As I was reading for my O’Connor class, Chris read this article aloud to me, pointing out the frustrations of graduate students in this terrible job market. The article basically suggests that graduate degrees in the humanities (including English) are not really worth it all the way. It explains that 50% of all graduates of Ph.D. programs in humanities never find tenure-track jobs at universities or colleges. It is heart breaking in a lot of ways.
However, there are many reasons to go to graduate school for a Masters in English that are in fact valuable.
1. If you have a T.A. position, it provides work experience while needing to either take out a small amount of loans of none at all while deferring previous student loans from undergrad. I think that I have learned just as much being a T.A. as I have in my grad classes themselves. Not only have I learned about teaching and communication from teaching English 101, but my writing skills and understanding of grammar have improved tremendously.
2. It provides a chance to earn a higher G.P.A. Many people find that their grades improve in graduate school. I did well in undergrad and didn’t really need a clean slate, but my G.P.A. has improved by over a half of a point. A higher G.P.A. is always a good thing.
3. You have the chance to make more connections. At the graduate level, faculty members often see grad students more as peers since grad students are held to a higher level of academics. As a result, better connections can be formed. Coming out of undergrad, I had three letters of recommendation from well-meaning professors. Now, though, my letters are stronger with more specific comments on my work skills, intelligence, and character. I believe that an employer could call my references and be very impressed with what my references have to say. In fact, I have been told by two different employers how happy they were with my references.
4. It provides a chance to hone in on your skills. I can’t express how much I have learned in graduate school. I have a better understanding of both literature and writing. How many job descriptions demand good communication and writing skills?
5. If you are going into education, an M.A. in English in fact makes you more employable. During an interview, one school administrator told me that I would be at the top of the list of candidates if I just had certification because they really like hiring people with Master’s degrees in their subject area.
In the end, degrees in English simply aren’t that employable to begin with. If you can’t find a job with your B.A. in English and you have the chance to get your M.A. in English more or less for free with a T.A.ship, then I would suggest that you just go for it, knowing that you will once again have difficulty finding a job after graduation despite your graduate degree. I wouldn’t suggest it without a T.A.ship, though. It isn’t really worth it to go into large amounts of debt or to give up a sturdy job because the teaching experience with a T.A.ship seems essential to me. This isn’t because English is a bad degree or anything, but because jobs are demanding more and more specific degrees with designated career tracks. Earning an M.A. in English, though, can help with the previously mentioned problems. I didn’t think that I wanted to teach going into grad school, but I have found that I really, really love it. So, I suspect that this degree will help with finding employment in that area. Maybe just not right now. Because no one finds jobs right now.
