FAQs

Many employers value graduates with any level of English degree because people in business are looking for workers with communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.  In fact, Steve Strauss, USA Today’s senior small business columnist, says he prefers to hire English majors because they’re both bold and easy to work with: “I like working with people who are bold, confident, and willing to speak up . . . I find that, usually, English majors are interesting, well spoken, can take a position and defend it with logic and reason, and are obviously well read. . . Whether it’s a blog, an e-mail to a client, an e-newsletter post, or an analysis of a problem, English majors win, hands down.”  Western’s English majors sharpen their analytical, reading, writing, research, and presentation skills, which are useful in most careers.  Recent graduates have been employed as copy editors, technical writers, and librarians.  Also, many graduates transfer to four-year institutions to earn bachelors or other advanced degrees in English and liberal arts to give them more professional opportunities.   

Graduates from Western Wyoming Community College are eligible to transfer to any four-year institution.  Western students transfer to many regional universities including the following: University of Wyoming, Utah State University, Idaho State University, and Valley City State University. 

Companies and organizations need creative and adaptable individuals in order to compete effectively in a global market because creativity fosters new ideas, products, and opportunities.  For example, the New Belgium Brewing Company posts a quote by George R.R. Martin, writer of Game of Thrones, prominently for all its workers to see: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies; a man who never reads lives only once.”  Creative people change perspectives in the workforce for the better.  Another reason to take creative writing classes is to enhance your writing ability and get feedback from fellow students and dedicated professors with specialized degrees in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. 

There are the practical and personal reasons for studying literature.  For a career, many businesses value the skills that you learn – like close reading of texts, recognizing patterns, communicating difficult concepts, and other critical thinking abilities.  You’ll be a better worker.  The personal reasons for studying literature include deepening your philosophical understanding of the human condition and recognizing universal themes that have come down to us from the ancients.  You’ll be a better person and community member.  

Perhaps your parents or friends have discouraged you from becoming an English major because they fear for your livelihood and want you to have a more “practical” degree.  According to a 2018 Payscale.com report, which tracks mid-career average pay for majors who earned bachelor’s (4-year) degrees, English majors ranked #130 out of 319 total majors charted.  Their earnings were well above the median for all majors.  All in all, English may very well be “the” practical degree to earn.