What Do You Do with a BA in English?

When I first heard the song “What Do you Do with a BA in English?” from the musical Avenue Q, I smiled a little and bopped along, thinking it was a clever little song that I could play for my English major friends (oh yes, Dear Reader, I’m that big of a nerd).

But as this week before graduation wears on, I realized this song is God’s way of looking and laughing at me as I continue my pitiful search to find a job that doesn’t involve a funny hat and the question “do you want fries with that?” He’s finally reaping revenge for that one time I lied and said I’d go to church if I rolled a purple in Cranium, and subsequently failed to deliver (In retrospect, cheating God might’ve pissed Him off a bit. I can’t recommend trying it).

BC is right– you CAN find a job after college with a liberal arts degree. I KNOW you can. I’ve seen it done!

…I think I might have been sleeping in class when they covered actually going out and DOING it.

Yeah, you think now that when it comes your turn to find a job that it’ll be a piece of cake. I know I did. I started applying early March, with plenty of time to search for that perfect job that pays a lot and is exactly what I want to do. Fast-forward to May: yesterday I actually found myself applying to be a groundskeeper at a nearby college. That’s right, after “four years of college” and “plenty of knowledge,” I’m hoping to get a job planting shrubs. Wouldn’t my mom be proud?

So in my not-so-infinite wisdom, I leave you with some advice before I graduate and begin my exciting career as a lawn care associate.

* Never, ever promise something to God in hopes of winning a board game. Definitely not worth it, even if you do whip some’s butt in Cranium (in your face, Bess!)

* Ahem. If you’re still in college, start thinking about what your resume is going to look like NOW. If you’re interested in journalism, work at your school’s newspaper. If you’re interested in publishing, look for a job or an internship through your University’s Press. Don’t wait till senior year to realize you have no experience or marketable skills (Not that it happened to me or anything…)

* Work the resume. Turn “I got 5 bucks from everyone one time and bought a keg for my frat” into “collected and managed club funds for team-building activities.” Be creative!

* Set your pride aside and apply everywhere. If you think “hey, I think I could stand doing that without wanting to gouge out my eyes,” apply for it! You might not land your dream job out of college, but I hear this money stuff is important after you graduate.

* Resist the urge to slap family members when they say oh-so-helpful things like, “maybe you should apply a LOT of places… have you applied to more than one job?” when at last count, you’ve sent your resume in to 42 different jobs.

* Don’t expect big things from Career Builder and Monster. I wrote that I wanted a job in publishing and they sent me an email saying my dream job was through the Navy.

* Look for places like hospitals, colleges, etc. that have websites where you can apply for multiple jobs at once. It saves you a lot of time, and if you can get an in sometimes it can lead you to a better job.

And so… the search begins.

~Nancy Drew