
I'm a Liberal Art major with a big humanities focus (I'm striving to be one of those depressing people that guest #16 met in college) and my employer wants very little part in assisting with my degree. If I were willing to major in business, information technology or accounting they'd be much obliged. Not a complaint really but a thought that might explain at least one aspect of what might be contributing to the phenomena.
What do folks think of a degree in Economics?
Guest 7 - how does your view on housing account for gentrification?
Online colleges usually value 'real world' experience over or in tandem with teaching experience. University of Phoenix is a good place to start online (most online instructors I know started there) however I'd suggest trying your local community college first--especially if you have some sort of tie to the community. It can be kind of like getting your SAG card for actors---you can't work unless you have a card but you can't get a card unless you work.
This article isn't about saving money by being healthy. It's about saving money by not being fat. And it's filled with misinformation about fat people.
Fat people are always hot, fat people suffer from limited mobility, fat people are slow. All fat people shell out bucks dieting. Being fat leads to having bad knees (okay, that one came from the comments, but it's still a fallacy. Osteoarthritis of the knees is almost entirely genetic or from abusing the knees. I had it from the Orthopod himself. Weight is not a primary factor in developing osteoarthritis of the knees).
That's the problem with this post and with the people commenting it to support it. Not one person has chimed up to say, wow...it really is full of myths. Maybe I should take it down or rewrite it so it's isn't full of myths about fat people that reinforce the discrimination of fat people in our society.
This post could easily be rewritten to show how being *unhealthy* costs you more money. It doesn't have to be about being fat.
Oh, and the idiot up there who says that it is as simple as calories in and calories out (yes, your an idiot, I call them like I see them). Go do some research. Do you know why WLS works? Because it restricts you to under 1000 calories a day. Even someone with serious metabolic problems is going to lose weight with that kind of restriction. And it only works well if you exercise like a demon to keep what little metabolism you have from completely bottoming out by the starvation levels forced on you by the surgery. My sister had WLS, and I have to say, she's the poster child for the surgery. She's done great. But watching what she's had to go through to lose weight? No thanks. Vitamin deficiency, vomiting, constant exercise (I mean constant. If she misses more than a couple of days in a row, her energy levels start falling).
I'm out in the parks with the dogs at least 3 days a week and usually more. We walk fast enough with them to be breathing hard, for 30 - 45 minutes, which is what the doctors recommend for losing weight. Have I lost weight? No, I have not. I've been eating the same diet since I was a teenager. It's a moderate diet of about 2000 calories a day (at least it was back when I used to count calories, I gave that up years ago). By all medical standards, I should be thin, or at least thinner. Instead, I have the metabolism from hell, and I weigh almost 300 pounds. But I do pretty much whatever I want. My only limitation is my knees, which as I said above is mostly hereditary (most of my family has bad knees).
Look, I know that some fat people are fat because they grossly overeat. But I think you'd be surprised to find out just how many of us don't overeat and get plenty of exercise.
Please just stop reinforcing the stereotype. It's articles like this that keep us being discriminated against. It's articles like this that keep us from getting better jobs, that keep us being approached in public by complete strangers to lecture us on our weight and eating habits, that encourages idiots to yell imprecations at us from their cars (yes, it happens, a lot).
and I work on Wall Street so go figure. My degree has helped me more than just having a business degree ever would. Being able to see the big picture and not be so narrowly focused has definitely been a benefit. And if worse comes to worse it makes a good story when I talk to clients.
I also have two English degrees and completed both while serving on active duty in the Air Force. As I start to think about life after the military, I'm a bit lost as to where I might look for work, so I want to begin by teaching some online English classes part-time. What school do you teach for? Do you have any suggestions to help me out?
I enjoyed this article quite a bit and even shared it with my brother who is also an English major.
We have Mayor Rudy Clay who is Democratic County Chairman as well as the Democratic Mayor of Gary. Clays problem is that he only has a GED. He is a high school dropout... what makes matters worse is that it is an honorary GED ! He has hired his son as a photographer to take pictures of his dad for $100,000 a year... (Rudy Jr. is convicted felon who was arrested for making fake IDs for aliens and selling them on the streets) an additional $30,000 for photos from the City Sanitation works... and he cannot figure out why he has no money to pay fire fighters and police personnel.
Gary is doomed! Schedule to run out of money October 1st. But then Gary residents are pleased to know that Rudy s son will be there to photograph that historical moment.
I'll have to disagree and bet you've never been to a PRTM party. Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management students (Also referred to as Party Right 'Til May majors) throw outrageous parties and have access to fun locations.
English majors need to be a little more aggressive to get jobs. With a little more ambition, you have a lot of options. I still stand by my profession as a clinical scientist. The parties were nonexistent, the books were expensive, I was incredibly depressed but now I have people begging me to take a job at their hospital.
actually, the most depressed and depressing people i knew in college were english majors. they're the ones who refused to get a job during the summer because "they weren't gonna work for the MAN, man!" and so they'd just mooch off of their girlfriends who work two+ jobs while "the writer" works tirelessly to cultivate their "struggling and introspective artist" image by pretending to have had such a difficult upbringing and tragic life (growing up in Greenwich, CT, of course). Thick framed glasses, lots of handrolled cigarettes, flannel. They all looked the same and all had nothing of interest to say, were constantly complaining that "no one else in this class knows what they're talking about! I'm the only one who knows how to write!" and "i'm soooooo misunderstood, and no one understands that!"
however i do know one (count, one) person who majored in english and was a generally awesome, well-balanced, highly intelligent lady with realistic goals and ambitions. so i wouldn't say that all english majors are obnoxiously pretentious hipster douchebags suffering from some sort of adolescent hangover, but i will say that English majors (almost exclusively) are prone to what I'd call "English Majoritis." Philosophy majors come in as a close second -- but i think their degree is hands-down completely useless.
One of my business cards had an unauthorized purchase. The credit card company noticed it and called me. I asked the person who called how this happens. It said these people have software that continues to roll numbers until one works.
I think some people took this post a little more seriously than necessary.
I'm a high school teacher, and if my students asked me what to major in for job security, I would say a science. A broad category of science, like biology or chemistry. Because I have one friend who has a definite career that came straight out of college, no additional degrees needed, and he's a scientist.
If they asked about something that will make them well-rounded and prepare them for lots of jobs but no specific jobs in particular, that's when I'd offer up the advice to major in English or another liberal art.
Drama has all the benefits of English listed in this post. So if you give English a try but it's not for you, maybe give Drama a go. Double-majoring in Drama was by far my best academic choice in college.
Number 8 is completely wrong: spending money on rent my seem like a good choice in the the short term, but financially, it is much better to own rather than rent.
Also couldn't spell for ****. But I count on you guys to find the errors. I actually caught both errors and more but had trouble getting back in to edit.
I put a fraud alert on my equifax. I got transunion and experian free reports. In 90 days, I will ask for another fraud alert and the process repeats. it's worth it. my ex has been saying i am responsible for his debts and i get calls saying i am listed as a relative!!!! We got divorced 20 years ago. whew...
I majored in English because I really didn't know what I wanted to do. English, journalism, and languages were lumped into the same department, and the chair of the English department was also director of academic computing who taught courses in integrating technology and learning. This was in the early '90s, when the Internet was still an academic tool, and the most popular computers in education were Macs. (I still have a working Mac SE from 1991 that I use for all my creative writing.)
As a result of exposure to four fields (English, journalism, languages, and computing) in one major, my first job out of college was as a copy editor for a newspaper in Louisiana. I didn't even have to apply for that job; they found me before I even graduated because I was editor of the student newspaper my senior year of college – a position I was offered by the chair of the department despite not being a journalism major.
When it came time to build the newspaper's original website, I was the only one on staff who knew anything about the Internet, so I was the one who spearheaded the project. The website won media awards statewide, and that soon led to an offer by a television station to work for them on a temporary basis building their first website. While working for them, I came to the attention of a consulting firm that sold and supported accounting software to technology companies. When that business tanked in 2002, and I was laid off, a business associate mentioned me to a consulting firm in Chicago that also did the same kind of work, but for a larger, more stable industry. I was offered that job after a Friday-evening, 30-minute phone call with the vice president of the company, and drove into Chicago two weeks later. After four years, I left the company (but keep close connections with it) to consult on my own, in a very specialized but high-demand niche. I stay booked anywhere from three to six months in advance, and there's no end in site.
So what was at one time only a hobby – computers and technology – has now become my lifeblood despite having no formal training, degree, or certifications in any tech-related field. What I do have is a degree in English and the critical-thinking skills that come along with it. It's given me a diverse, fulfilling, and profitable career, and I'm only 13 years out of college.
Unlike those with specialized degrees who work in the same field their entire careers, I have no idea what the future holds, but I'm looking forward to finding out. Maybe I'll do some travel writing, or make a few bucks off my photography hobby, or sell some of my short stories, or indulge my interest in marine biology, or – well, you get the picture. The sky's the limit!
As a recent grad with an English major, I totally agree with everything you said except for "non-impacted." That one must depend on the school--at my tiny, understaffed school, English wasn't the hardest major to take classes in (that would probably be poli sci) but it wasn't always easy, either. English was the most popular major and except for classes with particularly unpopular teachers, they were all full.
Another benefit of the English major is that any electives you take are totally relevant to some class you took or are taking. Oh, and when you have to write papers in them, your teachers are blown away because none of the students in that major know how to write!
I loved most of my English career in college. Now I'm a technical writer. Writing all of those papers paid off. I've always read a lot and liked to write so getting a degree in English was the perfect fit for me.
I didn't find my fellow grad students as enjoyable as my undergraduate classmates, however. I used to walk across the street to avoid some of them. The prospects of their getting work after more than ten years working on a very narrow topic weren't good, and taking out loans to do so must have been a burden. I was content with my "terminal" M.A. from a respected university. Qualified for the fid, but wasn't interested.
I had a more practical nature--worked as an editor, research assistant for a medical education project, and, yes, at a book store--unrewarding because it was a chain that saw books as fungible products. If the lights went out, x number would still move out the door.
Had exposure to computer concordances in grad school, which led to my being hired as a tech writer (a friend landed my first job for me).
English is an ideal major for certain students. I believe most of
them know if it is right for them.
My attitude today is that no price is too high ... So you can guess that I'm bitten, not just shy.
Unfortunately, monthly or better monitoring of your credit reports is the only way to detect certain identity theft techniques. Freezes aren't binding on creditors. You can monitor your accounts 24-7 for unauthorized charges, and you will always miss unauthorized accounts. It doesn't matter who calls you to check on suspicious activity if you're not the one receiving your calls. Etc. Identity theft is not just some guy with a stolen credit card anymore. It stinks, its unfair, but its reality.
Nope, I wouldn't want the Oh my gosh, do we have to like read all those books?" teaching my children either. How can one "believe in your students" who are majoring in General Education or Criminal Science?
I use Zander's ID theft insurance based on Dave Ramsey's recommendation. What sold me on it is that they'll help with straightening out your accounts if your identity is stolen. It's $140/year for a family.
Books are much cheaper and there are no lectures or labs or homework. You'll need graduate school for a job anyway so you might as well enjoy your BA. I think a humanities BA should take 3 years at which point you can move on to learning plumbing or engineering.
If you do want a job after school make sure your school has an internship program. You need something more practical than "BA in English" on your resume to even have a chance at a job.
You forgot one other really important benefit of being an English major - knowing how to write well. It is such a valuable skill that so many college grads seem to miss out on.
My dad was extremely worried about my career prospects when I declared my major, but in 8 years I went from intern to marketing director. Not bad. Now I'm moving on to my second career (law) and am leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of my class because I can read quickly and write well.
I'm not saying being a science major or any other major is bad, just consider that being an English major can take you really far.
"I won’t even go into the whining from my students as they write persuasive essays regarding their fear of immigration and all of India coming over to take their jobs. You want HB-1 visa immigrants to stop taking your jobs? How about majoring in science, engineering, and math? Too hard? Alright then. Shush."
Well said.
You may be seeing more of the specialized degrees because that's what employers are willing to pay for.
I'm a Liberal Art major with a big humanities focus (I'm striving to be one of those depressing people that guest #16 met in college) and my employer wants very little part in assisting with my degree. If I were willing to major in business, information technology or accounting they'd be much obliged. Not a complaint really but a thought that might explain at least one aspect of what might be contributing to the phenomena.
What do folks think of a degree in Economics?
Guest 7 - how does your view on housing account for gentrification?
Online colleges usually value 'real world' experience over or in tandem with teaching experience. University of Phoenix is a good place to start online (most online instructors I know started there) however I'd suggest trying your local community college first--especially if you have some sort of tie to the community. It can be kind of like getting your SAG card for actors---you can't work unless you have a card but you can't get a card unless you work.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
Wasn't former Disney CEO Michael Eisener a theatre major?
Margaret Garcia-Couoh
You people aren't even listening, are you?
This article isn't about saving money by being healthy. It's about saving money by not being fat. And it's filled with misinformation about fat people.
Fat people are always hot, fat people suffer from limited mobility, fat people are slow. All fat people shell out bucks dieting. Being fat leads to having bad knees (okay, that one came from the comments, but it's still a fallacy. Osteoarthritis of the knees is almost entirely genetic or from abusing the knees. I had it from the Orthopod himself. Weight is not a primary factor in developing osteoarthritis of the knees).
That's the problem with this post and with the people commenting it to support it. Not one person has chimed up to say, wow...it really is full of myths. Maybe I should take it down or rewrite it so it's isn't full of myths about fat people that reinforce the discrimination of fat people in our society.
This post could easily be rewritten to show how being *unhealthy* costs you more money. It doesn't have to be about being fat.
Oh, and the idiot up there who says that it is as simple as calories in and calories out (yes, your an idiot, I call them like I see them). Go do some research. Do you know why WLS works? Because it restricts you to under 1000 calories a day. Even someone with serious metabolic problems is going to lose weight with that kind of restriction. And it only works well if you exercise like a demon to keep what little metabolism you have from completely bottoming out by the starvation levels forced on you by the surgery. My sister had WLS, and I have to say, she's the poster child for the surgery. She's done great. But watching what she's had to go through to lose weight? No thanks. Vitamin deficiency, vomiting, constant exercise (I mean constant. If she misses more than a couple of days in a row, her energy levels start falling).
I'm out in the parks with the dogs at least 3 days a week and usually more. We walk fast enough with them to be breathing hard, for 30 - 45 minutes, which is what the doctors recommend for losing weight. Have I lost weight? No, I have not. I've been eating the same diet since I was a teenager. It's a moderate diet of about 2000 calories a day (at least it was back when I used to count calories, I gave that up years ago). By all medical standards, I should be thin, or at least thinner. Instead, I have the metabolism from hell, and I weigh almost 300 pounds. But I do pretty much whatever I want. My only limitation is my knees, which as I said above is mostly hereditary (most of my family has bad knees).
Look, I know that some fat people are fat because they grossly overeat. But I think you'd be surprised to find out just how many of us don't overeat and get plenty of exercise.
Please just stop reinforcing the stereotype. It's articles like this that keep us being discriminated against. It's articles like this that keep us from getting better jobs, that keep us being approached in public by complete strangers to lecture us on our weight and eating habits, that encourages idiots to yell imprecations at us from their cars (yes, it happens, a lot).
and I work on Wall Street so go figure. My degree has helped me more than just having a business degree ever would. Being able to see the big picture and not be so narrowly focused has definitely been a benefit. And if worse comes to worse it makes a good story when I talk to clients.
I also have two English degrees and completed both while serving on active duty in the Air Force. As I start to think about life after the military, I'm a bit lost as to where I might look for work, so I want to begin by teaching some online English classes part-time. What school do you teach for? Do you have any suggestions to help me out?
I enjoyed this article quite a bit and even shared it with my brother who is also an English major.
I've got two English degrees and I love the hell out of my job. Well, the work is boring, but the people are great.
Professional writing is way different from being a free-loading aspiring novelist, though.
We have Mayor Rudy Clay who is Democratic County Chairman as well as the Democratic Mayor of Gary. Clays problem is that he only has a GED. He is a high school dropout... what makes matters worse is that it is an honorary GED ! He has hired his son as a photographer to take pictures of his dad for $100,000 a year... (Rudy Jr. is convicted felon who was arrested for making fake IDs for aliens and selling them on the streets) an additional $30,000 for photos from the City Sanitation works... and he cannot figure out why he has no money to pay fire fighters and police personnel.
Gary is doomed! Schedule to run out of money October 1st. But then Gary residents are pleased to know that Rudy s son will be there to photograph that historical moment.
I'll have to disagree and bet you've never been to a PRTM party. Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management students (Also referred to as Party Right 'Til May majors) throw outrageous parties and have access to fun locations.
English majors need to be a little more aggressive to get jobs. With a little more ambition, you have a lot of options. I still stand by my profession as a clinical scientist. The parties were nonexistent, the books were expensive, I was incredibly depressed but now I have people begging me to take a job at their hospital.
actually, the most depressed and depressing people i knew in college were english majors. they're the ones who refused to get a job during the summer because "they weren't gonna work for the MAN, man!" and so they'd just mooch off of their girlfriends who work two+ jobs while "the writer" works tirelessly to cultivate their "struggling and introspective artist" image by pretending to have had such a difficult upbringing and tragic life (growing up in Greenwich, CT, of course). Thick framed glasses, lots of handrolled cigarettes, flannel. They all looked the same and all had nothing of interest to say, were constantly complaining that "no one else in this class knows what they're talking about! I'm the only one who knows how to write!" and "i'm soooooo misunderstood, and no one understands that!"
however i do know one (count, one) person who majored in english and was a generally awesome, well-balanced, highly intelligent lady with realistic goals and ambitions. so i wouldn't say that all english majors are obnoxiously pretentious hipster douchebags suffering from some sort of adolescent hangover, but i will say that English majors (almost exclusively) are prone to what I'd call "English Majoritis." Philosophy majors come in as a close second -- but i think their degree is hands-down completely useless.
One of my business cards had an unauthorized purchase. The credit card company noticed it and called me. I asked the person who called how this happens. It said these people have software that continues to roll numbers until one works.
I think some people took this post a little more seriously than necessary.
I'm a high school teacher, and if my students asked me what to major in for job security, I would say a science. A broad category of science, like biology or chemistry. Because I have one friend who has a definite career that came straight out of college, no additional degrees needed, and he's a scientist.
If they asked about something that will make them well-rounded and prepare them for lots of jobs but no specific jobs in particular, that's when I'd offer up the advice to major in English or another liberal art.
Drama has all the benefits of English listed in this post. So if you give English a try but it's not for you, maybe give Drama a go. Double-majoring in Drama was by far my best academic choice in college.
Number 8 is completely wrong: spending money on rent my seem like a good choice in the the short term, but financially, it is much better to own rather than rent.
Oh, and now you changed it to "hirer". That's a noun and not a verb.
Also couldn't spell for ****. But I count on you guys to find the errors. I actually caught both errors and more but had trouble getting back in to edit.
Margaret Garcia-Couoh