The English Undergraduate Association hosted its annual Career Panel last November to showcase all the wonderful opportunities and jobs you can have after graduation with an English degree! We are giving an overview of the event in case you missed it or wanted a refresher as we start the new year!
Panelists
Jonathan Horowitz: President of the Houston Hospitality Alliance (Rice ’95)
Erika Schumacher: PhD Candidate of History & Human Rights at the University of California Davis (Rice ’19)
Jeeyoon Kim: Asia Program Assistant at the National Endowment for Democracy in DC (Rice ’21)- Hanszen
Megan Gordon: Staff Attorney at Children’s Law Center (Healthy Together program) (Rice ’19)
McKenna Tanner: Editorial Assistant at W.W. Norton & Company, Norton Professional Books imprint (Rice ’24)
Brian Spector: CEO of Assure (startup to help CFOs get the most out of AI) (Rice ’88)
Kat Iverson: Global Projects Associate at Baker Botts L.L.P. (Energy Projects and Transactions, and Electric Utility Regulation) (Rice ’18)
Jordan Lewis: Beaker Research Manager (Rice ’18)
Questions
How and why did you decide to pursue your English degree?
McKenna’s interest stemmed from always knowing she wanted to work in publishing so English was always in the cards for her. She’s always loved analyzing, reading books, and talking about literature. McKenna remains grateful for her experience in the department because it’s given her several skills that she still uses today.
Brian’s mother is an author and he also enjoys writing. Thus, in an effort to continue honing his writing skills, he pursued the major.
Jordan has always loved reading and she believes the critical analysis that comes from it is helpful–especially in the business world. She felt the English major could prepare her for anything!
Kat entered Rice as a Biology and Chemistry double major. She realized one day that she missed her English classes and writing papers so she switched majors!
Jonathan had always enjoyed writing and ended up triple majoring in English, Political Science, and Sociology. He loved the English major and feels it has served him well over the years.
Erika writes fiction and has been writing novels since she was a teenager. She entered Rice thinking she wanted to be a political science major because she wanted to work in European politics. However, her O-Week advisor was able to convince her otherwise based on her interests.
Megan loved her English classes growing up and the ones Rice had to offer, it was an easy decision for her.
Jeeyoon was taking Political Science and English classes. She gravitated more toward her English classes because of how small and discussion-based the classes were. It was also a pretty easy decision for her!
What was your first job after graduation and how does it influence where you are now?
As McKenna is a recent alum, she is currently working her first job post-grad. However, she wants English majors to know that even though her first internship, working for a literary non-profit handling donor documents and funding, was completely unrelated to what she actually wanted to be doing careerwise. She was still able to transfer some of the skills she learned from it when applying for full-time positions post-grad.
Brian was hired first as an economist at a consulting company, however, this was very short-lived. Fortunately, his employer recognized his English degree and rehired him as a consultant because of his ability to write. As he continued working there he realized that he might be cut out for a career in consulting moving forward.
Jordan’s first job post-grad was at a research institute at the Texas Medical Center Innovation Space which was funded by NASA. She heard about this opportunity through the English department newsletter. She said it was a good job for her because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do immediately after graduation. She described herself as being someone who loves to wear many different hats and this job allowed her to do just that. Even though the space route ultimately was not for her, the job did teach her a lot about her work style, developing new skills, and being able to manage people.
Kat had no idea what she wanted to do post-grad and jumped around from job to job trying to figure out what she wanted. Some of what she did initially was ghostwriting for statesmen wanting to run for political positions and this helped her see the truth behind how politicians think. This inspired her to think about the landscape in which we live and create change–causing her to pursue her law degree.
Both Kat and Jonathan agree that the foundational skills from the Rice English degree helped them in law school when it came to research, reading, and writing papers. Jonathan adds that these skills helped him become better at communicating with people which is an important skill to be good at as you navigate the professional world. He emphasizes how studying English and Law helps you sound smart even when you might not be as knowledgeable on the subject.
Erika’s first job out of college was a Lead for America Fellowship where she worked for the Houston Housing and Community Development Department for two years doing social media and communications. She explains how her experience working with the city of Houston to ensure people had the right information during disaster recovery situations, such as the Big Freeze, helped her realize that she wanted to do more of this kind of work. Since then, she has gone to law school and completely changed careers, thus she wants to emphasize that careers can change in all different ways and that’s ok!
Jeeyoon also went the fellowship route as she also had no idea what she wanted to do post-grad. However, she knew she wanted to go internationally. She wrote her thesis on Korean Modernism and was able to go to Korea through the Wagner Fellowship. This helped her realize that despite initially intending to apply for grad school, this path was not for her. Despite this feeling, she feels that the fellowship helped her pursue work in the North Korean human rights effort. In her current position, she still practices the skills she learned at Rice and remains grateful for the skills and abilities from the English degree.
Did you ever face doubts about the practicability of your English degree? If so, how did you overcome them?
McKenna described herself as being set on pursuing a career in publishing and she knew the English degree would give her the practical skills necessary to do so. Thus, she did not face any doubts about the degree. Throughout her college career, she learned how to network with other publishing professionals to learn more about the industry and applied for as many internships as she could. She encouraged students to take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way to build experience–which has served well for her today.
Brian started teaching a class at Rice in 2014 that catered to English majors and other humanities students to show them all of the capabilities and practicability their degrees hold within tech companies. He wanted to expose humanities students to the tech opportunities that they thought they could not do to answer the question of what people can do with an English degree. He encouraged English majors that they could do anything with an English degree! He goes on to say that employers don’t care about what your major is, they care about what you bring to the table.
Jordan took Brian’s class and vouched for it being a great class to learn about career opportunities for the major. Jordan describes how she went to a similar career panel in college and they all told her it doesn’t matter what your major is as long as you can perform the skills being asked by the employer.
Kat agreed with Jordan by saying employers want to see if you have the skills and personality necessary to perform the job. She urges students to do things that they are passionate about because ultimately that’s all that matters.
Jonathan also had no concerns about the practicality of his degree because he knew he wanted to go to law school. He reflects on how he wishes he broadened his horizon in terms of the classes he took in undergrad. He would have taken Economics and Business classes to learn more about those realms. He urges students to take several types of classes that pique their interest to broaden their scope of knowledge to prepare them for the real world.
Erika took a wide variety of classes across the disciplines of English, Political Science, and German which allowed her to stand out against her fellow applicants when applying for jobs. This helps when describing the skills that employers look for and being able to sell the best sides of yourself in job interviews.
Megan agreed with everything that was said and added that she was constantly worried about getting a job in college and all of the worrying wasn’t worth it and got her nowhere. She encouraged students that there is no need to worry about finding the perfect job.
Jeeyon followed what she was passionate about and she feels like it paid off. She feels like it worked out because all of the hard skills are taught on the job–it’s just about being able to present yourself in a good way during interviews. As an English major, she stood out among her mostly stem major competitors, and employers recognized that she brought different skills to the table. She ended by exclaiming that “English majors can get jobs!”
How do you see the English major evolving in the future job market, especially when thinking about the rise of AI and other digital media tools?
McKenna’s imprint publishes digital textbooks for therapists and psychologists. Despite it being a new development for her, she still feels well-equipped to handle the job as she already knows how to do research, summarize, and communicate different ideas to people from being an English major. She ends by saying even though a job may seem different from what you originally thought it would be, English majors still have the skills necessary to take it on.
Brian agreed and emphasized how you have to want to continue learning post-grad. He left college not knowing anything about energy but now he teaches an energy class at Rice and is helping the Business School build an energy major. He has recently founded an AI company without needing to know any of the technical language or skills. Instead, he realized that AI works because of people who can ask it questions, and several other tech and AI companies hire humanities majors because they can do just that. He believes that AI brings a huge opportunity for English majors because they can teach it how to perform, as long as students are dedicated to lifelong learning–that is learning the other skills necessary to perform such a task.
Jordan admitted that navigating the job market when interviewing and applying for jobs is trickier now because everything is “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn. She went on further to say that the competition has gone up for certain jobs and how it can be hard to distinguish yourself from competitors without having that interview first. She continued by saying that these new digital media tools make it easier for employers because they can scan through hundreds of resumes for the words/skills that they are looking for without having to read them. She advised students to be more creative when applying for jobs and talking about themselves on applications.
Kat is looking forward to the AI age because she feels like it would make her job easier and make a lot of tedious tasks go faster. She believes that English, Communication, Psychology, and other majors that tend to work with analytical thinking and the human mind will prosper in this new age. She believes that the English major should teach students how to use AI. For instance, how to detect its patterns and how to counteract when it’s being used as a way to spread misinformation. In this way, AI would be held accountable and English majors still have jobs working within ever-changing tech industries.
Jonathan sees AI as an opportunity to help make things easier for some jobs but it doesn’t replace the human interactions and level of communication that English majors have which we can still use to our advantage. The advantage that English majors have is a level of self-awareness and empathy that a lot of other people, and technology, don’t have. Ultimately he feels AI can not replace English majors when it comes to finding a job.
Megan thinks the fact that people are choosing to study English over something more STEM-based in this new age of technology is going to make them stand out more in the job market. She agreed with Jonathan that AI can’t connect with people on the same level that humans can and because of that it won’t be hard for students to find jobs post-grad.
Erika agreed with Megan saying that it’s commendable as an English major to put in the work yourself and learn how to perform the same kinds of analytical thinking that AI is being programmed to do.
Jeeyoon agreed with everyone and added that in her experience working with AI, it was good for compiling data but it also made several mistakes so it shouldn’t be relied on completely. Further, she hears day-to-day about the importance of the human touch when it comes to doing any kind of work. She feels that AI can get the conversation started but humans, and humanities professionals specifically, tend to be the ones that end that conversation when it comes to managing projects.
What is one resource that Rice students should take advantage of while they are here? If you have none, we would still love to hear any advice you have for English majors as they prepare for a life post-grad.
McKenna recommended looking into the externships that the CCD provides each semester. She mentions how through her externship experience she was able to talk to publishing professionals for the first time, other than her experience working with r2.
Brian brought up a very valuable resource from the humanities department who essentially serves as the “human job board” for humanities students outside of the CCD, her name is Nyeva and can be reached at nyeva@rice.edu. He encourages students to reach out to her and mention that Brian sent you. She helps students with finding jobs and requesting funding if their internship is unpaid–with opportunities to get up to $3000. He also recommended the CCD and offered himself as a resource to help English majors find jobs if the CCD is no help.
Jordan talked about the importance of networking and staying connected with people from your college career. There’s so much value to knowing people who have information about the things you want to pursue or if you need any help/support when it comes to resume crafting, etc. She finished by saying it’s always a good thing to stay connected because you never know how people can help influence your future.
Kat agreed with Jordan and also emphasized the importance of networking. She also recommended underclassmen get involved with student-run businesses and try to become event coordinators of things like O-Week and Beer Bike. She further explained how you get valuable skills such as community engagement and management skills that are necessary for the business world from those on-campus positions. For upperclassmen, she recommended looking into the Baker Institute and networking with people there who can help you look outside of Rice and into the professional world.
Jonathan agreed with all of the academic and resource advice but he emphasized that we should all also have fun while we’re in college! He talked about how college was some of the best times of his life and he would do it all over again in a heartbeat. In the same vein of networking, he mentioned how he still has a group chat with 8 other guys where they plan an annual trip to stay connected and still have fun together.
Erika added that networking and having fun can go hand in hand! She further clarified that making friends with your professors can be pretty valuable as it can often lead to them helping you find job opportunities. Also, participate in leadership opportunities to rack up leadership and management skills to add to your resume.
Megan admitted that when she was an undergrad she had no idea what networking was and it can be as simple as emailing one of them on the panel to learn more about what they do as careers. She also recommended the Center for Civic Leadership as a resource. They helped her with interview prep for internships and law school.
Jeeyoon agreed about the CCL and reminisced on how she was able to do the Loewenstern Fellowship through them–to visit Barcelona, Spain. She also recommended getting involved on campus in things that you are interested in as that’s a more natural networking environment where things don’t feel forced.
Audience Questions
For those of you who double majored, how did you decide which direction to go in as you pursue your career?
McKenna described her experience with double majoring in Psychology as taking psychology classes that she had always been interested in. Ultimately, she knew it would always be her English degree that she would further her future with.
Brian recommended majoring in things that you are passionate about but also not limiting yourself to other experiences. He goes on to say that you need one major to graduate from Rice, however, the English major allows students to pick up another with ease so make sure it’s something that caters to your interests. He also emphasized that even though it’s easy to do so, don’t feel pressured to double major if you don’t want to because it’s not something that employers will be remarkably impressed with.
Jordan had a similar experience to McKenna in that she always knew she wanted to study English. However, she also became interested in business classes after she came to college. After taking a few, she simply took up the business major and remains glad that the English major allowed her the flexibility to do so.
Kat had a wild ride starting as a Biology and Chemistry major and as she was talking with her major advisor they told her that she was only a capstone away from finishing the History major– so she did it! She did something similar with English and that’s how she ended up with the English major as well–just by taking classes that interested her. She is now grateful for the experience because she uses all of the skills and knowledge from all of these disciplines in her job today with ease.
Erika’s original plan was to work within diplomacy or foreign service relations so she got into Rice via a research scholarship. Her mentor was a Political Science professor who urged her to at least take some Poli Sci classes and after she took some, it made sense for her to pick up the major. The Poli Sci major taught her a lot about global and political interactions which was something she wasn’t getting much out of her English classes so she thinks both were valuable majors together.
Jeeyoon felt that psychology was the more quantitative aspect of the literature she was studying in English. She loved her English classes but also valued the hands-on experience she got to do through her psychology labs. She emphasizes how students should find what suits them and make a story with the two so it makes sense when they explain their path to others.
How did you answer questions from peers surrounding doubt about the practicality of your degree? (AKA “What are you going to do with an English major? How will you make money with that?”)
Brian advised students to let people know that the things most Business CEOs study in college end up being rooted in humanities. He also said it’s not worth our time to advocate for our major because it will get us places. He ended by saying we shouldn’t engage with people who don’t believe in our ability to make the major something worth our while.
Megan agreed by adding that if the people aren’t offering you counsel and don’t have jobs that you want, and only judgment, then don’t engage. She urged students to find someone else who has the job they want and see what they have to say.
Erika mentioned that if new students are the ones who are unsure about what to do with an English major, it oftentimes comes from their parents wanting them to take STEM classes and pursue fields like engineering or med school. To combat that, she would tell them to take a class or two in the field the parents want and then explore the passion that they want to pursue while remaining undecided. She ends with the advice of being undecided until you feel confident enough to declare a major and present your argument for doing so to your parents.
Kat said to simply say “Whatever I want to do because I’m capable of doing whatever I set my mind to” and walk away. She goes on to say that you shouldn’t spend your energy talking to people who constantly minimize your passions.
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We appreciate all of the panelists for coming to this panel and giving some very helpful advice. They have agreed to have their emails shared with our student body if anyone wants to reach out to any of them personally with more questions!
