One of the most frequent questions prospective and current students ask about the majors in our discipline is what types of careers they can find following graduation. Most people outside the discipline know that graduates can find work as teachers or pursue graduate study—and we have many alumni who take those routes—but there is a wide variety of other options for our majors. Many graduates earned additional majors to add to their Language and Literature degree to provide more flexibility and opportunities to serve.
Our English majors not only become teachers and professors; they also pursue careers in publishing, library science, various writing careers (ranging from technical communications to working for the television industry), market analysis, nonprofits, marketing, information technology, ministry, public relations, graphic design, law, and event management.
Alumni from our world language programs also enjoy a number of diverse careers, such as teaching at various levels domestically or internationally, pursuing graduate study, jobs as interpreters and translators, working for nonprofit corporations, business (especially abroad), and government employment, and a variety of involvement in Christian mission.
Prepared in both linguistics and English language acquisition and instruction, TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) alumni work in a wide variety of cross-cultural, educational contexts around the world. Graduates from the TESOL major span the globe with alumni working in public schools, immigrant programs, religious organizations, international relief work, refugee resettlement, and non-profit agencies both overseas and abroad.
Diane Harmon (2014) is a video researcher for the late night television show, CONAN. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with minors in Bible and Humanities.
Her degree helped her directly in her first internship in the entertainment industry in script coverage. Her career in video research is less directly related to her English degree, but still finds the foundational material helpful. “I think my English degree/coursework nurtured my curious and inquisitive spirit, honed my ability to critique and discern, and trained me to be a great communicator and even greater listener,” says Diane.
Hannah Sullivan teaches middle and high school Spanish at Tuscaloosa Academy in Tuscaloosa, AL. She also works for the University of Alabama teaching Spanish through the distance learning program and tutoring English and Spanish in the Center for Athletic Student Services. After her time at Lee University, she earned a Master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Alabama.
Her time at Lee, earning a degree in Spanish with minors in English and TESOL, helped prepare her for her real-world experiences: “I helped pioneer an ESL literacy program at a local church in Tuscaloosa a few years ago, and my experience and studies in Spanish, English, and TESOL each played into the success of the classes.” Hannah also manages to connect her Spanish education with her English education by relating Spanish to the mechanics of English in her classes, having her students write essays in Spanish, and having students read and discuss short stories and essays in Spanish.
As she leads her department, writes letters of recommendation, and applies to Ph.D. programs, Hannah says, “the writing skills and higher order thinking I learned in both Spanish and English at Lee play a crucial role in what I do as an educator.”
Rachael Begarly teaches English as a Second Language for Maury County Public Schools. She is also pursuing a Master’s in Education in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
“My English degree gave me a start in teaching,” says Rachael. “I was able to find a job as a middle school ELA teacher shortly after I graduated. When I moved overseas to teach English in South Korea, my degree provided me with more job opportunities and a slightly higher paycheck than other four-year degrees would have.” She feels that her experiences in the English department gave her the necessary foundation to be a successful graduate student, as well as the ability to properly prepare her students for the future.
Rachael fell in love with ESL when she was teaching abroad: “Student teaching in Thailand made me realize how many opportunities there were for me to teach and live anywhere. I knew when I graduated that I had options!”