英语专业学生必看：英语专业的就业前景在哪里？

Social sciences have become wildly popular with western students in the past decade. With a downturn in the economy, most wonder whether they will be forced to work in positions they do not appreciate. English majors are particularly worried about becoming an English teacher or ending up writing articles in general.在过去的十年里，社会科学受到了西方学生的广泛欢迎。由于经济低迷，很多人都在想他们会不会被迫去从事自己不喜欢的工作。英语专业的学生尤其担心自己会成为英语老师或者只能写一些文章。However, a recent Career Say article offers career paths for English majors that might not be as dour as some make it out to be. English majors do not have to resign themselves to becoming a teacher or a writer. Instead, they can often make fabulous journalists or editors. In some cases, they even make amazing film makers, foreign translators, and even news reporters. Anyone graduating from college with a degree in English or any other social science should not be dismayed by the lack of job opportunities. One only has to look hard enough to find them.不过职业规划网站Career Say最近发表的一篇文章为英语专业的学生提供了一些职业道路，好像不像有些人想象的那么沉闷。英语专业的学生没有必要去当老师或者写手，他们也可以成为很好的文字记者或者编辑。在某些情况下，他们甚至可以成为很棒的电影导演、外语翻译、甚至新闻采访记者。那些在大学里学习英语专业或其他社会科学专业的学生，都不应该因为缺少工作机会而感到沮丧，而是应该努力去找到工作。I’m writing this article because I’m an English major.我会写这篇文章是因为，我学的就是英语专业。You might be thinking one of two things; that I’m an English major with a career in article writing, or I’m an article writer among other things because I’m an English major.你也许会这样想：我学的是英语专业，所以我的职业就是写文章；或者我是个写文章的，因为我学的是英语专业。I am sincerely glad to say that the second premise is actually true. A graduate of Bachelor in Secondary Education Major in English, being a formal English teacher was not my first choice in career paths. (If you’re wondering, it’s actually Psychology.) Little did I realize how versatile this specialization is and how many career options it would present me. 我很高兴地告诉你，后者的确如此。尽管我在大学学的是中学英语教育，但做一名正式的英语教师并不是我的第一职业选择（事实上心理学才是。）当时我并没有意识到英语专业可以如此多样，摆在我面前的可以有这么多职业选择。Even for a graduate of my course, (which has limited major units unlike a pure AB English degree) the possibilities are numerous. The amount and variety of jobs for English majors are hardly disappointing and present many opportunities for different skills to be utilized.哪怕对于像我这样学习英语专业的课程但没有拿正式学位的毕业生来说，也有无数的可能性。对于英语专业的学生来说，工作的数量和种类都不会让你失望，你有许多机会可以运用多种技能。If you’re wondering just how many English major career options are there after graduation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides a list of a few examples of career opportunities for English Majors. Below are some examples:如果你想知道毕业之后英语专业的学生有多少工作机会，位于教堂山的北卡罗来纳大学列出了一份清单，上面的例子都是英语专业学生的就业机会。下面就是一些例子：

Author 作家
Bookstore manager 书店老板
Columnist 专栏作家
Court Reporter 法院书记官
Creative Writing 创意写作者
Critic 评论家
Customer Service Representative 客户服务代表
Drama 戏剧类职业
Editor (assignment, book, copy, dictionary…) 编辑 （功课、书、副本、字典等）
Educational Researcher 教育研究者
Environmental Planner 环境规划师
Filmmaker 电影导演
Foreign Service 涉外服务
Interpreter/Translator 口译员/笔译员
Journalist 文字记者
Librarian 图书管理员
Musician/Composer 音乐家/作曲家
Narrator 解说员
News Reporter 新闻记者
Proofreader 校对员
Research Analyst 研究分析员
Secondary School Teacher 中学老师
Singer/Songwriter 歌手/歌曲作家
Social Worker 社会工作者
Teaching (all levels) 教师（各个层面的）
Writer: Technical, Speech, Freelance 作家：科技类、演讲类、自由写作者

Many of these career options are already familiar, but some may surprise graduates. Being in the foreign service or the entertainment industry would not probably be the first career option to cross the mind of most English majors. Most of these career options require additional training and certification, but a degree and specialization in English would definitely command an advantage.这些职业选择中有许多我们已经很熟悉了，但也有一些会让毕业生感到惊讶。从事涉外服务或者娱乐行业可能不是大多数英语专业学生想到的第一职业选择。这些职业大部分都需要额外的训练和证书，但在英语上的特长和学位毫无疑问是一种优势。Careers for English classifies these career options in three categories:“英语专业职业”网站把这些职业分为了三个种类：

Teaching Careers 教师类
Writing Careers 写作类
Social Work 社会工作类

This is not an official categorization, but it gives a good overview of the many English Major career options at a glance.这并不是官方的分类，但这给许多英语专业的职业提供了一种整体的展望。A degree or major in English is simply a tool, not a set of rules. There are no black-and-white lines carved in stone to limit an English Major graduate with an open mind. I’ve taught English in an international curriculum, written short stories and a screenplay treatment, worked as an environmental journalist, and published articles online. Each opportunity taught me something and expanded my world a little more while giving me the chance to realize my potential and skills.学习英语专业或者拿到英语专业的学位是一种工具，不是一堆法则。并没有明确的规定限制英语专业的毕业生要做什么。我曾经在一门国际课程里教授英语，写过短篇故事和电影剧本，做过环境专题记者，在网上发表过文章。每个机会都教会我一些东西，扩展了我的视野，让我意识到我的潜力和能力。With the abundance of jobs for English Majors, there’s only one factor to limit a person: himself or herself.在英语专业就业的各种职业当中，只有一项限制因素：那就是就业者自己。